Savoury Profiteroles with Smoked Salmon

These savoury profiteroles with smoked salmon and cream cheese are a delicious canapé or finger food with drinks, and are a light and different dish for buffet or special brunch. Light and crisp, these are a different type of savoury choux buns to my cheese grougeres, but both recipes are fantastic for entertaining (and both freeze really well too!)

Jump to:

• Why we love this recipe
• Ingredients notes
• How to make savoury profiteroles
• FAQ
• My recipe tips
• Serving Ideas
• Storage/freezing
• More finger food recipes for you
• Savoury Profiteroles with Smoked Salmon

Why we love this recipe

• Delicious canapé – they are eaten in 2-3 bites, and aren’t crumbly, making them a perfect finger food.
• They look impressive, when actually they are very easy to make!
• The profiteroles can be made ahead and frozen, making them a perfect make ahead party food.

Ingredients notes

• Plain flour – or AP flour
• Eggs – support the light structure of the choux buns and create that lovely crisp outer shell.
• Butter – unsalted butter.
• Cream cheese – I like to use full fat cream cheese in this recipe.
• Smoked Salmon – lox would also be delicious.
• Horseradish – Horseradish is optional. Here I have used creamed horseradish (aka horseradish cream), but if you can get jarred grated horseradish, use that, but try adding ⅓ teaspoon first, test it’s not too fiery, then increase to your taste.
• Dill – fresh dill. You can use chopped chives or a little fresh basil in place of the dill.

How to make savoury profiteroles

(For full, detailed recipe please see recipe card at the end of the post. These points and images are to assist you.)

1. Heat the water and butter until the butter has melted.
2. Add the flour and beat with a spoon until smooth.
3. Add the beaten egg a little at a time.
4. Whisk until thick.
5. Spoon onto a lined baking tin.
6. Bake for 10 mins, reduce the oven temperature and bake until lightly golden and crisp.
7. Make a small hole in each profiterole to let the steam out and cool on wire rack.
8. When completely cold, fill with smoked salmon and horseradish cream cheese.

FAQ

My recipe tips

• Add the flour all in one go – gluten is activated by water, this way all of the flour is activated at the same time, and therefore the choux buns will rise evenly.
• Make a small hole in the side of the profiterole as soon as you take them out of the oven. This will allow steam to escape, leaving them crispy.
• These canapés can be filled an hour or two ahead of time.
• No horseradish – mix the cream cheese with a little cracked black pepper, or add some finely chopped fresh herbs. Dill, basil and chives would all be delicious.
• You can leave the cream cheese plain if you wish, but give it a few stirs with a spoon to soften it to make it easier to fill the profiteroles.

Serving Ideas

• As a canapé – alongside pork and apple sausage rolls, smoked salmon blinis, mushroom tapenade (and see other ideas below)
• As a starter/appetiser – serve 2-3 smoked salmon profiteroles with a crisp green salad.

Storage/freezing

• You can store profiteroles, unfilled, in an airtight container for up to 24 hours. They will lose some of their crispness, so I recommend popping them in the oven at 150˚C/300˚F for 5 minutes to make them crisp again. Cool before filling.
• Freezing: Place the unfilled cooled profiteroles on a tray or freezer proof plate, not touching, and place in the freezer. Once completely frozen, transfer to a container or bag and freeze for up to 4 weeks. Defrost in the fridge overnight on a wire rack (to stop the bottoms from becoming soggy) then place in a warm oven (150˚C/300˚F) to crisp them up.

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