Preparing choux pastry

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This versatile choux pastry is ideal for airy baked goods such as eclairs, profiteroles and gougères.

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What is choux pastry?

Choux pastry, also known as pâté à choux in French, may sound intimidating, but it's actually very simple to make. The dough is made on the stovetop with melted butter and eggs, then pressed into a variety of shapes and baked. In the oven, the dough rises, leaving a hollow space inside that's just begging for a filling.

Prepare the ingredients

You'll need butter, salt, flour, and eggs. Crack the eggs into a bowl first.

Turn on the fire

Melt the butter with the salt and water in a deep saucepan.

Add flour

Once the butter has melted, add the flour all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon until smooth. (Don't worry: this dough doesn't mind too much kneading!)

Watch the edges

Continue stirring until the dough looks dry and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Add eggs

Place the flour mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer to cool slightly. Then add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Note: after each egg, the dough will appear torn, but magically come together again as you mix.

Place in a pastry bag

Once all the eggs have been mixed in, spoon the finished batter into a pastry bag fitted with your favorite tip. If desired, press the batter into the bag with a scraper to remove any air bubbles.

Press out the dough

For éclairs, pipe short strips of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, turning the bag at the end of each batch to create a neat shape. For round pastries, pipe the dough into golf-ball-sized balls.

Bake

Place in the oven and bake until puffy and golden brown.

Add the filling

The finished products will be dry and practically hollow inside. Once they have cooled completely, you can add sweet or savory fillings: whipped cream, custard or smoked salmon mousse.

Choux pastry recipes: