Pâte à Choux

By Jeremy Scheck

Pâte à choux is the light and crispy dough behind countless delicacies, including éclairs, profiteroles (cream puffs), gougères, and Paris-breasts. These pastries are often dramatically displayed with mountains of cream and colorful glazes, seemingly impossible to recreate at home. However, the dough actually only takes about 10 minutes to make and requires just four pantry staples: water, butter, flour and eggs. Milk, sugar, and salt are often added for flavor and richness, but in a pinch the dough can be made with the core four. The liquid in the dough turns to steam in the oven, puffing the pastries out to double in size, and leaving the center hollow for all sorts of pastry creams and fillings. A piping bag is ideal for easy preparation and optimal presentation, but like the additional ingredients, is not necessary; you can spoon the dough out onto a sheet. The possibilities are endless, but I like to keep it simple by making cream puffs with fresh whipped cream and berries. 

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Ingredients for the dough:

  • 1/2 cup (125 ml) milk 

  • 1/2 cup (125 ml) water 

  • 2 tbsp sugar (omit for savory recipes) 

  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt  

  • 1 stick/half cup (113g) unsalted butter 

  • 1 cup (150g) all purpose flour* 

  • 4-5 large eggs at room temperature

Method: 

  1. Preheat the oven to 425° F.  Measure the flour into a small bowl. Pour the milk, water, salt, sugar, and butter into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Immediately remove from heat once it reaches a boil.  

  2. Add the flour to the saucepan all at once and mix with a wooden spoon until it looks homogeneous.  

  3. Return to medium heat and cook the dough (it should look like a thick paste) for 2 minutes while stirring constantly. Transfer to a mixing bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to let cool.  

  4. Add 4 eggs one at a time, mixing vigorously with a wooden spoon or a dough whisk after each incorporation. It takes a bit of time for each one to mix in.

  5. After adding your 4 eggs, you may need to add all or part of the fifth egg. ** The finished dough should be slightly sticky, paste-like, but firm enough to hold after being piped, almost the texture of toothpaste. Mix into the dough well.   

  6. Pipe round, conic shapes (the same shape as cupcake frosting) onto a silpat or parchment-lined baking sheet. 

  7. Bake at 425° F for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350° F bake for 15-20 more minutes. Bake one tray at a time. Do not open the oven while baking. If you have multiple batches, don't forget to bring the temperature back up to 425°.   

  8. Right after baking, use a paring knife to make a small slit in the bottom of your baked choux to let steam escape. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.   

  9. Fill with homemade whipped cream and berries; top with powdered sugar or chocolate ganache.  

*For this recipe, if not weighing the flour, measure the flour by scooping the measuring cup into the container of flour (without fluffing the flour), first then level. Technically this is the wrong way of measuring flour as a cup weighs about 120g when spooned and leveled (the right way to measure flour) but this recipe calls for what I call a "heavy" cup of flour.

**This really depends on the humidity, the size of your eggs, and how much flour you add (this is why weighing is so much better). Use your judgment in deciding whether you need more egg. To add a partial egg, beat the egg with a fork and add as much as you think is necessary.

DessertCrème de Cornell