Another adventure from the british baking show. I kept hearing folks make these during the show, they turned them into a bunch of different things – cream puffs, eclairs and more.
I first tried these with a friend when we decided to cook a bunch of stuff we had been wanting to try and just do it!
I mixed up some of the instructions that time. I was away for vacation, and brought 5 pounds of flour with me just to bake bread and try these again! Yup – i sure know how to vacation!
This time, i again mixed some things up. I went with a different recipe than I had used the first time, and it mentioned weight of the ingredient. I didn’t have a scale so I asked siri. I either was not quite correct on how i asked my question or she got it wrong… the flour amount was wrong and I knew it about half way through but decided to bake them anyway.
I remade the recipe with the one i had used before and it looked so much better! There was no kitchenaid, and bread blade, but all in all the cuisinart with the regular blade worked just as well!
We enjoyed them with a nice charcuterie!
Choux Pastry
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) butter, cut into 8 pieces
- 1/2 cup (120ml) water
- 1/2 cup (120ml) 2% or whole milk
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 4 large eggs, beaten
- optional: egg wash: 1 egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon milk or water
Instructions
Make the choux pastry dough:
- Combine the butter, water, milk, salt, and granulated sugar together in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Stir until the butter has melted.
- Bring mixture to a simmer.
- Once simmering, reduce heat to low and add the flour all at once.
- Stir until the flour is completely incorporated and a thick dough clumps into a ball.
- Mash the dough ball against the bottom and sides of the pan for 1 minute, which gently cooks the flour.
- Remove from heat and transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or, if using a handheld mixer, a large mixing bowl.
- Allow to cool down for a few minutes before adding the eggs in the next step.
- With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the eggs in 3-4 separate additions mixing for 30 seconds between each.
- The mixture will look curdled at first, but will begin to come together as the mixer runs.
- Pour in the final addition of beaten eggs very slowly.
- Stop adding when the choux pastry has reached the desired texture: shiny, thick, and smooth with a pipeable consistency.
- Option: leave a few teaspoons of beaten egg behind, which can be used with the egg wash.
Choux pastry dough is complete!
- Use it immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
- There’s no need to bring it to room temperature after refrigerating. In fact, you can store it in a piping bag
Cooking:
- Bake for 20 minutes then, keeping the pastries in the oven, reduce oven to 350°F (177°C) and continue to bake for 10-15 more minutes until golden brown.
- Do not open the oven as the pastries cook, as cool air will prevent them from properly puffing up.
- Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before filling.
Verdict:
Fun and easy to make! Excited to try it with whipped cream or chocolate!
If you try this recipe let me know what you think!
