Easy Choux Pastry Recipe
To begin, what is choux pastry? Simply put choux pastry also known as pâte à choux is just a fancy name for a versatile French pastry dough. It’s a moist and thick dough almost like a paste. Some say it’s more like a cross between a dough and a batter. Yet, when baked in the oven it puffs up into a lovely light airy texture that is delicate and delicious. But interestingly enough choux pastry has no added leavening agent like yeast or baking powder in it! It’s just made with simple ingredients like flour, water, butter, and eggs! Yet, because it’s a very moist batter it actually steams when it’s in the oven, which causes it to puff up and become golden on the outside, but creamy and hollow on the inside. This result makes it perfect for filling! For example, if you’ve ever had desserts like an eclair or cream puff then you’ve had choux pastry! However, you can fill baked choux with anything. Some fantastic options are whipped cream, pastry cream, lemon curd, or jam. You can even top the baked pastry with chocolate ganache! Better yet, choux is so versatile it’s also commonly used in savory recipes. You can fill it with cream cheese and smoked salmon, goat cheese and bacon, egg salad, and more!
Water – It’s the only liquid in the batter and an important one that helps to bind the dough together and create steam in the oven, which makes the dough puff up. Milk – I love to add some milk to my choux pastry simply because it results in a creamier texture, richer flavor and helps with browning. It’s totally optional and you can just use one full cup of water versus using half water and half milk. Butter – Always use unsalted butter in baking to control the amount of added salt. Salt – Used to season the dough. If you use salted butter, you can omit this extra salt. Sugar – Adds just a touch of sweetness to the dough. But this ingredient is optional. If you are making savory appetizers you can leave the sugar out if you like. Flour – Simple all-purpose flour works perfectly. You can sift your flour for better results. Eggs – You will need some room-temperature eggs for both the dough and for an egg wash. The eggs add some richness and give the pastry some rise.
If you follow the simple instructions this is a very easy pastry recipe that doesn’t take much time to make or require any special skills. I used my stand mixer to add the eggs, but you can also use an electric mixer. In fact, you can even incorporate the eggs by hand if you like, but it will take some elbow grease. To begin, you need to start the dough on the stovetop. First, bring the water, milk if using, butter, and salt to a gentle boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat while stirring it from time to time. Then turn off the heat and use a wooden spoon to stir in the flour until the dough forms into a smooth ball and is pulling away from the pan. Make sure there are no lumps of flour. Now, turn the heat back on and cook the dough for another minute on low heat while stirring constantly. This allows the moisture in the dough to evaporate slowly, which creates steam and causes the dough to puff up and become light and airy. This is what gives Pâte à Choux pastries their signature hollow center. Transfer the dough to the bowl of your stand mixer and let it cool. Once the dough has cooled off a bit, use the paddle attachment to add the eggs to the dough one at a time while the mixer is still running at medium speed. You need to mix in each egg until the dough is smooth and then scrape down the sides of the bowl before adding the next. The eggs should be added one at a time and fully incorporated before moving on to the next egg. This is important to ensure that the dough is smooth and glossy, and that the eggs are fully integrated into the mixture. After all the eggs have been added the dough should be silky and still clinging to the paddle attachment but slowly sliding down. When the dough is ready, preheat your oven to 425°F (218°C) so that it’s already hot once the pâte à choux is piped. Then line a baking sheet with parchment paper. The dough will stick if you skip this step. Add a few droplets of water to the parchment paper before baking the pastries. The water droplets create steam in the oven, which helps the pastries puff up and become light and airy. Next, it’s time to pipe! To start, put the choux pastry dough into a pastry bag fitted with a piping tip that is 1cm to 2cm wide. The 869 star tip works perfectly. Then pipe the dough onto the prepared baking sheet in 3-inch long portions for eclairs or small mounds for choux balls. Make sure to space them about 3 inches apart so that the pastry has room to puff up. After you’ve finished pipping the dough, use a pastry brush to brush each portion of dough with some beaten egg. Then use your finger to flatten any pointy tips in the dough that were created by the piping process. Now, put the baking tray on the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake the pastry for 10 minutes. Then turn the oven temperature down to 375°F (190°C) and bake it for another 15-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through to ensure that the pastry browns evenly. When the pastry is done, remove it from the oven and transfer it to a cooling rack. Then once it’s completely cool you can serve the baked choux pastries as is or fill them with whipped cream, vanilla custard, jam, or whatever you like!
Storage
Leftover filled baked pastries will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container. Yet, if the pastries are unfilled you can keep them for up to 5 days in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer. Just let them fully thaw out in the refrigerator before filling them to serve. It’s also possible to store the unpiped dough itself for up to 2 days in the fridge or 2 months in the freezer if it’s wrapped well in plastic wrap or put in a sealed freezer bag. You just need to let it come to room temperature before you pipe it out to bake.
Other Delicious Recipes To Try
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