Profiteroles (Puffs) with cream cheese filling

Profiteroles are a very easy pastry to make. They are mostly called Puffs and can be filled with any kind of variety of creams, puddings, chocolate, berries, etc. I got this recipe from my Aunt Delia but I was reminded this week through King Arthur Flour's newsletter. This is a very easy dough to make and if you follow the directions carefully I can assure you they will turn out just great! I divided the Ingredients and Directions in three parts. That way, you can go step by step from making the pastry dough till filling and garnishing the puffs. Here we go!


Profiteroles (Puffs)

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
4 large eggs, at room temperature


Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.

2) Combine the water, butter, and salt in a medium-sized saucepan, heat until the butter has melted, and bring to a rolling boil.

3) Add the flour all at once, stirring vigorously until the mixture smoothes out and follows the spoon around the pan; this should take less than 30 seconds.

4) Remove the pan from the heat, and let the mixture cool for 5 to 10 minutes. It'll still feel hot, but you should be able to hold a finger in it for a few seconds.

5) Transfer the dough to a mixer, and beat in the eggs one at a time; the mixture will look curdled at first, but when you add the last egg it should become smooth. Beat for 1 minute after adding the last egg. You'll have a stiff, smooth batter.

6) Drop the dough by teaspoonfuls (about the size of a chestnut) onto the prepared sheets (a teaspoon cookie scoop works well here). Leave about 1 ½" to 2" between them; they're going to expand to about the size of a golf ball.

7) Bake the puffs for about 20 minutes, till they've puffed, they're a medium golden-brown, and they look dry.

8) Remove baked puffs from the oven, and use a sharp knife to cut a slit into the side of each puff, for steam to escape; this will help prevent them from becoming soggy. Return the puffs to the oven for 5 minutes, then remove from the oven, and transfer to a rack to cool.




Cream Cheese Filling
Source: The Joy of Baking

Ingredients:
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese or cream cheese
1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp. (14 grams) granulated white sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract


Directions:
In a large bowl, beat the mascarpone or cream cheese until fluffy and smooth. Add the heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla and beat until soft peaks forms.


Assemble:

Once the puffs are cooled and just before serving, spread or pipe the cream on the shells and top with fresh berries or cut up fruit. In this case, I just put a frozen blueberry. Sprinkle some powder sugar on top. Serve immediately.



Note: If your puffs don't look as beautiful as you want, just cover them up with enough powder sugar, nobody will know the difference ;)