Basic Pate a Choux
Submitted by wlusk
Classic French choux pastry with just water, butter, flour, and eggs. The foundation for cream puffs, eclairs, profiteroles, gougeres, and savory gnocchi. Master this one dough, make dozens of desserts.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
60 minCOOK
0 minREADY
60 minPate a choux is one of the most useful things you can learn in a kitchen. Four basic ingredients, one technique, and suddenly cream puffs, eclairs, profiteroles, cheese gougeres, and even poached gnocchi are all within reach.
The ratio is elegant in its simplicity: 1 cup liquid, 1 cup flour, 1 cup eggs (about 4 large), and half a cup of butter.
Butter and water come to a simmer, flour goes in all at once, and you stir hard until a smooth ball forms that pulls away from the pan. Then eggs get beaten in one at a time until the dough is glossy and pipeable.
The magic happens in the oven. Water in the batter turns to steam and inflates the dough into hollow, golden shells ready to be filled with whatever your imagination conjures.
Variations
- Water makes crispier puffs. Milk makes them softer and more tender. Use a mix for the best of both.
- For savory gougeres, fold grated Gruyere and a pinch of cayenne into the finished dough before piping.
- Skip the sugar for savory applications. Add it only when making sweet pastries.
Pro Tips
- Dry the paste thoroughly on the stove before adding eggs. Press the ball against the sides of the pan until butter starts oozing out and it no longer sticks to your fingers. This step is critical for maximum puff.
- Add eggs one at a time and fully incorporate each one before adding the next. The dough will look broken and slimy at first, then magically come together.
- Use the dough immediately for the biggest puff, though it can hold for several hours if needed.
- Pipe onto parchment-lined sheets and resist opening the oven door during baking. The steam needs to stay trapped to inflate the shells.
Ingredients
Directions
Place liquid, butter, salt and sugar, if using, in a medium saucepan and bring slowly to a simmer.
Turn off heat and add the flour all at once.
Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until it forms a ball.
Return to medium heat to dry the paste so it will have the maximum puffing ability: turn the ball around in the pan, pressing it against the sides and flipping it over, until butter starts oozing out and the paste no longer sticks to your fingers.
Remove from heat and let cool a bit.
Turn the paste into a medium bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle and beat in the eggs, one at a time, with a wooden spoon or the paddle.
Each time you add an egg, the mixture will become slippery and messy but will then come together, at which point you can add the next egg.
Load mixture into pastry bag with a round tip (½ or 1-inch depending on size puff desired) and pipe out as required.
It will give the fullest puff if used right away but can be held for several hours.
Basic proportions for Pate a Choux are 1:1:1:½, or 1 cup liquid, 1 cup flour:1 cup egg:½ cup butter.
Water makes choux more crisp, milk makes them more tender, Puffs expand when cooked as water in batter turns to steam and explodes the dough.
Pate a choux is an extremely versatile pastry that can be the base of many sweet and savory dishes.
It can take many forms: be poached as gnocchi, baked to form hollow puffy balls that can be filled with various things, or fried as fritters and sprinkled with sugar.
It is neutral in flavor so is adaptable to any cuisine.
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