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These really are easier than you'd think!

However, don't try them for the first time when having a dinner party:) I don't know what I did wrong the first time, but mine were flat. Unfortunately we had guests over for dinner, and I had to serve plain ice cream with lemon curd for dessert instead (this was delicious anyway). Since then I've found a recipe I really love from Giada DeLaurentis:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/profiteroles-with-ricotta-mascarpone-recipe/index.html

They are really easy! I make them all the time. Instead of ice cream, I use whipped cream and strawberries (when they are in season of course). The best recipe I found for it is in Larousse Gatronomique (my bibile).

I used the pate a choux recipe from Julia Child

Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home http://www.amazon.com/reader/0375404317?%5Fencoding=UTF8&ref%5F=sib%5Fdp%5Fpt

It was hands down one of the best illustrated recipes I've ever come across. It's not hard to make but it does need a bit of finessing and her recipe is flawless.

I use that Julia Child recipe, too. It always turns out so wondrously perfect that for the longest time I was perplexed when people mentioned difficulties with choux pastry.

I love the recipe from the Balthazar cookbook. Fail-safe, even when dinner guests are present and multiple bottles of wine have been consumed.

A question, and correct me if I am misunderstanding all of this, but do these recipes call for filling the profiterole with ice cream?

I've never heard of or seen this. I thought all profiteroles are filled with cream. At least here in Australia they are.

Traditional profiteroles must be filled with ice cream. The exact same pastry and shape is also used for cream puffs, which are filled with, well, cream.
Just finished pate a choux section in pastry school. The key to not getting flat choux is the right amount of eggs. Too few and they won't rise enough, too many and they'll collapse.
But yeah, sooo much easier than people seem to think.

I think most Commonwealth countries only know profiteroles with cream or some flavoured variation of. With Ice cream it sounds a bit of a kids desert, put some jelly with it. Poncy Arctic Roll...

Making the dough really is very simple! After I made a few batches successfully and I learned how to make pastry cream there's no need for me to ever go to Papa Beard again. It just doesn't compare to something fresh. Ice cream also sounds like a good filling, but I need an ice cream maker first. You know, to keep everything home made :-)

We had profiteroles filled with gelato and topped with chocolate sauce at a restaurant called Marcella's here in Columbus. They were amazing! I've been wanting to try to make some. Thanks for the recipe links.