Description
Classic French Choux Pastry (Pâte à Choux) is a light, airy dough perfect for making éclairs, cream puffs, and profiteroles. This recipe combines boiling liquids with flour and eggs to create a versatile pastry base that puffs beautifully when baked, resulting in hollow shells perfect for sweet or savory fillings.
Ingredients
Scale
Liquids & Fats
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup unsalted butter
Dry Ingredients
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
Eggs
- 4 large eggs, beaten
- 1 large egg, beaten, for brushing pastries
Instructions
- Prepare Oven and Baking Sheet: Preheat your oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and brush it with water to prevent the dough from sticking.
- Combine Liquids and Butter: In a medium saucepan, combine water, milk, unsalted butter, salt, and sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat to melt the butter and dissolve the sugar.
- Add Flour: Remove the saucepan from heat and add the all-purpose flour all at once. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the dough forms a smooth ball that pulls away from the sides of the pan.
- Cook Dough: Return the saucepan to low heat and cook the dough for another 2 minutes, stirring constantly to dry it slightly. This helps develop the dough’s structure.
- Cool Dough and Add Eggs: Transfer the dough to the bowl of a mixer and let it cool slightly. Add the beaten eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition until the dough becomes smooth, glossy, and slightly thick but pipeable.
- Pipe Pastries: Fit a piping bag with a round tip about 1-2 cm wide. Pipe the choux dough into desired shapes such as éclairs or small balls onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them well.
- Brush with Egg Wash: Lightly brush the piped dough with the beaten egg to give the pastries a shiny, golden finish and help them brown evenly during baking.
- Bake: Place the baking sheet in the middle rack of the preheated oven. Bake initially at 425°F for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 375°F and continue baking for 15-20 minutes until the pastries are puffed and golden brown.
- Cool and Pierce: Remove the pastries from the oven and immediately pierce each with a knife or toothpick to release the steam inside, preventing sogginess. Allow pastries to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Fill and Serve: Once cooled, fill the hollow pastries with your favorite fillings such as whipped cream, vanilla custard, or jam. Serve fresh for best texture and flavor.
Notes
- Be sure to add the flour all at once to ensure proper dough formation.
- Adding eggs one at a time allows for better control of dough consistency. The dough should be smooth and glossy.
- Pricking the chilled pastries after baking prevents them from becoming soggy inside by releasing steam.
- You can freeze baked and cooled choux pastries after filling to preserve freshness.
- Use a kitchen towel to cover the dough while cooling to prevent it from drying out.
- The water to milk ratio creates a balance between tenderness and structure.
- The egg wash gives pastries a beautiful golden shine and crust.
