Basic Choux Pastry (Pâte à Choux) and fillings

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Choux pastry (Cream Puff Dough or Pâte à Choux, in French), is a French light pastry dough which is  made with four basic ingredients: Water, butter, flour and eggs.

When baked steam is formed inside which makes them hollow so that they can be filled with a sweet or savoury filling.

With this basic recipe you can make profiteroles, croquembouches, éclairs, French crullers, beignets, St. Honoré cake, quenelles, Parisian gnocchi, dumplings, gougères as well as churros.

To make chocolate choux pastry,  just substitute 30 – 50 grams of flour with the equivalent amout of sifted cocoa powder.

You can shape them using a pastry bag or spoon them on parchment paper and you can also use muffin tins to bake them in.

Before starting to make them weigh your eggs first (without the shell).   You will then need the same amount of water and half the amount of butter and flour.

When the dough is cooked and forms into a ball, you should let it sit for a few minutes to cool so that when adding the eggs they will not cook.

If you don’t have a mixer, you can definitely do this by hand using a wooden spoon but if you do the procedure is much easier.

How to make Choux Pastry (Pâte à Choux)

1. In a saucepan, combine butter and water. Bring to a boil, stirring until butter melts completely.
2. Reduce heat to low and add the flour and salt.
3. Stir vigorously with a balloon whisk until mixture leaves the sides of the pan and begins to form a stiff ball.
4. Remove from the heat and let it cool for 5 minutes.
5. Line a baking tin with parchment paper.
6. Preheat oven to 200^o C / 400 ^o F.
7. Attach the dough hook to a stand mixer and transfer the dough.  Wording on medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated completely after each addition.
8. With a spoon or a pastry bag fitted with a large tip, spoon or pipe dough onto parchment sheet leaving about an inch in between.
9. Bake 10 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce heat to 180^o C / to 350 ^o and bake about 20 minutes or until golden.
10. Cut the side lengthwise to let out the steam escape and then cool them on a wire rack.
11. Fill them as you like.

Here are a few ideas of what you can make with Choux Pastry:

These Eclairs were filled with Lemon Curd.

Instead of adding sugar in the Basic Pastry Cream Recipe, I substituted the sugar with syrup from the Bergamot Preserve and also added some bergamot zest.  

I also added some slices of Bergamot fruit preserve on top of the pastry cream.

Thes Eclairs were filled with Strawberry Mousse and topped with Chocolate Ganache.  

Instead of putting sugar in the Pastry Cream I made some Strawberry Sauce  which I added (only the syrup) to the cream.  

The small baked choux were topped with melted White Chocolate.

Eclairs with Chocolate Cream.  After making the basic pastry cream mix in some milk or couverture chocolate.

These Eclairs are filled with eggless chocolate mousse.

Gougères

Gougères are appetizers which are made the same way as choux pastry, also called cheese puffs, with the addition of some cheese into the dough, then baked in little rounds. 

I added 1/2 cup shredded Greek graviera cheese but you can substitute with shredded Gruyère cheese.

Ingredients:

For the cheese puffs:

• 240 ml water
• 120 grams /4.23 oz butter (1 stick)
• 120 grams/4.23 oz all-purpose flour
• A pinch of salt
• 4 eggs (60 grams each)
• ½ cup shredded graviera
• A pinch of black pepper

Savory Filling for Gougères

• 100 grams cream cheese
• 80 grams feta
• 50 grams Greek yoghurt
• 2 – 3 heaped tablespoons of tartare sauce (optional) or mayonnaise
• A pinch of salt
• A Pinch of black pepper
• A pinch of sweet paprika on each

Directions:

Step 1:

• In a saucepan, combine butter and water. Bring to a boil, stirring until butter melts completely.
• Reduce heat to low and add the flour and salt.
• Stir vigorously with a balloon whisk until mixture leaves the sides of the pan and begins to form a stiff ball.
• Remove from the heat and let it cool for 5 minutes.
• Line a baking tin with parchment paper.
• Preheat oven to 200o C / 400 o F.

Step 2:

• Attach the dough hook to a stand mixer and transfer the dough. Working on medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated completely after each addition.  Add the cheese and a pinch of pepper.
• With a spoon or a pastry bag fitted with a large tip, spoon or pipe dough onto parchment sheet leaving about an inch in between.
• Bake 10 minutes in the preheated oven, and then reduce heat to 180o C / to 350 o and bake about 20 minutes or until golden.
• Cut the side lengthwise to let out the steam escape and then cool them on a wire rack

Step 3:

• Put all the filling ingredients in a bowl and whisk with a hand mixer until well Incorporated.
• Put the filling in a piping bag and fill the Gougères.
• Sprinkle some sweet paprika on the cream.
• Refrigerate.

Kopiaste and Kali Orexi!

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