The basic pâte à choux / choux pastry recipe, great for baking French classic pastries such as chouquettes, profiteroles, gougères…
In France, choux pastry (pâte à choux as we say in French) is the base of many puff pastries such as
- chouquettes: simply topped with sugar
- éclairs: choux pastry with a long shape filled with pastry cream, with different flavors, often chocolate or coffee
- religieuses, almost the same as éclairs with different shape, a large choux on the bottom and a smaller one on top.
- profiteroles: choux pastry filled with vanilla icecream, topped with hot metling chocolate
- pièces montée for weddings… filled with vanilla pastry cream and with a generous dizzle of caramel
- Saint-Honoré that you find in most French pastry shops
- and many other pâtisseries
As for savory uses of this basic French recipe, the iconic gougères cheese puffs.
Recipe is here prepared with only water but you can also mahe pâte à choux with half water and half milk, or even 100% milk for a richer version, the other ingredients remaining the same.
Choux Pastry Step by Step
A French Pastry classic, basic recipe for chouquettes or chocolate and vanilla icecream profiteroles , or gougeres as a savory appetizer treatr. Easy to master and quich to bake.
Ingredients
- 125 ml milk
- 125 ml water
- 100 gr butter diced
- 1 pinch salt about 4 grams
- 140 gr flour ideally all-purpose flour
- 4 eggs of 50 gr each or 3 large eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 180°C / 350°F. Prepare all ingredients in advance as everything goes very fast.
- In a pan over a medium heat, heat water, salt and diced butter until butter is melted.
- At the first broth, remove from the heat and add all the flour at once. Stir vigorously until you get a homogeneous mixture.
- Place again on your stove and keep on stirring for 1-2 minutes until the dough dryes a bit and comes away from the sides of the pan.
- Pour into a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat an egg and stir it into the mixture. Repeat with the 3 remaining eggs.
- On a baking tray covered with baking paper, form bowls (or use piping bag).
- Bake for about 10 min at 180°C. / 350°F. The baking time depend on the size of your choux puffs.
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