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+ servings
cream puff filled with pastry cream
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5 from 6 votes

Choux Pastry

With only 5 ingredients and 15 minute prep time, choux pastry (pâte à choux) is a simple pastry dough for making cream puffs, eclairs, and profiteroles!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 15 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: French
Servings: 36 cream puffs
Calories: 44kcal

Equipment

  • Saucepan
  • large bowl
  • piping bag and large tip
  • baking sheets

Ingredients

  • 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

For Top:

Filling of Choice

    Instructions

    Prep:

    • 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.

    Making the Pate a Choux

    • 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 with a wooden spoon or heat proof spatula. When it is combined place back over heat.
    • Stir the mixture constantly of medium high 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 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 reminder 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 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 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 rising to their full potential.
    • Once they are golden brown you can remove from oven and let them cool and transfer to wire rack.
    • Once they are cooled you can fill with your filling of choice and enjoy!

    Notes

    • If using salted butter, cut added salt to 1/4 tsp
    • Be sure to use the spoon and level method for measure flour. If you dip the measure cup into a bag of flour, it is very easy to over fill and add to much flour to your recipe. 
    • Use the touch test when determining if there is enough eggs.  After adding the 4th egg, use your finger or the tip of a spatula to touch the batter and slowly pull away. It should pull away in a long string. If it doesn’t pull in a string, add more egg, one teaspoon at a time. 
    • Don’t open the oven door when cooking! You want to keep the oven hot and not release any of the steam as that is what causes the choux pastry dough to rise. Keep that oven closed friends!
    • These are best the day you make them, but you can freeze the baked and unfilled cream puffs and defrost in the fridge and fill them when you’re ready to serve. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1unfilled cream puff | Calories: 44kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 9mg | Potassium: 12mg | Vitamin A: 110IU | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 0.3mg