Description
A delicious recipe for making choux pastry for cream puffs.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick, see notes for using salted butter)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (125 grams, spooned and leveled)
- 1 tsp sugar (optional)
- ½ tsp salt
- 4–5 large eggs
- 1 additional egg
- 1 tbsp water
- – craquelin
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375℉.
- Assemble a pastry bag with a medium-sized round tip.
- Line two baking sheets with slipmats or parchment paper. You can create circles on the mats or paper by dipping a round cookie cutter or small glass into flour and placing it on the parchment or mat. This gives you an outline when you go to pipe your cream puffs and helps ensure they are the same size.
- Fit your standing mixer with a paddle attachment.
- Combine the butter, sugar, salt, and water in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Once the butter is melted and it starts to boil, remove from heat and stir in the flour with a wooden spoon or heat-proof spatula. When it is combined, place back over heat.
- Stir the mixture constantly over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes. You are trying to dry it out a bit and cook the flour. It will start to pull away from the edges and a film will form on the bottom of the pan.
- Transfer the batter to a standing mixer and turn on low. Mix for about 2 minutes to cool it down.
- While still mixing on slow, add 4 eggs one at a time. Make sure to fully incorporate each egg before you add the next.
- Test the choux pastry batter to see if it’s the right consistency by touching it with your finger or a spatula. It should pull away in a string. If it doesn’t, mix up another egg and slowly add it to the mixture one teaspoon at a time until it is the right consistency.
- Fill your pastry bag with batter and pipe onto the baking sheets. You can either pipe one sheet and store the remainder of the pastry cream in the piping bag in the fridge until you’re ready to bake the second tray. Or, you can pipe out the second tray at the same time and store it with a lightly oiled plastic wrap in the fridge. I normally just keep it in the piping bag and pipe right before I’m going to cook.
- If using craquelin, place on top of each puff. If not, use water or an egg wash of egg and water, and rub over the surface, patting down any pointed tips.
- Place in the preheated oven and bake for 35-45 minutes. Do not open the oven while they are baking. That will release the steam and inhibit them from rising to their full potential.
- Once they are golden brown, you can remove them from the oven and let them cool and transfer to a wire rack.
- Once they are cooled, you can fill with your filling of choice and enjoy!
Notes
- Consider using salted butter for added flavor if desired.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cream puff
- Calories: 120
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 100 mg
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 10 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 60 mg