The origin of profitteroles

Profiteroles are among those “evergreen” sweets that tradition mixes with modernity and which never go out of fashion. This surely thanks to their particular taste and their greediness, which manages to make everyone agree and to tickle the palate of young and old.

Although the original recipe wants cream puffs filled with cream and the melted chocolate coating, today it is possible to find different types, with filling in custard, chantilly cream or even ice cream, and covers of other flavors, such as, for example, the caramel. A way to satisfy the tastes of all, without exclusion, as we have also done at the tables of our Gambrinus!

In fact, profiteroles are very popular among the Neapolitans, dominating their Sunday lunches and the majority of celebratory ceremonies, and it is very easy to find them in the classic pyramid-shaped courses (croquembouche), as well as in small portions to take away, to satisfy a small and sudden sin of throat.

But what is the story of this sweet that is so particular?

The origins

The name easily brings us back to the French lands.

The origin of this gluttony would be found at the court of Caterina de ‘Medici and it was also assumed the exact moment of the invention: his marriage to Henry II of France.

It is said, in fact, that Caterina had brought with her all her recipes, including one of her chefs, the famous Popelini who, in 1540, would give life to this type of cake, creating the dough for cream puffs.

The fame of the profiteroles, however, has spread only in the seventeenth century and, in our own Italy, there are other nominal variants, such as the Florentine called “bongo”, which suggests, therefore, a different origin of the sweet, for how similar, instead, as a product; in Messina and the province, however, there is what is called the “black and white”.

Today, these delicious treats are also used as a garnish for the equally famous Saint Honoré cake.