Choux Pastry (Pâte à Choux)

Choux Pastry requires simply 5 components and is ideal for eclairs or cream puffs. At this time I’m sharing plenty of ideas so yours seems each time! Recipe features a how-to video!

Close-up view of small buns made from choux pastry.

Table of Contents

Simple Choux Pastry

Choux pastry has a popularity for being a bit fussy and temperamental, however I don’t assume it deserves these labels. As a substitute, I’d like to consider choux as a extremely approachable, ethereal French pastry that’s fast to make (actually quicker than puff pastry or croissants) and extremely customizable.

Choux has a really gentle texture with a golden, crisp exterior. It doesn’t have a lot taste, because it’s meant to be stuffed with pastry cream or different fillings and topped with one thing candy, like powdered sugar or ganache.

It’s possible you’ll discover this recipe has some slight variations from the choux utilized in my cream puffs. I make the puffs a bit smaller in that recipe, and I’m assuming that for those who’re making that recipe you’ll observe my directions for eradicating the puffs, poking a gap, returning to the oven, and many others.

This can be a normal recipe although, and never all recipes will necessitate that (many recipes merely reduce the choux in half). Additionally, you’ll be able to nonetheless fill this similar to you’ll in my cream puff recipe.

What You Want

You solely want 5 components to make immediately’s choux recipe! These embrace:

Overhead view of ingredients including eggs, butter, flour, water, and salt.

Eggs. It’s greatest to make use of room temperature eggs. You’ll be able to whisk them up with a fork earlier than including them to the dough, for those who’d like (this makes incorporating them a bit simpler!).
Flour. Be sure to measure your flour correctly! I extremely advocate utilizing a kitchen scale for this, as it’s the most exact option to measure. In case your flour is very lumpy, you could need to sift it earlier than including it.
Butter. Use unsalted butter (or don’t add salt, if utilizing salted butter) and reduce it into tablespoon-sized items earlier than including it (this helps it soften quicker).
Water. This can bind the whole lot collectively and create steam within the dough whereas it bakes, forcing the choux to rise and develop into hole.
Salt. For taste, in fact! You’ll be able to all the time depart this out for those who use salted butter.

SAM’S TIP: Some folks like to decorate up their choux with craquelin to make choux au craquelin. Craquelin is a candy dough that’s rolled skinny, reduce into small circles, and positioned on high of the choux earlier than baking. As soon as within the oven, the craquelin melts onto the choux and creates a crackly, candy exterior. In the event you’d be considering a recipe for this, let me know!

Keep in mind, that is simply an summary of the components I used and why. For the total recipe please scroll all the way down to the underside of the publish!

Find out how to Make Choux Pastry

Collage of four photos showing choux pastry dough being prepared.

Carry the water, butter, and salt to a rolling boil over medium/excessive warmth.
Scale back the warmth and add the flour. Stir consistently till the combination varieties a ball and begins to tug away from the edges of the pot. In the event you see any flour lumps whilst you’re stirring, use your spatula to mash them towards the facet to interrupt them.
Take away from the warmth and proceed stirring to chill the combination barely. Do that for 1-2 minutes.
Add the eggs one by one, stirring till the combination is easy and velvety earlier than including the following. The picture within the backside proper nook above exhibits how your dough will take care of all eggs have been added, it is going to be velvety and easy.

SAM’S TIP: Your dough will seem like it doesn’t need to come collectively after you add every egg, it is going to be a bit separated. Don’t panic. Simply preserve stirring together with your spatula, and it’ll ultimately come collectively properly right into a easy batter.

Collage of four photos showing choux dough being piped onto a baking sheet and baked.

Switch the dough to a piping bag and pipe whichever form you want (mounds for cream puffs, longer shapes for eclairs, and many others.) onto parchment paper lined sheets. I element how massive and much aside I make mine right here within the recipe under.
Press down any peaks within the dough with damp fingers, then bake for 30-35 minutes at 400F.
As soon as the pastry seems dry and light-weight golden brown, flip off the oven. You’ll be able to pierce the choux with a pointy knife at this level (do that within the heart or decrease heart on the facet) after which return the choux to the oven with the door cracked. Let the choux sit within the oven this manner for 10 extra minutes, this can assist guarantee it’s cooked during and that the inside gained’t be soggy and the pastry gained’t collapse.
Take away the choux from the oven and allow them to cool utterly on the baking sheet.

SAM’S TIP: You’ll be able to pipe or kind the choux into any form you’d like (like rectangular hot-dog form for eclairs), however simply know that the baking time will differ relying on the scale. In case you are piping them like I did in these photographs, do your greatest to pipe straight down (don’t swirl as for those who have been piping frosting on a cupcake) for one of the best form after baking.

Choux dough that's been piped onto a baking sheet before baking.

Troubleshooting Choux Pastry

Butter cut up from the dough: This could occur from having your dough on the warmth too lengthy or from dealing with it an excessive amount of.
Dough is just too runny or too thick: Choux dough that’s too runny means you’ll have over-measured your liquid components (or didn’t cook dinner the water out of the dough sufficient), otherwise you under-measured your flour. Consequently, dough that’s too thick is brought on by the alternative.
Choux pastry collapsed after baking: Both your dough was too runny (see above) or the choux was underbaked. If this is a matter you’ve confronted, it may also be additional safety to poke a gap in your choux over the past ten minutes within the oven, like I do with my cream puffs; this permits the steam to flee and the choux to dry out.
Choux doesn’t have a hole heart: Your dough was doubtless too thick from an excessive amount of flour or cooking out an excessive amount of of the water whereas it was on the range.
Choux pastry tastes eggy: That is regular, for probably the most half! Choux pastry is usually eggs, so that you’re positively going to style them right here. In the event you’re actually tasting the eggs, then you’ll have added them within the whereas the dough is just too heat.

Don’t let this part intimidate you! So long as you measure your components correctly and observe my directions, your choux ought to come out completely.

Overhead view of soft choux dough in a pot. — *How your choux ought to take care of all of the eggs have been added*

Regularly Requested Questions

What are some frequent choux pastry fillings?

Pastry cream, whipped cream, ice cream (for profiteroles), lemon curd, custard, raspberry frosting, chocolate whipped cream, and even cheese (like my cheese puffs!) are all nice choices. Bear in mind the choux pastry itself just isn’t candy in any respect, so you may get as inventive as you’d like with the filling/toppings.

You may as well skip the filling altogether and simply sprinkle your choux pastry with pearl sugar earlier than baking to make chouquettes.

Is choux pastry the identical as puff pastry?

No! Puff pastry is a flaky, buttery pastry dough that has many folded layers. It additionally accommodates no egg, which is sort of completely different from egg-heavy choux pastry. Puff pastry is usually used for danish, turnovers, and palmiers.

Can choux pastry be made with gluten free flour?

It most likely may be achieved, however I haven’t found out the suitable formulation for making excellent choux with gluten free flour simply but. Throughout testing, we frequently had points with the dough changing into too thick, probably from the thickening brokers in gluten free flour blends. Because of this, the choux didn’t rise as properly or have the basic hole heart. I’d have to check it extra (most likely with extra liquid/eggs) to get the gluten free recipe excellent.

If that is one thing you’d be considering, let me know within the feedback!

Choux bun halves with rounded, airy interiors.

See that hole heart? That’s precisely how choux pastry ought to look!

Take pleasure in!

Let’s bake collectively! I’ll be strolling you thru all of the steps in my written recipe and video under! In the event you do that recipe, make sure you tag me on Instagram, and it’s also possible to discover me on YouTube and Facebook