Chocolate Profiteroles
Crisp choux puffs filled with vanilla ice cream and flooded with warm chocolate sauce for a classic party dessert.
Updated: Nov 9, 2026
Why you'll like it
- Ready in about 1 hour 15 min.
- Serves 8 — easy to halve or double.
- Medium level — everyday equipment only.
- Fits a busy weeknight.
- Storage, freezing and reheating covered below.
This Chocolate Profiteroles recipe takes 1 hour 15 min and makes 8 servings of three puffs each, with 35 minutes of prep and about 40 minutes in the oven. The puffs are choux pastry: water, butter, and flour cooked into a paste on the stove, then beaten with eggs until glossy.
Helpful guides
Instructions
Heat the oven to 400 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment. Crack the eggs into a cup and keep them nearby, since the paste gets beaten while it is still warm.
Bring the water, butter, salt, and sugar to a full boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat, then add the flour all at once and stir hard with a wooden spoon. The mixture tightens into a smooth ball within 1 to 2 minutes.
Keep stirring over low heat 2 minutes more, until a thin film forms on the pan bottom. Cooking out the raw flour now keeps the puffs from tasting pasty.
Scrape the paste into a bowl, let it cool 5 minutes, then beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is fully absorbed before the next goes in. Stop when the batter is glossy and falls from the spoon in a slow V, because extra egg makes the mounds spread.
Pipe or spoon twelve to fourteen 1 1/2-inch mounds 2 inches apart, smooth the tips with a wet finger, and bake 25 to 30 minutes until deep golden and firm. Do not open the oven in the first 20 minutes, since a draft collapses the puffs.
Poke a small hole in the side of each puff with a skewer and return them to the turned-off oven for 5 minutes to dry. Letting the steam out keeps the shells crisp for hours.
Warm the cream until it steams and pour it over the chopped chocolate, wait 2 minutes, then stir until glossy. Split the cooled puffs, tuck in a scoop of vanilla ice cream, pile three on each plate, and spoon the warm sauce over the top just before serving.
Troubleshooting — fixes, not repeats
- If the puffs do not rise, the paste was too wet or the oven ran cool. Add eggs only until the batter ribbons from the spoon, and bake at 400 degrees F with the door shut for the first 20 minutes.
- If they collapse after baking, they came out too early or were never vented. Bake until deep golden and firm to the touch, then poke a hole in each and dry them in the turned-off oven.
- If the shells are soggy inside, they needed more drying time. Return them to a 250 degrees F oven for 5 to 8 minutes, then cool completely before filling.
- If the sauce turns grainy, the cream was too hot or the chocolate was cold. Heat the cream only to steaming, pour it over finely chopped chocolate, wait 2 minutes, then stir from the center outward.
Make it your way
- Serving with rice or naan: For a salted caramel finish, drizzle 1/4 cup of warm caramel over the puffs and serve the chocolate sauce on the side.
- For a cream puff version, fill the shells with lightly sweetened whipped cream instead of ice cream and dip the tops in the ganache.
- A coffee batch stirs 1 teaspoon of espresso powder into the warm cream.
- Mini profiteroles pipe at 1 inch and bake 18 to 20 minutes, which gives about 30 bite-size puffs.
Storage & reheating
Cool leftovers within 2 hours, then refrigerate in a covered container and use within 3 to 4 days. Reheat only the portion you will eat until steaming hot throughout — poultry and reheated rice should reach 165°F (74°C).
Cool the baked shells completely, then store them in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days, or freeze them up to 2 months.
Keep the chocolate sauce refrigerated up to 1 week and reheat it gently, because a hard chill sets it solid.
FAQ
Can I make profiteroles ahead?
Bake and dry the shells up to 2 days ahead, then recrisp them at 300 degrees F for 5 minutes. Make the sauce up to a week ahead and reheat it gently. Fill with ice cream at the last minute so the shells stay crisp.
Why did my choux pastry turn out flat?
The usual causes are a batter that is too thin, an oven that runs cool, or opening the door too early. Add the eggs gradually, check the oven with a thermometer, and keep the door shut for the first 20 minutes.
Do I need a piping bag?
No. Two spoons work well: scoop a mound with one and push it off with the other onto the parchment. A piping bag with a 1/2-inch tip gives rounder, more even puffs if you have one on hand.