Hazelnut Praline Profiteroles with Chocolate Sauce

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Hazelnut praline profiteroles are small choux buns filled with whipped cream and mascarpone that’s been folded with homemade hazelnut praline paste, then topped with warm dark chocolate sauce. This batch makes 24 buns and takes about 100 minutes start to finish, with much of that time spent waiting on the oven and the cooling rack.

I make the praline from scratch because it tastes of roasted nuts instead of plain sugar. Toasted hazelnuts go into a deep amber caramel, and 8 to 10 minutes in a food processor turns the brittle into a thick paste.

The shells are where things go wrong. Pull them early and they sag as they cool, so keep the oven door shut for the first 20 minutes and bake until they’re deep golden and feel light.

Shells, paste, and sauce all keep for days, which makes this a sensible dessert for a dinner party. Fill the buns just before serving and eat them within 30 minutes, while the shells are still crisp.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Homemade praline paste tastes of roasted hazelnuts, with less sweetness
• Shells, paste, and sauce can all be made two days ahead
• Mascarpone keeps the praline cream stable for piping and filling
• One batch makes 24 buns, enough for eight people

Ingredient Notes

• hazelnuts: Use whole raw hazelnuts, skin-on or blanched. Almonds work at the same weight for a milder praline, toasted the same way.
• mascarpone: Mascarpone gives the cream body so it holds a piped shape. Full-fat cream cheese works at the same weight but tastes tangier.
• all-purpose flour: Weigh it rather than scooping. Bread flour gives sturdier, chewier shells, while cake flour is too weak to hold the hollow.
• dark chocolate: Use 60 to 70 percent chocolate bars, not chips. Milk chocolate works at 140 g, but the sauce tastes sweeter and sets softer.
• whole milk: Milk adds browning and a tender crust. Using all water (240 ml total) gives crisper but paler shells.

Hazelnut Praline Profiteroles with Chocolate Sauce

Choux buns are baked until hollow, filled with mascarpone-lightened praline cream, and finished with warm dark chocolate sauce. One batch makes 24 buns for 8 servings, and the shells, paste, and sauce can all be made ahead.

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Prep Time 40 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Servings: 8 servings

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Calories: 591

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

Choux buns

• 120 ml water
• 120 ml whole milk
• 90 g unsalted butter cubed
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 140 g all-purpose flour sifted
• 4 large eggs about 200 g, lightly beaten

Hazelnut praline

• 100 g whole raw hazelnuts
• 100 g granulated sugar
• 35 ml water

Praline cream

• 300 ml heavy cream cold
• 100 g mascarpone cold
• 120 g homemade hazelnut praline paste from the brittle above
• 80 g crushed praline brittle for topping

Chocolate sauce

• 120 g dark chocolate (60 to 70%) finely chopped
• 100 ml heavy cream
• 1 pinch flaky sea salt

Method

 

Choux buns

1. Heat the oven to 180 C / 350 F. Spread the 100 g hazelnuts on a 33 x 46 cm / 13 x 18-inch sheet pan and toast for 10 to 12 minutes, until the skins split and the nuts smell fragrant. Tip them into a clean towel, rub off most of the skins, and let them cool. Raise the oven to 200 C / 390 F and line that pan and a second 33 x 46 cm / 13 x 18-inch pan with parchment.
2. Combine the water, milk, butter, 1 tsp sugar, and salt in a 2-quart / 1.9 L saucepan. Bring to a full boil over medium heat so the butter melts completely, then tip in the flour all at once. Stir hard with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes, until the dough pulls from the sides and leaves a thin film on the pan bottom. Transfer to a mixing bowl and cool for 5 minutes.
3. Beat the 4 eggs together, then add them to the dough in 4 additions, beating until each is fully absorbed before adding the next. Stop when the dough is smooth and drops from the spatula in a slow V shape. You may have a spoonful of egg left over.
4. Spoon the dough into a piping bag with a 1 cm / 3/8-inch round tip. Pipe 24 mounds, 12 per pan, each about 3 cm / 1.25 inches wide and 4 cm / 1.5 inches apart. Smooth any peaks with a wet fingertip.
5. Bake with the pans on two racks for 10 minutes at 200 C / 390 F. Reduce to 180 C / 350 F and bake 10 minutes more, then swap the pans and bake 5 minutes, until the buns are deep golden and feel light and hollow. Keep the door shut for the first 20 minutes. Pale buns collapse as they cool, so add 3 to 5 minutes if the sides still look blond. Pierce each bun with a skewer, turn the oven off, and leave the buns inside with the door ajar for 5 minutes. Move them to racks and cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Hazelnut praline

1. While the buns bake, stir 100 g sugar and 35 ml water in a 20 cm / 8-inch heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Stop stirring and boil for 8 to 10 minutes, until deep amber, about 170 C / 338 F. Off the heat, stir in the toasted hazelnuts and pour onto a sheet of parchment set on a heatproof board. Let it harden for about 20 minutes.
2. Break the cooled brittle into pieces. Crush about 80 g with a rolling pin into small chunks for topping. Process the remaining 120 g in a food processor for 8 to 10 minutes, scraping the bowl every couple of minutes, until the crumbs turn into a thick, loose paste.

Cream, sauce, and assembly

1. Heat the 100 ml cream in the rinsed 2-quart / 1.9 L saucepan until steaming. Pour it over the chopped chocolate and salt, wait 2 minutes, then whisk until glossy and smooth. Keep the sauce warm.
2. Whip the 300 ml cold cream and mascarpone with a hand mixer in a mixing bowl for 2 to 3 minutes, until soft peaks form. Stir a spoonful into the 120 g praline paste to loosen it, then fold the paste back into the cream. Spoon into a piping bag with a 6 mm / 1/4-inch round tip.
3. Poke a small hole in the base of each cooled bun with the piping tip and fill until it feels slightly heavy, about 1 tbsp of cream each. Set 3 buns on each plate, pour warm chocolate sauce over, and scatter the crushed praline on top. Serve within 30 minutes of filling.

Notes

• Weigh the flour on a scale, since scooped flour makes dense, dry dough.
• If the shells look pale at 25 minutes, bake 3 to 5 minutes more.
• Cool the praline brittle fully before grinding, or the paste turns oily and loose.
• Cool the shells completely before any cream touches them, and serve within 30 minutes of filling.

Tips for Success

• Add the beaten eggs a little at a time and stop when the dough drops from the spatula in a slow V shape.
• Keep the oven door closed for the first 20 minutes, since escaping steam makes the buns sag before they set.
• Pierce each bun with a skewer and leave it in the switched-off oven for 5 minutes so the inside dries out.
• Judge the caramel by color, not time, and pull it from the heat at deep amber before it starts to smoke.
• Chill the bowl and beaters for 10 minutes before whipping so the cream holds soft peaks after the paste goes in.

Variations

• Swap the hazelnuts for almonds or pistachios in the praline, keeping the same weight of nuts and sugar and the same grinding time.
• Stir 1 tsp of instant espresso into the warm chocolate sauce for a bitter edge that cuts through the sweet cream.
• Pipe the dough into 10 cm / 4-inch fingers for eclairs, bake about 10 minutes longer, and fill with the same praline cream.

Storage and Reheating

Filled profiteroles are best served within 30 minutes of filling, because the cream softens the shell from the inside. Leftover filled buns keep covered in the fridge for 1 day, but the shells turn soft and the cream firms up. I’d rather make the parts ahead and fill at the last minute.

Store unfilled, fully cooled shells in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days, or freeze them for up to 1 month. Re-crisp them on a sheet pan at 160 C / 320 F for 5 minutes (8 minutes from frozen), then cool completely before filling.

Keep the praline paste in a jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and the chocolate sauce for 5 days. Loosen the sauce in a bowl set over hot water until it pours. Whip the cream on the day you serve.

Serving Suggestions

Serve 3 profiteroles per person on a shallow plate. Pour the warm chocolate sauce over at the table and scatter the crushed praline on top so it stays crunchy.

A small glass of Vin Santo, a tawny port, or black coffee balances the sweetness. A few fresh raspberries on the side add a sharp note against the cream.

Keep it vegetarian with a light main such as a roasted vegetable tart or a lemony pasta. The profiteroles eat like a full dessert course, so skip any extra sweets.

FAQ

Why did my hazelnut praline profiteroles collapse after baking?

Collapse usually means the shells came out before the walls set. Bake until they are deep golden and feel light and hollow when lifted, keep the oven door closed for the first 20 minutes, and pierce each bun with a skewer to release steam. Then dry them in the switched-off oven for 5 minutes.

Can I use store-bought praline paste or Nutella instead of making the praline?

Store-bought hazelnut praline paste works at the same 120 g and saves the caramel and grinding time. Chocolate-hazelnut spread is sweeter and softer, so use 90 g and whip the cream slightly firmer before folding it in. Expect a cocoa flavor rather than roasted nuts.

Can I freeze hazelnut praline profiteroles?

Freeze the unfilled shells, not the filled buns. Cool them completely, pack them in a freezer container for up to 1 month, then re-crisp on a sheet pan at 160 C / 320 F for 8 minutes from frozen. Filled buns turn soggy once thawed because the cream releases moisture into the shell.

What wine goes well with hazelnut praline profiteroles?

Vin Santo is the classic match, since its nutty sweetness echoes the praline without clashing with the chocolate. A tawny port or a small pour of hazelnut liqueur also works, and black coffee suits anyone skipping alcohol. Avoid dry whites, which taste thin next to the cream.

Are hazelnut praline profiteroles gluten free?

No, the choux is made with 140 g of all-purpose flour, so these profiteroles contain gluten. A gluten-free flour blend with xanthan gum can produce shells, but they come out denser and less hollow. The praline cream and chocolate sauce are gluten free as written, so only the shells need swapping.

What is the difference between profiteroles and cream puffs?

Profiteroles are small choux buns, about 3 cm across, served in a group with a sauce, usually chocolate. Cream puffs are larger, filled with plain whipped cream or custard, and dusted with powdered sugar instead of sauced. The choux dough is identical, so the difference is size and presentation.

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