Enjoy a cream filled pastry on National Cream Puff Day! Dessert and pastry lovers alike get to celebrate this delicious French creation on January 2.
Originating in France, cream puffs are also known as profiterole and choux a la creme. Cream puffs are a French dessert pastry filled with whipped cream, pastry cream, ice cream or custard. They may be served plain or are sometimes decorated with chocolate sauce, caramel sauce or dusted with powdered sugar.
Borrowed from the French, the word “profiterole” has existed in English since 1604. The “cream puff” has been found on United States restaurant menus since around 1851.
A cream puff is a choux pastry ball filled with whipped cream, pastry cream, or ice cream. The puffs may be decorated or left plain or garnished with chocolate sauce, caramel, or a dusting of powdered sugar.
- The origin of both the pastry and its name profiterole are obscure. It was introduced in France by Caterina de’ Medici, wife of Henry II of France, who brought from Tuscany several recipes, including choux pastry and Profiterole.
- The word profiterole (also spelled prophitrole, profitrolle, profiterolle) has existed in English since the 16th century, borrowed from French. The original meaning in both English and French is unclear. It later came to mean a kind of roll ‘baked under the ashes’. A 17th-century French recipe for a Potage de profiteolles or profiterolles describes a soup of dried small breads (presumably the profiteroles) simmered in almond broth and garnished with cockscombs, truffles, and so on.
- The cream puff has appeared on US restaurant menus since 1851, if not earlier
- The record for world’s largest cream puff, weighed 125.5 pounds. It was created August 11, 2011 at the Wisconsin State Fair by Dave Schmidt and Team Cream Puff. The Wisconsin State Fair is known for its dairy bakery that has been producing cream puffs during the fair since 1924.
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Is this a Guinness book world record?