Cream Puff!

A cream puff is a dessert made from a filled choux pastry (p'te choux), a warm dough made with water, butter, flour and eggs. The eggs cause the pastry to puff up into a hollow ball which can be filled by injection or by slicing off the top of the pastry which is later replaced. The filling is typically whipped cream or custard. Cream puffs can be topped with powdered sugar, frosting, fruit, or chocolate.

The cream puff originated in Italy, and is said to have been created by Poelini, a chef to Catherine de Medici. It was then brought over to France in the 16th century. It debuted at the Wisconsin State Fair in 1924. In 2005, over 340,000 cream puffs were sold at the fair, taking in a profit of over $1 million.

Currently, there is a growing appreciation of cream puffs. Several companies in Japan have popularized the pastry, including Choux Factory and Beard Papa.

A profiterole, the term generally used outside the US, is a cream puff filled with confectioners' custard, Chantilly cream, ice cream, jam etc. and typically topped with a chocolate sauce. Savoury profiteroles are filled with a cheese mixture, game puree etc. and are generally used as a garnish for soup. Profiterole comes from the French diminutive of profit and originally meant a small gratuity.