Choux Pastry
Cooking Skills: Pastry 2
Chapter 1 · Choux Pastry
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
Choux (pronounced "shoo") is the odd one out among pastries: it is cooked on the hob first. Butter and water are boiled, flour is beaten in until it forms a smooth ball, and then eggs are beaten in to make a thick, glossy paste. In the oven, the water in the paste turns to steam, which blows the shells up hollow, and the egg sets the walls. The result is a crisp shell with an empty middle, perfect for filling.
There is no rubbing in, no rolling and no resting, but the paste has to be exactly the right thickness. Too stiff and the shells are dense; too runny and they spread flat. The test is the "V": lift the beaten paste on a spoon and it should drop slowly in a thick V-shape. Eggs vary in size, so add them gradually and stop when you reach the V. Éclairs and profiteroles with chocolate are in Cooking Skills: Chocolate 2, chapter 7; here the focus is on the pastry itself. Shortcrust is in Cooking Skills: Pastry 1, chapter 1.
The method
- Melt the butter in the water and bring it to a full boil; if the water boils away first, the paste will be too dry.
- Tip in all the flour at once and beat hard until the paste forms a ball and leaves the sides of the pan, about 1 minute.
- Cool for 5 to 10 minutes, so the eggs do not scramble, then beat them in a little at a time.
- Stop when the paste is glossy and drops in a V from the spoon; you may not need all the egg.
- Bake hot without opening the oven for the first 15 minutes, then pierce the shells and dry them for 5 more minutes.
| Bake | Shape | Filling | Time in oven (approximate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Choux buns | Round, 5 cm | Whipped cream | 25 to 30 minutes |
| Gougères | Round, 4 cm | None, or cheese sauce | 25 minutes |
| Éclairs | Fingers, 12 cm | Cream, glazed | 30 minutes |
| Choux ring | Ring of 8 balls | Cream and fruit | 35 minutes |
Hot oven and hot trays: ovens, trays and tins are hot enough to burn badly. Use dry oven gloves (a damp cloth conducts heat), pull the shelf out a little before lifting a tray, put hot things on a heatproof surface and keep children away from the oven door.
Raw dough and raw flour: raw flour and raw egg can carry germs, so don't taste raw pastry or filling that contains raw egg or raw meat. Wash hands, bowls and the worktop afterwards, and keep tasting for the cooked result.
Try it
Choux buns with cream
The foundation of the whole chapter. Weigh carefully, because the proportions matter. The fillings are simple: whipped cream with a little vanilla. Beat the eggs in a jug first so you can add them gradually.
Ingredients (12 buns)
- 75 g unsalted butter, cubed
- 175 ml water
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 100 g plain flour, sifted
- 3 medium eggs, beaten
- 200 ml double cream
- 1 tsp icing sugar, plus extra to dust
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6). Boil the butter, water and salt, tip in the flour, and beat for 1 minute over the heat until it forms a ball. Cool for 10 minutes.
- Beat in the eggs a little at a time until the paste is glossy and drops in a V from the spoon. Spoon or pipe 12 mounds, 5 cm apart, onto lined trays.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden and light. Pierce each with a skewer to let steam out, return to the oven for 5 minutes, then cool. Whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla, split the buns and fill.
Hot oven and hot trays: ovens, trays and tins are hot enough to burn badly. Use dry oven gloves (a damp cloth conducts heat), pull the shelf out a little before lifting a tray, put hot things on a heatproof surface and keep children away from the oven door.
Allergens: contains gluten, egg and milk.
Cheese gougères
Gougères are savoury choux puffs with cheese beaten into the paste, eaten warm as a snack. Use a strong cheese and keep the paste a little stiffer, since cheese adds moisture. They freeze well before or after baking.
Ingredients (20 gougères)
- 75 g unsalted butter
- 175 ml water
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 100 g plain flour
- 3 medium eggs, beaten
- 75 g mature Cheddar or Gruyère, finely grated
- ½ tsp English mustard powder
- Make the paste as in the choux buns and cool for 10 minutes. Beat in the eggs gradually until the paste is glossy and holds a V.
- Beat in the cheese and mustard powder. Pipe or spoon 20 mounds, 4 cm across, onto lined trays.
- Bake at 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6) for 22 to 25 minutes until deep golden and light. Serve warm.
Hot oven and hot trays: ovens, trays and tins are hot enough to burn badly. Use dry oven gloves (a damp cloth conducts heat), pull the shelf out a little before lifting a tray, put hot things on a heatproof surface and keep children away from the oven door.
Allergens: contains gluten, egg, milk and mustard.
Éclairs with a simple glaze
Pipe the paste into 12 cm fingers with a plain nozzle, using a fork to mark the pipe lines on the parchment first. Éclairs need slightly longer baking than buns to dry out. Fill, then dip in a glaze: a plain icing here, chocolate in Cooking Skills: Chocolate 2, chapter 7.
Ingredients (10 éclairs)
- 75 g unsalted butter
- 175 ml water
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 100 g plain flour
- 3 medium eggs, beaten
- 250 ml double cream, whipped with vanilla
- 100 g icing sugar
- 2 tbsp water, to mix the glaze
- Make the paste as before and pipe 10 fingers, 12 cm long and 5 cm apart, onto lined trays.
- Bake at 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6) for 30 to 35 minutes until deep golden and hollow. Pierce the ends and dry for 5 minutes, then cool completely.
- Fill with the cream (pipe it in through a hole at each end or split them), then dip the tops in a glaze of icing sugar and water, thick enough to coat a spoon.
Hot oven and hot trays: ovens, trays and tins are hot enough to burn badly. Use dry oven gloves (a damp cloth conducts heat), pull the shelf out a little before lifting a tray, put hot things on a heatproof surface and keep children away from the oven door.
Allergens: contains gluten, egg and milk.
A choux ring with cream and fruit
A circle of piped choux balls that bake together into a crown. Draw a 20 cm circle on the parchment as a guide. Fill with whipped cream and strawberries, and dust with icing sugar just before serving.
Ingredients (8 portions)
- 75 g unsalted butter
- 175 ml water
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 100 g plain flour
- 3 medium eggs, beaten
- 2 tbsp flaked almonds
- 300 ml double cream, whipped
- 300 g strawberries, sliced
- 1 tbsp icing sugar
- Make the paste. Pipe 8 balls just touching in a ring on lined parchment and scatter with the almonds.
- Bake at 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6) for 30 to 35 minutes until deep golden. Pierce, dry for 5 minutes, and cool on a rack.
- Slice across the ring horizontally with a serrated knife, fill the base with cream and strawberries, replace the top and dust with icing sugar.
Nuts: Bakewell tart contains almonds, a tree nut. Say so clearly when serving, keep it away from anyone with a nut allergy, and check jam and almond extract labels.
Allergens: contains gluten, egg, milk and almonds.
Experiments
Eggs all at once or gradually
Consistency.
- Make two small batches, adding the egg all at once in one and gradually in the other, aiming for the V.
Look for: Adding it all at once often makes the paste too runny. Gradual addition lets you stop at the V.
Oven opened early or kept shut
Collapse.
- Bake two trays, opening the oven door at 10 minutes for one and not at all for the other.
Look for: The opened tray collapses and goes flat; the shut one stays tall. Don't open the door in the first 15 minutes.
Piped or spooned
Shape.
- Pipe half a tray and spoon the other half.
Look for: Piped shells are neat and even; spooned ones are rougher but rise just as well.
Plain or cheese
Gougères.
- Divide a batch, beating cheese into one half only.
Look for: The cheese version browns faster and is crispier outside and softer in; the plain one is lighter and more hollow.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Choux buns | ||||
| Cheese gougères | ||||
| Éclairs | ||||
| Choux ring | ||||
| Eggs all at once or gradually | ||||
| Oven opened early or kept shut | ||||
| Piped or spooned | ||||
| Plain or cheese |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Shells collapse | Underbaked or oven opened early | Bake until deep golden; keep the oven shut; dry them out |
| Flat, spread shells | Paste too wet | Add less egg; cook the paste dry enough first |
| Dense, small shells | Paste too stiff | Beat in a little more egg until it drops in a V |
| Soggy shells | Not dried or filled too early | Pierce and dry them; fill just before serving |
| Lumpy paste | Flour added too slowly | Add all the flour at once and beat hard |
| Scrambled paste | Eggs added while hot | Cool the paste for 10 minutes first |
Steam from choux and hot paste: hot choux paste spits, and steam escapes fast when you open the oven or pierce a bun. Beat the hot paste with a wooden spoon, keep your face back, and use oven gloves when you open the oven door.
Keeping and freezing: raw pastry keeps in the fridge for about 2 days wrapped tightly, and freezes for about 3 months (general guidance). Cooked pies and tarts keep for about 2 days chilled; reheat pies until steaming hot all the way through, and freeze cooked pies for no more than about 2 to 3 months.
- I can cook the paste to a ball.
- I can beat in eggs to the right V.
- I can pipe even shapes.
- I know to keep the oven shut and to dry the shells.
- I can fill choux just before serving.