Foolproof Cream Puffs
Don’t you LOVE when you find a great pair of boots that fit like they were handmade for you? They are so comfortable you can wear them all day and night. They are the boots that didn’t cost you much, but give you the confidence of Jimmy Choo’s. Best of all, they go with everything you already own! That’s the dream, right? When we are talking desserts, pâte à choux dough is that perfect pair of boots. It’s versatile, functional, and will cost you pennies to make. It can be dressed up or kept simple, it’s classic, but also can be modernized.
What it is…
Pâte à choux dough (pronounced Pot-uh-Shoo in case it comes up during the next trivia night – you’re welcome! 😜) is a combination of water, butter, flour, salt and eggs. It’s French translation actually means cabbage paste, based on its round shape. Luckily, that’s where the cabbage similarities end!
Sometimes called choux paste or eclair paste by the pros, it’s a thick, sticky dough that is generally piped to meet the needs of the application being used. During the baking process, it uses steam to puff up, creating the signature cavity that is usually stuffed with any assortment of fillings.
The dough comes together in just minutes on the stovetop, initially. You’re probably most familiar with it as the dough used for cream puffs and eclairs, but it’s also the very same used for more intricate French desserts like Paris-Brest, crullers, profiteroles, croquembouche, as well as several savory applications as well!
If you’ve never made or used this dough, I’d recommend starting out with a simple cream puff. These are round, hollow dough balls that you can fill with the sweet or savory filling of your choice.
How to make it…
To start, you’ll need a heavy saucepan. I like to use stainless so that you can see the film in the pan once you’ve cooked the flour in, but I’ve also used a timing method and a nonstick pan, and both have been successful!
First, bring everything except the eggs and flour to a boil. Some recipes will call for milk, or a combo of milk and water, but I’ve found all water works great (and it’s free!). Wait for this to come to a rolling, heavy boil, remove it from the heat source to avoid hot splatters, and dump in all the flour.
Return the pot to the heat and begin stirring. Initially, it’s going to look like a gelatinous mess, but trust the process and keep stirring! Fairly quickly, it will form in a ball in your pan. I like to use my wooden spoon to press and pull it apart to make sure I got all the flour clumps out so that we have a nice smooth batter to pipe. You want to make sure that you stir vigorously for at least 3 minutes to effectively cook the flour. You will see a film appear in the pan, this is a sign that you’re good to move on to the next step!
At this point, you can take the dough off the heat and either dump into a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or into a large bowl. Stir this mixture and incorporate air until it stops steaming. If you’re doing it by hand, just be sure to move it around enough that you don’t leave hot pockets. This is important so that it’s cooled slightly to avoid scrambling the eggs.
Once it’s not steaming anymore, begin stirring in one egg at a time. It’s going to look very strange at first. As you keep stirring, it will transform into a thick, sticky dough. When you put a little between two fingers, it should pull apart like melted cheese. That’s when you know it’s the perfect consistency! It should also fall off your paddle in a V shape and slowly fold in on itself.
Preparing to bake…
Next, you’ll either pipe or scoop it onto a sheet pan. I prefer to pipe, but you can also scoop them with an ice cream scoop. Make sure there’s plenty of space in between them. They will swell quite a bit, and need good airflow between them.
Before I pop them in the oven, I take a wet finger and smooth out the tops as best I can. I always start my cream puffs in a hot oven – 425 – but immediately reduce the heat to 350. If your puffs blow out their shape during baking, try reducing the heat and lengthening the bake time, that should help control the shape better. Whatever you do, don’t open the door until they have fully formed, or you can risk them falling and deflating!
These are done in 30-40 minutes, depending on size. All the cracks and crevices that form should be lightly browned throughout, and they should feel like a ping pong ball – light, crisp, and hollow. There should not be any wet or raw looking dough on the inside. Once they’ve cooled, all that’s left is to decide what filling you want to use! Plain whipped cream, ice cream, pastry cream, or maybe you go off-roading…
It might not be the first thing you think of for cream puffs, but they also make excellent vehicles for savory fillings! Creamy shrimp or chicken salads, savory mousses, a cream and herb filling, or I’ve even had a savory cream puff that had such an amazing flavor that it was served in a Michelin starred restaurant! At The Inn at Little Washington, they serve a petite puff baked with a grated cheese and coarse salt topping as the “crouton” to a tomato soup. (To be fair, the choux dough might have been more of a gougere, which has the addition of cheese right in the dough, but regardless, it was heavenly! I need to experiment in the kitchen to recreate those!)
Either way you go – sweet or savory, they should be eaten as soon after filling as possible. If you aren’t using them right away, and they seem to soften, just pop them in a warm oven for a few minutes to crisp back up. These can also be frozen, and then baked for a few minutes to re-crisp. Just be sure to cool completely before adding your filling!
This week’s feature recipe…
This cream puff recipe is the body of my feature recipe this week, Apple Pie Choux au Craquelin. Pastry cream with apple pie spices and bits of tart apple is piped inside a tender but crispy cream puff that’s been baked with a cinnamon craquelin topping. The pastry shell replaces the pie crust and the craquelin blanket is reminiscent of the brown sugar cinnamon crumble. Together, I think you’ll find this is an unbeatable combo!
Cream Puffs
Ingredients
- 125 g Bread flour
- 188 g Water
- 94 g Butter
- 2 g Salt
- 209 g Eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425.
- Bring water, butter and salt to a rolling boil.
- Remove from heat momentarily, add flour, and stir vigorously. Add back to heat and cook while stirring for at least 3 minutes, and film has formed in bottom of pan.
- Remove from heat and add to stand mixer bowl (or mixing bowl).
- Beat on low speed until steaming has stopped.
- Begin adding eggs one at a time, while continuously mixing on low, until smooth, thick paste has formed.
- Transfer dough to piping bag, and pipe onto sheet pan. Smooth tops with a wet finger or top with craquelin. Alternatively, scoop with stainless cookie scoop on to pan.
- Place in preheated oven and immediately reduce heat to 350.
- Bake 30-40 minutes or until browned in any crevices and lightweight.
- Cool completely before filling.
