Foolproof Choux pastry (pâte à choux)

Choux pastry or “pâte à choux” is a delicate pastry dough often used in French baking. Making choux pastry has the reputation for being difficult but is in fact surprisingly simple as long as you follow the directions carefully and know a couple of tricks. With years of experience around choux pastry, I’m happy to share with you a complete guide with step-by-step photos to help you master the technique too.

What is choux pastry?

Choux pastry is a delicate pastry dough spooned or pipped into a baking sheet. Once baked, it gives you some lovely puffs that have a light crispy outer shell and are hollow inside. This shape makes them perfect for filling. They are indeed used as a base for many classic French pastries, such as profiteroles, eclairs, cream puffs, etc.

Why is it called “choux”?

In French, “chou”  is pronounced “shoe”. Plural is “choux”, also pronounced “shoe”… I know, this can be a little confusing but the good news is that it’s super easy to pronounce and you don’t have to think about it twice. Whether you eat one or many choux, it’s still pronounced the same way.

There are two versions to why it is called “pâte à choux”. According to some people, the name would come from the resemblance with a little cabbage (“chou” means cabbage in French). Others say it is a distortion of its original name “pâte à chaud” (pronounced “sho”, meaning “hot” in French), that could roughly be translated into heated dough, coming from the fact that the dough requires a pre-cooking step on the stove before baking in the oven. With the evolution of the recipe and people mishearing the name, it became “pâte à choux” instead of “pâte à chaud”.

The ingredients for your “pâte à choux”

• Milk/Water. For a sweet confection, I usually use half milk, half water, to create a super soft, cloudy puff. This is my favorite version and the recipe I am sharing here. For a savory version, you can use water exclusively, like I did in my Smoked Salmon Choux Puff recipe.
• Butter. I use it diced to ensure it melts evenly and quicker into the water/milk mixture. Cold or room temperature butter work equally well (again, because it will be melted anyway).
• Flour. You can use either all-purpose flour or pastry flour; both yield great results. Do not try to substitute with whole wheat flour however, as it won’t give the expected result.
• Eggs. I recommend you use large eggs of high quality, and use them at room temperature to avoid a huge contrast of temperature when added to the mixture. Make sure you add them one by one, stirring vigorously after each addition to avoid cooking them in contact of the other warm ingredients. This step can be done with a wooden spatula or in a food processor (I’m personally an advocate of the wooden spatula, but be prepared to build some muscles here!).
• Salt. For taste, don’t skip it.
• Sugar (optional). I use it for sweet puffs, omit it if you are planning to use savory fillings in your choux puffs.

IMPORTANT: I highly recommend to weigh the ingredients in grams for this recipe (instead of using volumes). This will ensure you more precise results. However, you do not necessary need to weigh the eggs, just use them medium-large and it should do the trick.

How to make choux pastry?

Whether you choose a version for sweet or savory choux (with milk/water or just water), the technique is the same, There are 4 steps to remember:

1. Start with combining water, milk, salt, sugar and butter in a large saucepan on medium heat.

   

   

   

   

   

   

2. Then pour all the flour at once, stir well with a wooden spatula.

   

   

3. Place back on the heat while stirring, until the dough detaches from the sides of the pan.
4. Transfer into a cold bowl (I usually place it in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes before using it). Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes, then add the eggs, one at a time, stirring quickly after each addition to prevent them from cooking.

   

   

   

   

5. That’s it, your choux pastry is now ready for piping. You can either use a piping bag or simply spoon small amounts of dough onto the sheet.

   

   

Baking your “pâte à choux”: tips for success

• Silicon mat vs parchment paper. Although I have already tried on a Silpat and it worked, many people have reported parchment worked better for them. So if you are not feeling too adventurous today or if it is your first attempt, then use parchment paper.
• Baking time. Every oven is different, the baking time can vary significantly from an oven to the other so I recommend monitoring the baking closely rather than relying on the baking time.
• So, how do you know choux are baked? The choux are baked once they are puffed and have a golden color.
• DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR WHILE BAKING. This is very important. Opening the oven while baking would make your puffs to deflate.
• Let the humidity escape. Once the choux puffs are baked, you can turn-off the oven and let them rest in the heat with the oven door cracked open to let the moisture dissipate.

Troubleshooting: what can go wrong with choux pastry?

• My dough is too runny. A quick fix is to put it on the fridge until it sets, then you can use it. However, DO NOT add more flour or put it back on the stove after you added the eggs.
• Why did my cream puffs collapse? If the puffs collapse it means there was too much moisture in them. So either you did not dry the dough enough, or they were not cooked enough. To avoid this I recommend drying the dough really well (see below) and cracking the door of the oven open when the choux are baked.
• My cream puffs are soft. The puffs can be soft for the same reasons they can collapse, i.e. too much humidity. To make sure this does not happen to you be sure to dry the dough enough until it detaches from the pan after you added the flour, and bake them until golden brown.

Can you freeze choux pastry?

Choux are a very delicate pastry and they don’t keep fresh for a long time. They are better consumed on the day they were baked. However, you can prepare the choux pastry dough up to one day in advance, and then bake them on the day you need them. You can also freeze choux pastry, either before baking or after baking:

• Before baking: The easiest way is to freeze the dough as it is (in a piping bag or a ziploc bag), then thaw at room temperature until ready to use.
• After baking: Once your choux are baked, let them cool completely, then wrap them in a ziploc bag and freeze. When ready to use, thaw them over a towel that will absorb moisture. You can place them thawed in a warm oven (200°F/100°C) so they stay dry.

How to use choux pastry?

Now that your choux pastry is ready, you can garnish these delicate puffs with whipped cream and serve with fresh berries, or you could whip up one of these incredible recipes below:

• Profiteroles. These are literally choux puffs filled with vanilla ice cream and topped with hot chocolate sauce. They’re SO decadent!
• Cream puffs. I filled them here with homemade lemon curd, whipped cream and fresh raspberries. Light and refreshing!
• Eclairs au chocolat. This is a French classic I’m clearly obsessed with. Chocolate, chocolate, and chocolate!
• Chouquettes. Have you ever heard of these ones? They are no more than choux puffs sprinkled with pearl sugar. You get addicted at first bite!
• For a variation, try also my savory choux pastry recipe  that you can use to make small bite appetizers.

More French pastries you’ll love:

• Canelés de Bordeaux
• Classic Apple Tarte Tatin
• White Chocolate Strawberry Charlotte Cake
• Chocolate Praline Crêpe Cake

Foolproof Choux pastry (pâte à choux)

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• Author: Delphine Fortin
• Prep Time: 1h
• Cook Time: 25min
• Total Time: 0 hours
• Yield: 20 choux 1x
• Category: Baking Basics
• Cuisine: French

Choux pastry or “pâte à choux” is a delicate pastry dough often used in French baking. Learn how to make it from scratch by following my complete guide with step-by-step photos to help you master the technique too.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• ½ cup (125ml) water
• ½ cup (125ml) milk
• 4g salt
• 8g sugar
• 3.5 ounces (100g) butter
• 1¼ cups (150g) all-purpose flour, sifted
• 4 eggs

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 480°F (250°C) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place a large mixing bowl in the refrigerator.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat water, milk, butter, salt and sugar on low heat. Remove the saucepan from the heat as soon as the liquid starts bubbling. Add the sifted flour and mix vigorously with a wooden spatula until no lumps remain.
3. Put the saucepan back on the heat and stir the dough until it detaches from the sides of the pan and makes a compact and smooth ball of dough. Transfer to the cold large mixing bowl and let cool for 5 minutes in the bowl placed at room temperature. Incorporate the eggs, one at a time, using a wooden spatula or a stand mixer equipped with a paddle attachment, stirring well after each addition.
4. Transfer the choux pastry into a large piping bag and pipe small amounts of dough, leaving enough space between each of them.
5. Bake in the 480°F (250°C) preheated oven, then drop the oven temperature to 350°F (180°C) right away. Bake for 25 minutes (do not open the oven in the meantime!) or a little bit longer if needed, until the choux become golden in color.
6. When ready, crack open the oven door and let the choux for 5 more minutes in the oven, then transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Notes

Baking instructions for success:

• DO NOT open the oven door while it bakes or your choux will deflate.
• Silicon mat vs parchment paper. Both options work, but if you are a beginner I highly recommend parchment paper, which is reported to be better for success.
• Baking time. Every oven is different and the baking time can vary significantly from an oven to the other. So try not to rely on the baking time too much. Instead, monitor the oven closely. Once your choux have puffed and have become golden brown, they are ready to use!

Other notes:

• The recipe yields approximately 20 choux, but this really depends on their size once you piped them onto the baking sheet. I recommend you pipe them approximately the size of 2 Tablespoons for best results.

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