Pate a Choux Pastry
Perfect Pate a Choux pastry every time, bakes into tender high puffs. A nearly no fail recipe that takes minutes to prepare and turns out dozens of perfect puffs. Divide the batch into 2 and make 1/2 into savory Gougères and the whip the other half into perfectly sweet Cream Puffs filled with fresh Chantilly Cream.
Servings 3 dozen
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (350 ml) water
- 1 stick Plus 1 Tablespoon (135 grams) unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon fine ground Kosher sea salt
- 1 1/2 cups (180 grams) all-purpose flour
- 7 large eggs room temperature
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, combine the water, butter, sugar and salt and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to moderate. Add the flour all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until a tight dough forms and pulls away from the side of the pan, 2 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat.
- Begin adding the eggs 1 at a time, stirring vigorously between additions until the eggs are completely incorporated and the pastry is smooth.
- The dough should be glossy and very slowly, stretch and fall from the spoon in wide ribbons.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 425°/218°C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip. Pipe 1 1/2-inch mounds onto the baking sheets, leaving 1 inch between them.
- Put your puffs into the oven and turn the heat up to 450°/230°C and bake for 10 minutes.
- Reduce heat to 350°F/176°C and finish baking for another 15 minutes, until golden brown.
- Remove from oven and pierce a hole in the top or the side of each of the puffs with a toothpick. This allows the steam to escape and your puffs to hold their shape.
Notes
- Prep time is approximate.
- Pate a Choux dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months before baking; thaw the dough overnight in the fridge before using. The shaped or piped pastries can also be frozen for up to 3 months and baked straight from the freezer.