Cream puff

In the UK, they’re usually called profiteroles: small, round choux pastry buns filled with cream. “Cream puff” is a less common name; éclairs use the same pastry but are long rather than round.

Pipe the dough onto a baking tray and bake at 200°C (180°C fan) for about 20–25 minutes. Don’t open the oven during the first 20 minutes; once the buns are golden, pierce each one and return them to the oven briefly to dry out.

Let the baked buns cool completely, then fill them shortly before serving. If you fill them ahead, keep them covered in the fridge; the cream gradually softens the crisp pastry.

Keep them covered in the fridge at 5°C or below, and eat within two days. Don’t leave cream-filled buns at room temperature for more than two hours.

Freeze the unfilled choux buns in an airtight container, then thaw and crisp them in a low oven before filling. Filled profiteroles can lose their texture as the cream softens or separates.

Pour warm chocolate sauce over them just before serving. In Britain, profiteroles are also served piled into a celebration dessert, sometimes as a croquembouche.

Both are made from choux pastry and filled with cream, but profiteroles are round and éclairs are long, usually with icing or chocolate on top.