Creme Puffs (Profiteroles) with Chai or Dragonfruit Options

If you’ve ever tasted the crisp, golden pastry filled with sweet cream, you’ve already experienced the magic of profiteroles. These delightful French pastries, also known as choux buns, are light, airy, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Though they may look impressive, profiteroles are surprisingly easy to make at home, and with a few simple steps, you can create a dessert that will impress at any occasion.

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We had these growing up as they were one of my Dad’s favorites and when Mom didn’t make them, we’d get them at a local bakery where they were much larger than the puffs I made and filled with luscious pudding like custard filling and dusted with powdered sugar.  Loved them!

Just a few simple ingredients

Optional freeze dried dragon fruit "pitaya" powder for bright fascia color

With pitaya

Without pitaya

add eggs one at a time

piping bags make more perfectly shaped bundles

Eggs are what gives you the rise in this dough, so for a very few, inexpensive ingredients you get a beautiful pastry to be filled with either sweet or savory fillings.  Of course, I immediately go for the sweet version with either a custard/pastry creme or the simplest version ever, filled with ice cream and drizzled with chocolate sauce.


I have a great dairy free creamy shrimp filling that I use for crepes that would be fabulous in these as a savory filling if you opt for that.


These are so incredibly easy to make you’ll be thankful this recipe is in your hip pocket.  Ten minutes to pull together then 30 minutes in the oven. Voila!  Perfect puffs.

ready to bake

puffed and slightly golden-these are the pink pitaya puffs

thought I'd put some pink sprinkles on these

too cute!

KitchenAid Pots                  Piping Bags                       Parchment. Paper                           Baking Sheets

Creme Puffs (Profiteroles) with Chai or Dragonfruit options

Makes 6 medium pastries

1/2 cup water
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs, room temperature
pinch of salt
heaping 1/4 teaspoon chai spice blend, optional (recipe HERE )  


Variations:
2 Tablespoonspitaya powder (freeze dried dragon fruit powder) to make a vibrant fuscia color
leave out chai spice blend and make these a pretty pink shell
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fresh herbs if you want to make a savory creme puff


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

​Bring water, butter and salt to slight boil in a medium saucepan (add chai spice blend or dragonfruit powder here if desired) and as soon as butter is thoroughly melted add in flour all at once and stir vigorously to combine.  Continue to stir a couple minutes.  Dough will come together in a ball, pull away from sides of the pan and leave a slight film on the bottom of the pan.

Tip out into a large mixing bowl and beat the eggs in, one at a time.  I like to use a flat edged wooden mixing spoon for this.  Throughly incorporate each egg before adding the next.  If you’re using fresh herbs for a savory dough, this is where you want to add them in.

Either use a spoon to drop onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet or preferably transfer to a piping bag, snip off the tip and squeeze 6 equal sized mounds onto the baking sheet.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.  I like to tear off the tops when they come out of the oven so the trapped steam inside the puffs won’t begin to deflate them.  They’re best when they’re still crisp, but you can always crisp them up briefly in the oven if you want to serve them the following day.  They get soft as they sit.

Fill with custard, your favorite pudding or ice cream and drizzle over chocolate syrup or ganache. 

​Alternatively here is where you might fill them with a lovely savory sauce like a shrimp and asparagus sauce or check out the creamy dairy free shrimp crepe fillingHERE.
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