profiterole

American  

[pruh-fit-uh-rohl] / prəˈfɪt əˌroʊl /

noun

1. a small cream puff with a sweet or savory filling, as of cream and chocolate sauce.

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profiterole British  

/ prəˈfɪtəˌrəʊl, ˈprɒfɪtəˌrəʊl, ˌprɒfɪtəˈrəʊl /

noun

1. a small case of choux pastry with a sweet or savoury filling

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Etymology

Origin of profiterole

1505–15; < French, said to be diminutive of profit profit

Explanation

A profiterole is a small French pastry that's filled with cream and often drizzled with chocolate. You can think of a profiterole as a bite-sized cream puff. This delicacy is made by baking airy choux pastry and then piping pastry cream, whipped cream, or even ice cream inside. A particularly impressive way to serve profiteroles is to pile them into a tower that's held together with strands of caramel — a fancy dessert called a croquembouche. In French, profiterole means "small profit," or "small treat given as a reward."

Example Sentences

I shouldn’t have to tell you where to find the perfect profiterole when Google exists.

From The Guardian • Jan. 19, 2020

Dessert was crème brûlée, passion fruit mousse and a profiterole topped with chocolate sauce.

From New York Times • Jan. 17, 2017

There’s a dish featuring crab, tête de veau, a savoury profiterole and “cucumber and green apple water” that manages to taste of none of these things.

From The Guardian • Oct. 24, 2014

Though the couple first met on a polo field when both of them were four, their romance was sparked not by a sudden glance or even a heartfelt declaration but, well, by a profiterole actually.

From Time Magazine Archive