Choux Pastry – Pâte à Choux Puffs

27 May 2010 · 37 comments

Pâte à Choux Puffs

Serving some of the most elegant of desserts, like éclairs, cream puffs, profiteroles and croquembouches requires mastering the Pâte à choux pastry dough. Other baked uses include crullers, gougères and St. Honoré cake. The same dough can be fried to make beignets and churros.

I wrote an earlier post on Chocolate Eclairs and shared that I started using pâte à choux for éclairs when I was a teen at 15 years old for éclairs served during the holidays. The surprise is how easy it is to make and how few ingredients are used: butter, water, salt, flour and eggs (some recipes add sugar). Éclairs were a family winter holiday tradition and was a highly anticipated contribution to our gathering festivities. Reflecting back, part of those cherished memories was being a part of new traditions and my loved ones that enjoyed them…me and my éclairs.

Over many years, my tried and true recipe comes from an old cookbook, “The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook.”

Choux Paste

source The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook by Zoe Coulson

12 cream puffs; 10 eclairs (depends on size of pastry)

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 eggs

Directions

Prepare 2 large cookie sheets with non-stick spray OR use Silpats.

In a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, heat butter, water and salt until butter mixture boils. Remove from heat.

Add flour all at once. With wooden spoon, vigorously stir until mixture forms a ball and leaves side of pan. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Add eggs to flour mixture, one at a time, beating well after each addition, until smooth. Cool mixture slightly.

Cream Puffs: If you are using the choux paste for cream puffs, use a large spoon and rubber spatula, drop batter onto cookie sheets in large mounds, 3 inches apart, swirling top of each. Bake 50 minutes. Cut slit in side of each shell and bake 10 minutes longer. Turn off oven; dry shells in oven 10 minutes. Cool on rack.

Éclairs: If you are using the choux paste for éclairs, drop by 1/4 cupfuls onto cookie sheet 2 inches apart, and in rows 6 inches apart, to make 10. Spread each mound into rectangle, rounding edges to form 5″ by 3/4″ rectangles (or you can use a pastry bag to pipe). Bake 40 minutes or until lightly browned. Cut slit in side of each shell and bake 10 minutes longer. Turn off oven; dry shells in oven 10 minutes. Cool on rack.

Puffs can be stored at room temperature for up to 1 day.

Croquembouche

Chocolate Eclairs

This month’s Daring Baker’s Challenge was a Croquembouche. I wasn’t happy with the end result as the caramel/sugar coating on the top that was used as both deco and adhesive was too hard. I wouldn’t want to bite into a hard piece of sugar coating like that on a delicately textured pastry. If I made it again, I would use chocolate.

The May 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Cat of Little Miss Cupcake. Cat challenged everyone to make a piece montée, or croquembouche, based on recipes from Peter Kump’s Baking School in Manhattan and Nick Malgieri.

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