Goat Cheese Profiteroles

I recently attended a wine tasting where the host asked for a cheese dip. I wanted to take it up a notch so I stuffed a profiterole (cream puff) with a goat cheese dip. The result was a crispy profiterole puff stuffed with a savory dip that complimented the wine we tasted perfectly. I was able to make the shells and dip ahead of time and filled them just before the party.

Makes 24-30 Profiteroles

Ingredients

 

Choux Pastry Ingredients

1 C Water

1 stick Unsalted Butter

1 Dash Salt

½ tsp Sugar

1 C All-Purpose Flour (sifted)

4 Lg Eggs

Stuffing Ingredients

10 oz Goat Cheese (room temperature)

8 oz Cream Cheese (room temperature)

¼ C Grated Locatelli Romano or Parmesan Cheese

1 ½ tsp Fresh Thyme (minced fine)

Fresh Grated Black Pepper (to taste)

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Mix together the water, butter, salt, and sugar in a 2 or 3 Qt. saucepan over medium heat and bring it to a boil.  Be careful as it will easily boil over onto your stove.  Watch it carefully.  When it has started to boil, remove the pan from the heat and add the flour.  Return it to a medium-low flame and stir continuously until it forms a ball.  Continue to cook continuously for an additional 2-3 minutes.  It is critical that the flour has time to cook.

Place the dough ball in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat it until the steam stops rising.  It is important to cool it or the eggs will become scrambled when you add them.  Add the eggs one at a time until completely mixed.  After all of the eggs have been added beat on high for an additional five minutes.  The mixture will be very sticky.

Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Place 1.5 tsp mounds of the Choux Pastry on the baking sheet keeping them at least 2 inches apart.  The cream puffs will more than triple in size.  Cook for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.  Do not open the oven during the cooking process or you may end up with pancakes.  Remove the choux pastry to a cooling rack to cool.

Place all of the stuffing ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Filling Profiteroles

There are two methods of filling profiteroles, cutting or piping

Cutting – Cut the top of the profiteroles and fill with the goat cheese stuffing.

Piping – You can inject the stuffing into the profiteroles using a piping bag or a cookie press fitted with an injection tip.

NOTE: You can bake the cream puffs ahead of time and freeze them in a Ziploc bag.  However, only fill the profiteroles the day you are going to serve them, or they will get soggy.

Wine Pairing: The goat cheese profiteroles pair well with an Italian Pino & Toi from Veneto. It’s pale lemon-green in color and is intensely perfumed with floral and fruit-forward aromas. Dry & zesty on the palate, this wine has well-rounded structure and a flavorful, long finish.

To print a copy of this recipe go to Goat Cheese Profiteroles.