Profiteroles are such a special treat at Christmas time, towers of light pastry filled with whipped cream and lashing of chocolate always make me think of festive parties and celebrations! These Christmas Pudding Chocolate Profiteroles are perfect treats for the festive season. I've added cocoa powder to the choux pastry to make them chocolate flavoured, then I've filled them with a brandy spiked cream (brandy is of course optional or could be swapped for something like Baileys instead!) then I've dipped them in white chocolate and added a holly decoration. They look like mini Christmas puddings, but you don't have to be a fan of Christmas pudding to enjoy them!
Ingredient Tips & Equipment Information
- Make sure all your eggs are at room temperature before you start baking. The butter and milk can be cold as you're going to heat them up anyway.
- You can use either real butter or a baking spread, but real butter has the best flavour.
- I recommend using whole milk for the profiteroles, but semi-skimmed milk will work well too.
- If you don't want to use brandy to flavour the cream, Baileys would be a delicious alternative! Or for an alcohol free option, use 1 tsp vanilla extract.
- If you can't find any ready made holly decorations, you can make them out of fondant using a leaf cutter on the green fondant, and by rolling red balls from red fondant.
- Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales*. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
- For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons* and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.
For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.
How to make Christmas Pudding Chocolate Profiteroles
To make the choux pastry, warm milk, water and butter on a low heat until the butter melts. Turn the heat up and when it starts to boil, add the flour, cocoa powder, sugar and salt. Stir them in quickly. Let it cool for 10 minutes, then whisk in the eggs.
Using a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle, pipe blobs of the mixture out onto lined baking trays. Wet your finger and press down any peaks. Then bake them for 20 minutes and leave to cool. Whip up some cream with icing sugar and brandy, then fill each profiterole. Dip them in white chocolate and add a holly decoration.
Can profiteroles be made in advance?
Yes! Although profiteroles are best fresh, you can make the profiterole pastry shell, cool and store them in an airtight container for up to 2 days. They can also be frozen, once they've defrosted pop them back in the oven for 5-10 minutes to crisp up again.
What is the best way to fill the profiteroles?
Use a piping bag fitted with a thin sharp ended nozzle to break through the base of the pastry and then squeeze in the filling until you feel resistance. You can get special cupcake and donut filler nozzles, or I like to use a leaf nozzle which has a sharp 'V' shape at the tip. You can also use a thin round nozzle as well, and use a sharp knife to make a hole in the pastry first.
What else can you fill profiteroles with?
These profiteroles are filled with a slightly sweetened brandy whipped cream. You could add any flavouring extract to the cream for other flavours, for example: coffee, orange or lemon. You can also add other alcohols to the cream, for example: Baileys or limoncello. Profiteroles can also be filled with creme patisserie (pastry cream/custard), again this can be any flavour of your choice. They can also be filled with ice cream, but this can be fiddly.
Can this recipe be made gluten or dairy free?
Yes! For a gluten free version you can replace the plain flour with a gluten free plain flour blend. You may also like to add ¼ tsp Xantham Gum for better texture. To make them dairy free, replace the butter with a dairy free block or spread, and the milk with a dairy free version. You will also need to fill them with either whipped coconut cream, or a dairy free whipped cream, and dip them in a dairy free dark chocolate. Unfortunately this recipe cannot be made vegan or egg free.
Can the profiteroles be made without an electric mixer?
I have found I get better results using an electric mixer, but I have made this recipe many time using a hand whisk and good old elbow grease too.
More tips for making the Christmas Pudding Chocolate Profiteroles:
- It is very important to let the mixture cool before adding the eggs, otherwise you will end up with scrambled eggs in your pan!
- You could modify these Profiteroles to suit your taste, or the season. For example if it is not Christmas, you can dip them in milk or dark chocolate instead, or drizzle with caramel sauce.
Troubleshooting
If you have any questions about this recipe, or if something went wrong and you need help, please use the comment form below and I will get back to you. You can also get in touch with me on my Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. I'd love to hear from you!
Recommended equipment & ingredients*
- Baking trays
- Mixing bowls
- Cooling rack
- Kitchen scales
- Electric hand mixer
- Piping bags
- Round piping nozzle
- Injector nozzle
- Holly decorations
*I earn a small amount of money if you buy the products after clicking on the links. You will not be charged anything extra for this. Thank you for supporting The Baking Explorer!
More profiterole recipes...
Christmas Pudding Chocolate Profiteroles
Ingredients
For the choux pastry
- 85 g Butter
- 110 ml Water
- 125 ml Whole milk
- 100 g Plain flour
- 15 g Cocoa powder
- ½ tbsp Caster sugar
- A pinch of salt
- 3 Eggs large
For the filling
- 300 ml Double cream
- 1 tbsp Icing sugar
- 3 tbsp Brandy
For decoration
- 125 g White chocolate melted
- 30 Holly decorations shop bought or home made
Instructions
- To make the choux pastry, measure the butter, water and milk out into a pan and melt together on a low heat stirring every so often
- Meanwhile, sieve the flour and cocoa powder into a bowl and stir in the sugar and salt
- Once the butter has melted into the milk and water, bring it to the boil then add the flour mixture and quickly stir it in using a wooden spoon. Beat it together quickly for about 2 minutes, then remove from the heat and leave to cool for at least 10 minutes
- While it is cooling, pre-heat your oven to 180C Fan/200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 and line two baking trays (or however many you have) with baking paper, use some butter to help it stick to the baking tray
- Put the mixture into a bowl or into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the eggs one at a time and beat in using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer until the mixture is smooth
- Tip the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle
- Pipe blobs of the mixture onto the lined baking trays keeping them about 2 cm apart, then dip your finger in water and pat down any peaks that have been created from piping. Put any mixture that is leftover in the fridge if you run out of baking tray or oven space
- Bake the profiteroles for 20 minutes, then leave to cool completely
- To make the filling whisk together the ingredients until thick, transfer to a piping bag with a thin, sharp nozzle (I used a small leaf nozzle). Use the nozzle to pierce the bottom of the profiterole and pipe the cream inside until full
- Melt the white chocolate by microwaving for 30 seconds, stir, then microwave for 10 seconds at a time, stirring each time, until fully melted and mixed together
- Dip the top of each cream filled profiterole into the white chocolate, then stick your decoration on top while the chocolate is still wet
- Serve immediately and store any leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container and eat within 2 days
Notes
- Make sure all your eggs are at room temperature before you start baking. The butter and milk can be cold as you're going to heat them up anyway.
- You can use either real butter or a baking spread, but real butter has the best flavour.
- I recommend using whole milk for the profiteroles, but semi-skimmed milk will work well too.
- If you don't want to use brandy to flavour the cream, Baileys would be a delicious alternative! Or for an alcohol free option, use 1 tsp vanilla extract.
- If you can't find any ready made holly decorations, you can make them out of fondant using a leaf cutter on the green fondant, and by rolling red balls from red fondant.
- Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales*. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
- For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons* and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.
Rosemary
What a brilliant idea - these profiteroles look beautifully festive and with white chocolate and brandy-flavoured cream they must taste wonderful!
Monika Dabrowski
These look so so fantastic, little bite size festive treats, love this idea! Thank you for bringing it to #CookBlogShare
Lesley Garden
I love profiteroles, and what a lovely alternative. I love your festive take on this delicious sweet treat. Thank you for sharing to #CookBlogShare
Life Diet Health
Kat what fantastic idea! I'm still perfecting vegan choux but these have given me the inspiration to do it sooner! Thanks for sharing at Fiesta Friday 🙂
Helen - Cooking with my kids
These look great! I'm not a fan of actual Christmas puddings, but these I would love!
Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie
Love theset! What a fab idea. Bet they taste pretty awesome too! Eb x