Pumpkin Spice Profiteroles with Maple Cinnamon Icing; learn how to make these crisp choux pastry treats filled with an inviting pumpkin spice Creme Patissiere and drizzled with a maple cinnamon icing!
I’m a sucker for tacky novelties, and even if the notorious classic Pumpkin Spice Latte is far too sweet even for a sugar-fiend like me, I can still fully appreciate its glory. The idea of Pumpkin Spice; Sweet seasonal pumpkin blended with sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and more. It really is a treat of a flavour combination.
However, food blogs and Pinterest feeds are over-saturated with it at this time of year. From September to December we are lambasted with wall-to-wall PUMPKIN EVERYTHING. Once you scratch through the vibrant orange surface though, most of these recipes and ideas are just variations on Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Soup, or Pumpkin Bread. Tasty, but uninspiring.
I wanted to make something a bit different with my pumpkin this year. Enter PUMPKIN SPICE PROFITEROLES.
Now, it must be said that Profiteroles have a bit of a questionable reputation in the UK.They’re a bit old-hat now, having been a common sight on a 1980s dessert trolley (btw BRING BACK THE DESSERT TROLLEY), and a mainstay of set-menu office Christmas meals. Honestly, most commercially available profiteroles are also pretty terrible. Cold, soft, starchy pastry meagerly filled with stiff plain whipped cream and blobbed with an almost unidentifiable chocolate substance.
These Pumpkin Spice Profiteroles are, thankfully, very different to the mediocre standard many of us know.
Crisp, buttery choux pastry puffs generously filled with a vivid orange spiced pumpkin Creme Patissiere, and drizzled with a sweet cinnamon maple icing.
Novice bakers, please do not be scared away by the thought of making the choux pastry or the Creme Patissiere. Choux pastry can seem intimidating, but it is far from impossible, and if a lazy impatient soul like me can make it, then so can you! Even if it takes a couple of attempts before you get it perfect, watching a perfectly puffed profiterole expanding to crispy perfection is worth the effort. The same goes for the Creme Patissiere, that is, a posh term for thick French style custard, it’s surprisingly simple to make and is oh so rewarding to eat.
Below, you’ll find the full recipe for these Pumpkin Spice Profiteroles. I’ll walk you through how these are made and finished step-by-step until you have a plate of golden, generously filled little pastry delights. (The Maverick Baking way, obviously.)
Pumpkin Spice Profiteroles with Maple Cinnamon Icing
Pumpkin Spice Profiteroles with Maple Cinnamon Icing; learn how to make these crisp choux pastry treats filled with an inviting pumpkin spice Creme Patissiere and drizzled with a maple cinnamon icing!
Notes
BE A MAVERICK: Spiking the Creme Patissiere with some spiced rum wouldn't be a bad idea...
Ingredients
For the pumpkin spice Creme Patissiere:
- 500ml milk
- 150g pumpkin puree (or cooked, mashed butternut squash/sweet potato)
- 150g caster sugar
- 3 tbsp cornflour
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
For the choux pastry:
- 100ml water
- 50g butter
- 80g plain flour
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 2 large eggs AND 2 large egg whites, beaten together
For the maple cinnamon icing:
- 200g icing sugar
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
For the pumpkin spice Creme Patissiere:
- In a medium saucepan, heat your milk.
- As the milk heats up, whisk the remaining Creme Patissiere ingredients together in a large jug/bowl until smooth.
- Once the milk is lightly steaming, pour it into the mixture in a slow, steady stream as you whisk continuously. Doing this will prevent your eggs from scrambling!
- Pour the milky mixture back into your milk pan and heat over a medium heat, whisking constantly, until it begins to bubble and become a very thick, shiny custard. Cook for a further minute once you reach this stage.
- Remove the pan from the heat, and allow the mixture to cool completely while you make the profiteroles that will be filled with it.
For the choux pastry:
- Place a medium saucepan with the water and butter over a medium-high heat until bubbling, stirring gently to help melt the butter.
- Once the water/butter is hot and fully melted together, tip in the flour, sugar and salt.
- Stir or whisk this mixture continuously until you have a fairly smooth dough that is beginning to stick to the bottom of your pan.
- Take the pan of dough off the heat and leave it for 20-30 minutes to allow it to cool. We need to do this to ensure that the eggs won’t scramble in the hot dough!
- Once cooled to the point it is just warm to the touch, vigorously beat the eggs into the dough. Do this just a little at a time, with a spoon or with electric beaters. YOU MAY NOT NEED ALL THE EGG. The dough should be glossy and (as James Morton says) it should very softly flow from the spoon like molten lava from a volcano.
- Once glossy, chill the dough for at least 30 minutes in the fridge, if you have time. This can help the dough to hold its shape better when baked.
- Meanwhile, preheat your oven - 200 C / 180 C fan / 400 F/ gas mark 6 - and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
- Use a piping bag or a couple of teaspoons to place small rounds of the dough onto the lined tray, leaving at least 4cm space between them. If any of the round have little nipples, flatten them with a wet finger.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then lower the oven temperature - 170 C / 150 C fan / 325 F / gas mark 3 - and bake for another 10 minutes, until they are puffed and golden.
- Take the tray out of the oven and carefully poke a small hole in the bottom of each pastry with a sharp knife. This will let out some steam and help them crisp up nicely.
- Leave to cool completely.
- Once they are cooled, fill a piping bag (or plastic freezer/sandwich bag with a corner cut off) with your Creme Patissiere.
- Pipe each pastry puff full with the Creme Patissiere. You may not need it all!
- Finally, make your icing.
For the maple cinnamon icing:
- In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, syrup, cinnamon and a tablespoon or two of water until you reach a nice dipping/drizzling consistency.
- Either dunk or drizzle your filled profiteroles with the maple cinnamon icing and leave for 5-10 minutes to firm up a little.
- Enjoy!
