How To Make Choux Paste
There are a lot of pastry doughs out there in the world – pie crust, puff pastry, phyllo… All of them can be used for a variety of delicious desserts and savory snacks! There is one dough – a paste, actually – that should also be in all of our repertoires. We should all know how to make choux paste. It is the pathways to deliciousness!
How To Make Choux Paste – A Different Dough Paste
Unlike other doughs or pastes or whatever, Choux Paste is cooked twice, once to prepare the paste and once to create the final product. The second cooking of Choux paste is usually by baking, but choux paste can also be fried. Choux paste can also be simmered into dumplings then broiled. What makes it great is that it can be used for sweet and savoury dishes. How the choux paste is flavoured and shaped can create an endless supply delicious moments that are limited only by our imagination (or, as I have said before, how good our inspiration is!). But there is something else special about Choux Paste – when it is baked it bakes up crispy and hollow which only means one thing – fillings!
How To Make Choux Paste – The Sweet
Classically, a sweet choux paste is is made into profiteroles/cream puffs and eclairs. Other famous desserts featuring chuox paste includes the christmas croquembouche.
There are a variety of sweet things that chooux paste is filled with….
- Ice Cream in Profiteroles
- Pastry Cream in Eclairs
- Whipped Cream in Cream Puffs
- Pastry Cream in a Paris Brest
- Apples in Choux a’ la Normande
- Cherries in Choux a’ la Montmorency
Below is the basic recipe for a sweet chop paste for things like eclairs, paris brest and profiteroles. Following the recipe are a few videos that show how to make choux paste and how to turn that choux paste into delicious desserts.!
- 1 cup water
- 8 tbsp butter, cut into pieces
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- dash of salt
- dash of sugar
- 4 eggs
- Place water, butter, salt and sugar in a medium pan over low heat allowing the butter to melt.
- Once the butter is melted increase heat and bring to a boil.
- When the water starts to boil remove from heat and dump all the flour into the pot. Stir with a wooden spoon rapidly, combine thoroughly.
- Put the mixture over medium heat and continue to stir until the dough forms a mass that does not stick to the side of the pan.
- Reduce heat to low and continue stirring for another minute to remove just a bit more of the moisture from the dough.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and transfer to a glass bowl.
- Add one egg at a time thoroughly incorporating each egg before adding another.
- The dough will be smooth and a little stretchy.
- Shape the dough using spoons or a pastry bag.
- Bake the dough on a parchment lined baking sheet at 400F for about 20 minutes or until golden brown, firm to the touch and doubled in size.
How To Make Choux Paste – The Savory
Makingg choux paste savoury is easy. Simply removing the sugar is a start! The typical addition is cheese. Adding a cup of cheese after preparing the choux paste as above will take this to a whole new level! Cheddar? Yep! Smoked Gouda? A WOW waiting to happen! Monterrey Jack with Jalepeno? Now we are cooking! Gruyere and parmesan – definitely! Of course, do not forget the spices! The most famous savory choux paste application is probably cheese puffs or gougeres.
With a savory choux paste a whole new world of fillings opens up! Tomato Salsa, Guacamole, Hummus, Chicken Salad (can you imagine a chicken salad eclair!), Tapenade, Indian dhal, pulled pork, sloppy joe! A savory choux paste also opens up different cooking techniques. A savory choux paste can be simmered in water, drained, covered with cheese and broiled in a baking dish. This is called gnocchi parisenne and it is worth a try!
The list is never ending and that is what makes Choux paste great and must have in your repertoire!
Below is a basic savory choux paste recipe that can be used to make cheese puffs and gnocchi parissienne. Below the recipe are a few videos that show how to make choux paste and how to turn it into savory deliciousness!
- 1 cup of milk
- 4 tbsp of butter
- 1/4 tsp of salt
- 1 tsp of freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup of flour
- 4 eggs
- 3/4 cup of shredded gruyere cheese
- 1/4 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- In a medium pot, add the milk, salt, pepper and butter. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.
- When the mixture is boiling and the butter is melted, pour in all the flour at once and stir with a wooden spoon. Lower the heat to low. Keep stirring until the dough comes off the side of the pan and comes together as a dough - about 1 minute. Keep stirring for another minute to cook the floury taste from the dough.
- Turn off the heat.
- Add one egg directly into the pot stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon to incorporate the egg into the dough. After the egg is added, the dough will be clumpy and sticky, but will come back together when the egg is fully incorporated. Repeat this step until all the eggs are incorporated and the dough is a thick paste. A hand mixer can be used to incorporate the eggs instead of a wooden spoon.
- When all the eggs are incorporated, stir in the cheese.
- Let the dough cool and transfer it to a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch plain or star piping tip. A plastic bag with a corner cut off and a piping tip inserted can also be used. A tablespoon can also be used to portion the paste instead of a piping bag.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Pipe or spoon tablespoon dollops of the paste onto the parchment paper.
- Bake the puffs in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until they are deep golden brown and have puffed up. They should sound hollow when tapped.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
- The cheese puffs can be frozen after baking in zip bags or other airtight containers. When ready to use the puffs, thaw them and reheat in the oven.
