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| Philadelphia Cream Cheese Profiteroles Au Chocolate
The first time I ate profiteroles was in a charming bed and breakfast called The Painted Lady. Built in the early eighteen hundreds, the delightful Victorian home which was renovated into the bed and breakfast, restaurant by a young couple with the hope of a future as restaurateurs. The main floor rooms were decorated in old style charm; antique chairs and tables dressed in crisp white linens, set with polished silver and white porcelain china, each table was ready with a hot-pot of fresh made tea, in a dainty antique teapot. An elegant yet comfortable atmosphere.
 My business was just two blocks away from the Painted Lady so it was easy to slip out of work to have delicious gourmet lunch and be back in time for my next appointment.
The food was as delightful as the surroundings. The menu was well-balanced with light sandwiches, flavorful salads, savory soups and my favorite, Fettuccine Alfredo. The name of the chef escapes me at the moment, however her food made a lasting impression.
I was always eager to finish my meal with a sumptuous dessert My first choice was always their Profiteroles Au Chocolate. The profiteroles, made fresh every day and filled with home-made vanilla bean ice cream, topped with a stunning home-made chocolate fudge, silvered almonds and whipped cream. Yum!
Unfortunately, the Painted Lady Bed and Breakfast closed it’s doors. Sadly, I felt cheated out of my sweet lunch indulgence forever, or so I thought. I’m not much of a baker but when I began having cravings for the Panted Lady Profiteroles I was forced to learn how to make them myself. I was stunned when I figured out how easy profiteroles were to make and extremely please when my first batch came out perfectly! I still haven’t mastered the hot fudge sauce the restaurant poured over there dreamy dessert but I still manage to scarf down my version without much of a fuss.
Profiteroles are a French dessert made with Pate A` Chou, a light pastry dough, used for cream puffs, eclairs and other fabulous sweet finales. Pate A` Chou can be filled with a variety of decadent creams and sauces. Profiteroles are generally filled with ice cream, Creme Patisserie or Creme Chantilly.
This recipe is my desert entry for Paula Dean’s, Real Women of Philadelphia cooking contest. I’ve added cream cheese to the Pate A` Chou and stuffed the profiteroles with chocolate morsels and cream cheese.
Pate A` Chou
4 ounces Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs
Bring water, butter and salt to a bowl, add flour all at once, and stir vigorously till mixture pulls away from the sides of the bowl
  beat in eggs one at a time well blended, add 2 ounces of cream cheese, into batter till smooth and all cream cheese is incorporated
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Remove from heat and add eggs 1 at a time till well blended, add 2 ounces cubed cream cheese and beat vigorously until batter is smooth, add 2 ounces of cream cheese, beat vigorously into batter till smooth and no cream cheese pieces can be seen
Fill a large pastry bag with dough, using a large tip, pipe small rounds onto a baking sheet to make the first layer
using remaining 2 ounces of cream cheese place 1/4 cube onto the first layer then add 3-4 semi sweet chocolate morsels, pipe top layer over the filling taking care to leave no open spaces. Place in preheated, 400 degree over and bake for 30 minutes, reduce heat to 350 and bake additional 5 minutes.
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Remove profiteroles from cookie sheet and serve hot with vanilla ice cream, hot fudge sauce, whipped cream and slivered almonds.
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Thanks’ Jules, I was afraid that the cream cheese would make the profiteroles go flat or alter the consistency but surprisingly, they were creamy and very light. We tried them with Snickers Bars instead of chocolate chips. They were very yummy but very rich. Both the cream cheese and the chocolate bar made for a powerful sugar rush!Have a great weekend!
This looks so yummy! I make profitoroles all the time, but have never made them with cream cheese. Thank you for sharing!