Mint Chocolate Profiteroles with Dark Chocolate Sauce

Crack the oven door with a wooden spoon and let them sit. That 12 minutes inside — that’s where they get hollow. That’s where they get crispy. Most people skip it and end up with dense, heavy choux. Don’t.

Why You’ll Love This Mint Chocolate Profiteroles Recipe

Takes 1 hour 40 minutes total but most of it’s waiting — the cream chilling, the choux cooling. You’re not actually standing there the whole time. Homemade chocolate profiteroles sound fancy. They’re not. Just choux, mint cream, chocolate sauce. Three components that come together in your kitchen, no mixer required if you don’t want one. The mint stays bright instead of tasting like toothpaste — infuse it right and it’s fresh. Dark chocolate sauce because bittersweet cuts through all that richness. Works as a show-off dessert or a Tuesday night thing. Texture matters here more than anywhere else. Crispy shell. Hollow interior. Whipped cream that holds shape. That contrast — it’s what makes them actually good. No bake time for the cream itself, just steeping and chilling.

What You Need for Chocolate Profiteroles With Mint Cream

Heavy cream. 35% butterfat specifically — whole cream works better than light cream, which breaks easier. Fresh mint leaves. Not dried. Dried tastes like nothing. Agar-agar powder — a thickener that sets the mint cream to a custardy texture without gelatin. Unsalted butter, because salt in choux can mess with the rise. Flour and cocoa powder combined, plus espresso powder which deepens chocolate without making it taste like coffee. Dark chocolate — 65% cacao is the right strength here. Milk, heavy cream, sugar, honey for the sauce. Eggs. Three of them, and they need to be room temperature or the dough won’t emulsify right.

How to Make Chocolate Profiteroles

Start with the mint cream because it needs time. Heat 150 ml cream with sugar and mint leaves over medium heat until small bubbles form at the edges. Not a rolling boil. Just simmering gently. Remove from heat and cover it. Let it steep 12 minutes. You want the mint flavor without bitterness from overheating the cream.

Soak agar-agar in cold water for 7 minutes. Sprinkle it in — don’t dump the powder or it clumps and refuses to dissolve. Reheat the mint cream to very hot, then stir in the agar fast. Do this part quickly or the agar sets in lumps and you’re done. Add the remaining 125 ml cold cream and stir lightly. Pour into a bowl, cover the surface with plastic wrap tight against it so no skin forms. Chill minimum 6 hours. Overnight is better.

Now the choux. Preheat oven to 195°C and line a baking sheet with parchment or silicone. Combine water, milk, butter, sugar, salt in a pot. Bring to a roaring bubble and watch it — remove immediately before it goes full boil or the butter starts to burn.

Add flour, cocoa, espresso powder all at once. Stir fast with a wooden spoon until the dough pulls away from the sides and forms a smooth ball. About 2 minutes. It’ll be sticky but firm.

How to Get Crispy Chocolate Profiteroles

Return the pot to low-medium heat and keep stirring 3 to 5 minutes. You’ll see a thin film develop at the bottom and around the ball. This is essential. That’s what makes the interior crisp instead of cakey. Transfer to a mixing bowl and cool it 6 minutes, stirring occasionally so the eggs won’t cook when you add them.

Add the eggs one by one. Mix briskly but gently. The dough gets glossy, pipeable, holds its shape. Pipe 12 rounds about 3.5 cm across onto the sheet. Space them generously because they spread.

Brush the tops lightly with beaten egg wash. Don’t pool it — too much liquid breaks the crust. Bake 14 minutes at 195°C. Look for a steady rise and darkened color. Lower the temp to 175°C and bake another 13 to 14 minutes until the undersides are rich chocolate brown and feel dry.

Crack the oven door ajar with a wooden spoon. Leave them inside 12 minutes. This is not optional. The hollow interior is everything. Cool completely on a rack. About 1 hour. Use a serrated knife to cut the caps off. Set them aside gently.

Chocolate Profiteroles Tips and Common Mistakes

The chocolate sauce is last-minute. Place chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat milk, cream, sugar, honey to just before boil. Pour it over the chocolate and wait 1.5 minutes without stirring. Then whisk until silky and uniform. It thickens as it cools but stays pourable. Keep it warm over barely simmering water if needed.

Run the infused cream through a fine sieve pressing gently to strain out mint bits. Should be smooth and aromatic. Whip the chilled cream with a mixer on medium-high until medium peaks form — fluffy but not stiff. Transfer to a piping bag with a star tip. Pipe a generous swirl into the bottom half of each chou. Fill it fully but don’t overstuff or it cracks.

Place the caps back on gently. Arrange on plates. Spoon warm chocolate sauce over or serve on the side. Rich bittersweet offset by bright mint cream. Eat soon or store in the fridge up to 4 hours to preserve textures. Don’t make them more than a few hours ahead or the choux absorbs moisture and gets soft.

Mint Chocolate Profiteroles with Dark Chocolate Sauce

By Emma

Prep:

50 min

Cook:

50 min

Total:

1h 40min

Servings:

12 servings

Ingredients

• Mint Chantilly
• 275 ml (1 cup plus 1 tbsp) heavy cream 35 %
• 28 g (2 1/3 tbsp) sugar
• 8 g (1/4 cup tightly packed) fresh mint leaves
• 1 g agar-agar powder
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) cold water
• Chocolate Choux
• 65 ml (1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp) water
• 65 ml (1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp) milk
• 45 g (3 tbsp) unsalted butter
• 4 ml (3/4 tsp) sugar
• pinch salt
• 70 g (1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 15 g (1 tbsp) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp instant espresso powder
• 3 eggs
• Chocolate Sauce
• 125 g (4.5 oz) 65 % dark chocolate, chopped
• 85 ml (1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp) milk
• 50 ml (3 tbsp plus 1 tsp) heavy cream 35 %
• 12 ml (3 tsp) sugar
• 12 ml (3 tsp) honey

Method

1. Mint Chantilly
2. 1 Heat 150 ml of cream with sugar and chopped mint leaves over medium heat until it gently simmers; small bubbles forming at edges, not full boil. Remove from heat; cover and steep 12 minutes. You want infusion without bitterness from overheating.
3. 2 Soak agar-agar in cold water for 7 minutes. Sprinkle powder rather than dumping — clumps ruin suspension.
4. 3 Reheat mint cream gently to very hot but not boiling; stir in agar mixture vigorously until fully dissolved. Do this step fast or agar sets in lumps.
5. 4 Add remaining 125 ml cream cold, stir lightly. Pour into bowl, cover surface tightly with plastic wrap to prevent skin. Chill minimum 6 hours or overnight is best. Will thicken into custardy base to whip.
6. Chocolate Choux
7. 5 Oven rack middling height. Preheat to 195°C (380°F). Line baking sheet with silicone or parchment.
8. 6 Combine water, milk, butter, sugar, salt in pot. Bring to roaring bubble, watch closely. Remove immediately before full boil to protect butter from burning.
9. 7 Add flour, cocoa, espresso powder all at once. Stir fast with wooden spoon until dough pulls away from sides and forms smooth clump, about 2 minutes. Warning: dough will be sticky but firm.
10. 8 Return pot to low-medium heat. Keep stirring 3-5 minutes to dry the dough further — you'll see a thin film develop at bottom and around the ball. Essential to get crisp interior choux.
11. 9 Transfer dough to mixer bowl or separate container. Cool 6 minutes stirring occasionally to prevent premature egg cooking.
12. 10 Add eggs one by one. Mix briskly but gently. Dough should become glossy, pipeable but hold its shape.
13. 11 Pipe 12 roughly 3.5 cm (1 1/2 inch) rounds onto sheet. Space generously, they spread slightly.
14. 12 Lightly brush tops with beaten egg wash but avoid pooling. Too much liquid breaks crust.
15. 13 Bake 14 minutes at 195°C — look for steady rise and deepened color. Lower temp to 175°C (350°F). Bake another 13-14 minutes until undersides are rich chocolate brown and feel dry.
16. 14 Crack oven door ajar with wooden spoon. Leave choux inside 12 minutes to crisp and dry inside out.
17. 15 Cool completely on rack, about 1 hour. Hollow interior crucial.
18. 16 Use serrated knife to cut caps off. Set aside gently.
19. Chocolate Sauce
20. 17 Place chocolate in heatproof bowl.
21. 18 Heat milk, cream, sugar, honey to just before boil. Pour immediately over chocolate. Hold 1 1/2 minutes, no stirring.
22. 19 Whisk carefully until silky, uniform texture. Sauce thickens as it cools but stays pourable. Keep warm over barely simmering water if needed.
23. Assembly
24. 20 Run infused cream through fine sieve pressing gently to strain out mint bits. Should be smooth and aromatic.
25. 21 Whip chilled cream with electric mixer on med-high till medium peaks form — fluffy but not stiff.
26. 22 Transfer to piping bag with star tip. Pipe a generous swirl into bottom half of each chou. Fill fully but don’t overstuff or it’ll crack.
27. 23 Place caps back on gently.
28. 24 Arrange profiteroles on plates.
29. 25 Spoon warm chocolate sauce over or serve on side. Rich bittersweet offset by bright mint cream. Eat soon or store in fridge up to 4 hours to preserve textures.

Nutritional information

Calories

360

Protein

6g

Carbs

24g

Fat

26g

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Frequently Asked Questions About Mint Chocolate Profiteroles

Can I make the choux ahead of time? Bake them the day before. Store in an airtight container. They’ll soften slightly but still taste good. Fill them no more than a few hours before eating or the cream makes them soggy.

What if the choux doesn’t rise? Either the oven temp was off or the dough didn’t get dried out enough in the pot. That 3 to 5 minute stir over heat — can’t skip it. Temperature matters more than you think. Invest in an oven thermometer.

The mint cream broke when I whisked it. What happened? Whisking too fast or the agar didn’t dissolve fully. Stir the agar into hot cream more carefully next time. Whisk gently. Broken cream won’t hold peaks.

Can I use a different mint filling? Straight whipped cream works. Add extract if you want mint flavor. But then it’s just mint chocolate profiteroles, not the infused version. Not the same.

How do I know when the choux is done baking? Undersides should be dark chocolate brown and feel dry. Not pale. Not soft. Crisp. If you’re not sure, bake another 2 minutes. Better overdone than underdone on choux.

Should I make the dark chocolate sauce in advance? Make it up to 2 hours before. Reheat gently over barely simmering water. It hardens as it cools so keep it warm. Cold chocolate sauce is too thick.