Spicy profiteroles are made for party buffets: small, handy, easy to prepare, and highly versatile.
Taste and Occasion
Since choux pastry tastes relatively neutral – neither particularly sweet nor particularly salty – you can make sweet and savory finger food from one profiterole recipe. And you will be rewarded for your "effort" with gorgeous, delicious pastries 🙂!
Ingredients
So that you don't have to waste your time with any failing choux pastry experiments, as was the case with me a few years ago, I'm sharing my recipe for savory profiteroles with you today. The cream puff filling consists of cream cheese. We think the hearty profiteroles taste best with a comparatively intense-tasting filling (as a special eye-catcher and a flavorful highlight, you could say a combination of them both). Very important: Before it is the turn of the savory profiteroles filling, the baked choux pastry has to cool down entirely. Then you can use a piping bag and star nozzle again.
How to make the Savory Profiteroles
Let's get started with this great, savory choux pastry: First of all, put water, butter, and salt in a pot and boil briefly or melt butter. Pour flour all at once (!) into the hot liquid. Now, stir with a (wooden) spoon until large dough ball forms and a thin white layer appears on the bottom of the pot; the "burning off" takes about 1 minute. It's time to remove the saucepan from the heat. Let cool slightly until the dough dumpling is lukewarm.
Now: Beat the eggs. Using a hand mixer, gradually stir one part of the egg mixture (never all at once) into the cooled dough dumpling. The dough should have the consistency of a sponge, i.e. it should not be too fluid. If in doubt, do not use the entire egg mixture, but leave some. Stir the baking powder into the choux pastry at the end.
It's time for preheating the oven to 380°F/190°C. Cover a baking sheet with baking paper. Using a piping bag, pipe large dots (or other shapes, as you like) of the dough onto the baking sheet. Leave enough space – the choux pastry will rise during the baking process!
Bake the profiteroles for about 20 minutes in a preheated oven. Do not open the door during this time! Cut lids off the finished puffs while they are still hot using scissors or a sharp knife. Put the cream cheese in a piping bag and squirt it on top when your cream puffs are completely cooled down. Alternatively, you can spread the cream with a teaspoon. Decorate with diced peppers and chives. And you're done with this great, spicy finger food!
Top Tip
Whether an alternative with chili, herbs, or goat cheese, the savory profiteroles cream cheese filling is best spiced up with small diced peppers, fresh chive rolls, or similar. You can get a two-tone cream (like toothpaste…) by putting both types of cream cheese in the piping bag.
Recipe Card
Savory Profiteroles
Ingredients
For the choux pastry
- 250 milliliters (1 cup) water
- 50 grams (3 ½ tablespoons) butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 150 grams (1 ⅕ cups) all-purpose flour
- 4 eggs, small, coarse
- 2 pinches baking powder
For the filling and decoration
- 400 grams (1 ⅘ cups) cream cheese, flavored, preferably a fluffy one
- chives, in rolls
- ¼ piece paprika, very finely diced
Instructions
- Put water, butter, and salt in a pot and boil briefly or melt butter. Pour flour all at once (!) into the hot liquid. Stir with a (wooden) spoon until large dough ball forms and a thin white layer appears on the bottom of the pot; the "burning off" takes about 1 minute. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let cool slightly until the dough dumpling is lukewarm.
- Beat the eggs. Using a hand mixer, gradually stir one part of the egg mixture (never all at once) into the cooled dough dumpling. The dough should have the consistency of a sponge, i.e. it should not be too fluid. If in doubt, do not use the entire egg mixture, but leave some. Stir the baking powder into the choux pastry at the end.
- Preheat the oven to 380°F/190°C. Cover a baking sheet with baking paper. Using a piping bag, pipe large dots (or other shapes as desired) of the dough onto the baking sheet. Leave enough space because the choux pastry will rise during baking!
- Bake the cream puffs for about 20 minutes in a preheated oven. Do not open the door during this time! Cut lids off the finished profiteroles while they are still hot using scissors or a sharp knife.
- When the profiteroles are completely cool, put the cream cheese in a piping bag and squirt it on top. Alternatively, you can spread the cream with a teaspoon. Decorate with diced peppers and chives.
Notes
- Once the cream puffs are filled, do not store them for long; eating them fresh is best. However, the unfilled cream puffs can be frozen just fine. To defrost, simply let stand at room temperature for an hour and then fill.
Ingredient substitutions
Variations
In case you're wondering where the lids went: They were there, of course. I just ate them up with my kids before I took the photos 😉 I thought the spicy cream puffs were visually prettier without.
Check out my snack category if you're looking for more finger food recipes for the next party. You'll find great inspiration there, such as pizza cupcakes or the lovely spinach feta puffs. Many sweet recipes await you, too, of course!
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