Chocolate Cream Puffs | Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts

These chocolate cream puffs (profiteroles) are the chocolate lover’s answer to classic cream puff pastries! They’re easy to make and totally bakery-worthy, filled with fluffy chocolate whipped cream and drizzled with ganache.

Nothing beats a fresh homemade pastry, from chocolate croissants to Nutella donuts. These delicate cream puffs are another firm favorite!

A chocolate cream puff topped with chocolate ganache on a white plate, with more cream puffs on a plate in the background.

After all these years, I finally mastered my husband’s cream puffs recipe. Naturally, I couldn’t resist making a chocolate version! These chocolate cream puffs are just as light and crisp, filled with fluffy chocolate whipped cream, and finished with a dollop of silky chocolate ganache. If you loved the original, I can’t wait for you to try these.

Why I Love These Chocolate Cream Puffs

Quick and easy pastry dough. Traditional cream puff or profiterole recipes use French pâte à choux pastry. I make an easy homemade version with 3 ingredients, plus water. It’s ready in 10 minutes on the stovetop.
Perfectly puffed. I have to give my husband his credit here, these are the best cream puffs! Follow the recipe exactly as it’s written and they come out puffed inside and golden outside. Fresh chocolate cream puffs are impossible to resist.
The perfect sweet finish. Even after a heavier meal, like prime rib, I still crave something sweet, and these cute chocolate cream puffs are just the right size. They’re light and flaky, and just sweet enough. They also make great finger food at parties.

What You’ll Need

In addition to water, you need only 3 ingredients to make a simple choux pastry. Meanwhile, the filling is a chocolatey version of my easy homemade whipped cream flavored with cocoa powder.

Below are some quick notes on the ingredients. You’ll find the full, printable recipe with amounts in the recipe card after the post.

Butter – To melt with the water. I use unsalted butter, but salted will work, too.
Flour – All-purpose flour produces the most consistent results. I haven’t yet tested this recipe with alternative or gluten-free flours.
Eggs
Heavy Cream – I recommend full-fat heavy whipping cream.
Cocoa Powder – Unsweetened, natural cocoa powder or your preferred type. Dutch-processed cocoa powder will give the whipped cream a more intense flavor.
Powdered Sugar – Also called confectioner’s sugar or icing sugar.
Vanilla

How to Make Chocolate Cream Puffs

First things first, we’ll prepare a batch of crispy, steamy puff pastries and get them ready to fill. Follow the steps below, and scroll to the recipe card for the printable instructions.

Flour added to melted butter and water in a saucepan. — Boil butter and water, then add the flour.

Pastry dough ingredients coming together in a saucepan. — Boil butter and water, then add the flour.

Melt the butter. To start, combine butter and water in a saucepan and bring that to a rolling boil.
Add flour. Next, stir the flour into the boiling mixture, and lower the heat. Whisk vigorously over low heat for a minute as the dough comes together in a ball.

Eggs being added to puff pastry dough in a saucepan. — Add the eggs.

Puff pastry dough inside a saucepan with a wooden spoon. — Add the eggs.

Add eggs. Take the pan off the heat and beat in the eggs with a wooden spoon. As you continue beating, the dough should form a smooth batter.

Scoops of pastry dough portioned onto a lined baking sheet. — Portion and bake the cream puffs.

A knife piercing the side of a baked cream puff on a baking sheet. — Portion and bake the cream puffs.

Bake the cream puffs. Finally, use a large cookie scoop to portion ¼ cups of dough onto a lined baking sheet. Make sure to space the cream puffs about 3” apart. Then, bake at 400ºF for 35-40 minutes until the pastries are puffed and golden.
Cool gradually. Take the cream puffs out of the oven. Using a knife, gently pierce the side of each puff. Place them back on the baking sheet and return the puffs to the oven for 20 minutes, this time with the door open. Afterward, move the cream puffs to the countertop to cool completely.

Filling the Cream Puffs

Once the cream puffs are baked and fully cooled, prepare a quick chocolate whipped cream and then fill them:

The tip of a piping bag filled with chocolate whipped cream held over an open cream puff on a wire rack. — Prepare the whipped cream.

Close up of a filled chocolate cream puff in the corner of a baking pan with more filled puffs in the background. — Prepare the whipped cream.

Make the chocolate whipped cream. Beat heavy cream in the bowl of your stand mixer until soft peaks form. Then, add the cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Whip again until you reach stiff peaks.
Fill the cream puffs. Once your cream puffs have cooled, use a serrated knife to trim the top ⅓ from each pastry. Add a generous spoonful of chocolate whipped cream to each cream puff (or use a piping bag), and place the top back on.

A spoon dripping chocolate ganache on top of a prepared chocolate cream puff.

Easy Homemade Chocolate Ganache

Chocolate ganache is optional, but I love drizzling it over the finished chocolate cream puffs! It’s very easy to make by melting semisweet chocolate with heavy cream. You can use chocolate chips, but chopped chocolate will melt more smoothly. This is the same ganache that I use for my chocolate drip cake. To make the chocolate ganache:

Microwave heavy cream for 45 seconds.
Add the chocolate and let it stand for 2 minutes.
Stir well until the chocolate has completely melted into the cream.

Afterward, spoon the chocolate ganache over the cream puffs and let it stand for an hour or so before serving. Alternatively, you can dust the tops of the chocolate puffs with powdered sugar or cocoa powder. It’s up to you!

A chocolate cream puff topped with chocolate ganache cut in half on a white plate.

Recipe Tips

Cool the cream puffs completely. Make sure to follow the steps to cool the cream puffs gradually, and make sure they’re fully cooled before you fill them. Otherwise, the heat will melt the chocolate whipped cream.
Use cold ingredients. When making the chocolate whipped cream filling, make sure your heavy cream is cold from the fridge. It also helps to chill the bowl of your stand mixer in the freezer for 5-10 minutes before you add the cream. This ensures it whips up smooth and fluffy.
Enjoy right away. Like most pastries, cream puffs taste the best when eaten fresh. Serve them shortly after you’ve filled them.
Bake for long enough. Your cream puff shells should be dry and lightly golden when they come out of the oven the first time. Take care not to underbake them, or they won’t hold up once you add the filling.

Baked cream puffs on a lined baking sheet.

How to Store

Make ahead. If I’m preparing these cream puffs for a party, I’ll make the pastry shells the day before and wait to fill them when I’m ready to serve. Store the shells in an airtight container at room temperature.
Refrigerate. I mentioned it earlier, but cream puffs always taste best on the day they’re made. That being said, if you have leftovers, store the filled puffs airtight in the fridge for 1-2 days.
Freeze. In a pinch, you can freeze the unfilled, fully baked, and cooled cream puff shells for up to 1 month.

More Homemade Pastry Recipes

Chocolate Ganache (optional)

Preheat oven to 400º F
In a small saucepan melt butter and water together until it comes to a rolling boil.
1 cup water, 1/2 cup unsalted butter
Stir in the flour, reducing heat to low. Stir vigorously, over low heat for 1 minute, or until the dough forms a ball. Remove from heat.
1 cup all-purpose flour
Using a wooden spoon, beat in all of the eggs at once. Continue beating until it forms a smooth batter.
4 large eggs
Drop 1/4 cup of dough (I used a large cookie scoop) about 3 inches apart on a lined baking sheet.
Bake for 35-40 minute, until puffed and golden.
Remove from the oven and gently pierce each cream puff with a knife. Return to the oven, with the door open for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove from the oven and cool completely.
While they are cooling, prepare the whipped cream. Using a stand mixer whisk the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add cocoa powder, powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until stiff peaks.
2 cups heavy cream, 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/3 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Once the puffs are cool, using a serrated knife, cut the top 1/3 off each puff. Fill each puff with a scoop of whipped cream. Place the top back on.
Dust with powdered sugar or prepare the chocolate ganache.
Heat the heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl for 45 seconds. Add the chocolate chips and let it stand for 2 minutes. Stir until the chocolate chips are completely melted.
1/3 cup heavy cream, 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Spoon the ganache over the top of the prepared cream puffs. Let stand for about an hour for the chocolate to set up before serving.

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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