Profiteroles can be tricky to make and prepare and are often the chosen dessert for special occasions and dinner parties. With this in mind is there a way you can reduce the stress of preparing your profiteroles?
Can You Freeze Profiterole?
Yes, you can freeze profiteroles for up to 3 months. However, they do not freeze well, especially if they have been filled. We would recommend only freezing the choux part.
Do Do Profiteroles freeze well? No
Can you refreeze Profiteroles? No
How To Freeze Profiteroles
Unfortunately, you probably shouldnāt attempt to freeze your fully assembled profiteroles with the cream.
Instead, we will talk about how you can successfully freeze the choux pastry itself in balls so that you can defrost the choux balls and defrost and make up your profiteroles freshly when you need:
- Prepare Your Choux Pastry: Make your choux pastry and pipe it into balls as you usually would. Then bake them and allow them to cool completely. You can leave them on the baking tray and parchment to cool.
- Flash Freeze: Once your choux pastry balls have cooled, pop the baking tray into the freezer. The idea of this is to freeze them so that they arenāt touching and freeze individually so it makes it easier for them to separate out later.
- Bag Them Up: After a couple of hours, you can take the choux pastry out of the freezer and transfer them to the container or bag you will be freezing them in. You need to keep them as airtight and protected as possible so a container with an airtight lid works best.
- Seal and Freeze: Seal the lid tightly or squeeze out any excess air from the freezer bag and seal. Then, place them back into the freezer until you need them.
Then when you defrost, you can pipe the cream into them and add chocolate as usual for a delicious dessert with half the work.
How to Freeze Eclairs
When it comes to preparing and freezing eclairs, you need to use the same method outlined above.
This is because you can freeze the choux pastry in an eclair shape but we wouldnāt suggest you fully assemble it with cream and then freeze it. The cream will suffer the same taste and texture change as if you were freezing profiteroles.
3 Tips for Freezing Profiteroles
Now you know how to freeze them, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing profiteroles to have the best results:
Avoid Cream
The cream element of profiteroles is one of the worst elements to freeze. If you’re going to freeze profiteroles then freeze them before filling them.
Don’t Bother
This might be a strange tip but because profiteroles do not freeze well then one of the best things you can do is not bother in the first place. They’ll keep for a few days in an airtight container in the fridge.
Keep the Air Out
When storing the profiteroles, make sure your container is completely airtight otherwise the choux will dry out. If you’re not sure, then wrap the container in a sheet of cling film.
How Long Can You Freeze Profiteroles?
One of the best things about choux pastry is just how long you can freeze it successfully. You can make your choux pastry balls ready to assemble into profiteroles for up to 3 months.
This is plenty of time to use up your profiteroles and make ahead of time for when you need.
Profiteroles will only last for around 2 days in the fridge before they begin to turn quite soggy.
How Do You Defrost Profiteroles?
The only way you should really thaw out your profiteroles is in the fridge slowly.
This is because you want the pastry to retain as much of its form, texture and flavour as possible and if you try and speed up the process then you run the risk of making the pastry rubbery or difficult to eat.
So, take out the choux pastry you need from the freezer and pop them into the fridge to thaw out overnight. The next day you should be able to assemble with the rest of the ingredients and serve.
Can You Refreeze Profiteroles?
If you have thawed out your profiteroles, then it isnāt recommended that you refreeze them again.
Choux pastry is a delicate type of pastry and it can suffer a little when frozen. If you’re considering refreezing, then there is a chance that the profiteroles have already been fully assembled with cream, and we would recommend that for best results, you only freeze the choux pastry and not the cream.
We’ve written about the problems with freezing cream previously.
Do Profiteroles Freeze Well?
Profiteroles can be frozen fully made and assembled and could still be enjoyable but they donāt freeze well.
The cream changes in structure which can affect the taste of the whole dessert. However, you can freeze the choux pastry with success and then go on to enjoy your dessert made with fresh cream and chocolate.
Related FAQs
If youāve still got questions about freezing profiteroles or choux buns in general, then these may help:
Yes! This is the best way to freeze profiteroles, as the element you’ll have an issue with is any filling they contain.
Unfortunately, any filling that has a cream-base will not freeze well. Instead, it is far better to freeze the profiteroles empty and make the filling fresh.
Sources
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