Ina Garten Says Profiteroles Are Her Favourite Dessert in Paris

Ina Garten by no means lets us down in terms of what to order for dessert — or what to do usually. So when the chef, creator, and TV present host posted a reel on Instagram in late July concerning the “solely dessert to order in Paris,” we took her recommendation to coronary heart.

The video contains no different particulars within the caption, however for anybody within the find out about traditional French pastries the beautiful dessert is perhaps instantly acquainted; and in case it isn’t, Garten clarified within the feedback that the reel depicts a plate of profiteroles, or “Cream puffs stuffed with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with heat chocolate sauce. Heaven!”

Whereas Ina didn’t specify the place she loved the dish, one commenter instructed that it is perhaps La Coupole, a brasserie that lists “profiteroles with heat Valrhona chocolate” on its dessert menu. The Barefoot Contessa was most just lately in Paris as a particular contributor with the Right now Present on the 2024 Olympics, however she’s no stranger to the Metropolis of Mild.

Ina Garten and her husband Jeffrey have had an condominium in Paris for 25 years, and in 2022 she shared a few of her favourite meals spots within the metropolis on Instagram, upon returning after 2.5 years of minimal journey because of the pandemic. She’s additionally a fan of French elements when cooking at dwelling, citing Rodolphe Le Meunier’s beurre de baratte, produced with conventional strategies in Normandy and molded by hand, because the luxurious butter she enjoys virtually each morning on toast. Suffice it to say, Ina Garten is aware of her French meals.

For these of us with out Ina’s experience, profiteroles won’t be tremendous recognizable — they’re definitely much less ubiquitous in the USA than the croissant in all its types. The origin of profiteroles is a bit murky, and inevitably tied to the invention of the choux pastry that they’re constructed from. One legend claims that an Italian chef introduced choux to France within the sixteenth century when he arrived with Catherine de Medici, however in actuality it’s arduous to pinpoint precisely the place this gentle and ethereal dough was first created.

Chef Marie-Antoine Carême is usually credited with perfecting and popularizing the sunshine and ethereal recipe for choux pastry — or pâte à choux — dough within the nineteenth century. The influential chef can also be believed to be the primary to fill the hole pastries with custard or cream, and thus the fashionable profiterole was born.

Whether or not you name it a cream puff or a profiterole, these candy treats have been tailored by native meals cultures everywhere in the world. Dutch boscche bollen are further giant profiteroles stuffed with whipped cream and coated throughout in a chocolate glaze. In Hawaii, locals and guests alike know to cease by Liliha Bakery for some coco puffs, chocolate cream-filled choux buns topped with a thick frosting.

The ethereal pastries are additionally common in Japan, the place they’re even offered in comfort shops like 7-Eleven. Bakery chain Beard Papa’s opened its first location in Osaka in 1999, however now sells its well-known cream puffs in 15 nations and territories. 

For those who’re craving a plate of profiteroles that look as lovely as Ina Garten’s, it’s simple to decorate up some premade cream puffs so that they really feel somewhat fancy. Seize a pack from shops like Costco, Wegmans, or Complete Meals, then serve with a drizzle of store-bought or selfmade chocolate sauce, and add a scoop of ice cream if desired. They won’t be fairly nearly as good because the pastries Ina has entry to, however they’ll come shut sufficient to tide you over till you may e book a flight to Paris. And if you happen to’re on the hunt for a weekend baking undertaking, then we’ve got just a few profiterole and cream puff recipes which may match the invoice: