Pâte à choux
Choux pastry
Pâte à choux: cooked French egg dough that puffs hollow for choux buns, éclairs and gougères
FrenchPâte à choux is the cooked dough at the heart of French pâtisserie, piped into éclairs, profiteroles, religieuses and chouquettes in Paris bakeries, and turned savoury with cheese into gougères in Burgundy. Water, milk and butter are boiled, flour is beaten in, the paste is dried on the heat and eggs are beaten in until glossy; in the oven the water turns to steam and puffs each bun hollow. The common mistake is opening the oven early, which makes the puffs collapse. Chef's tip: add the last egg a little at a time; the paste is ready when it falls from the spoon in a thick V-shaped ribbon.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup milk
- 3 ½ oz unsalted butterdiced
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 5 ½ oz plain floursifted
- 4 eggsbeaten
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What you'll need
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 400°F (350°F fan) and line two trays. Bring the ½ cup water, ½ cup milk, 3 ½ oz unsalted butter, 1 pinch salt and 1 tsp sugar to a rolling boil, so the butter has melted.
3 minStep 2: Take off the heat, tip in all the 5 ½ oz plain flour and beat hard with a wooden spoon until smooth. Return to a medium heat and beat for 2 minutes, until the paste comes away from the pan and a thin film forms on the bottom.
3 minStep 3: Tip into a bowl and cool for 5 minutes. Beat in the 4 eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition, until the paste is glossy and drops from the spoon in a thick V shape. You may not need all the egg.
5 minStep 4: Pipe 3 cm mounds or 12 cm lines on the trays and bake for 25 minutes without opening the door, until well puffed, deep golden and light when lifted.
25 minStep 5: Pierce each one with a skewer to let the steam out and return to the switched-off oven for 5 minutes to dry. Cool on a rack before filling.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 150 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 10 g
- Fat
- 10 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pâte à choux take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of milk?
- Oat, soy or almond milk, same amount (use unsweetened for savoury dishes).
- What can I use instead of unsalted butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
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