Cream Puff Pastry (Pâté a Choux)

The term pâté a choux means “cabbage paste” in French, referring to both the dough and to the bumpy, rounded shape of this beloved pastry.

Really a cross between a dough and a batter, pâté a choux is a “twice-cooked” paste of butter, eggs, flour and water (and often milk). The water, butter and flour are first mixed in a saucepan and then stirred over heat until the dough forms into a ball. Then eggs are beaten in one at a time and the paste is piped or spooned into mounds. The second cooking comes in the oven, where the dough puffs, firms up on the inside and is transformed into firm, near-hollow containers. Cooled, cut in half and filled with whipped cream-—or any number of sweet or savory fillings—classy, classic choux puffs belie their humble name.

Although the process is not difficult or time-consuming, each step—and each ingredient—is important. Butter gives the choux pastry its characteristic flavor and crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside texture. High-fat butter, like Organic Valley’s European-Style, is a good choice because it has less moisture, which can cause the puffs to collapse. Eggs provide structure and leavening, as well as the rich egginess of the interior. All-purpose flour gives gluten-based body—not too much, as bread flour would, and not too little, as would cake flour.

Technique matters, too. Here are several tips to help ensure perfect puffs:

• Cool the butter mixture for several minutes before adding the eggs (so as not to cook the eggs too soon). About 5 minutes will do it, however, otherwise the mixture may get too cool to incorporate the eggs.
• Place the mounds at least two inches apart on the baking sheets. Overcrowding will produce excess moisture and cause the puffs to collapse.
• Use a high heat for the first portion of baking time, in order to give the dough a good initial rise. Then, lower the temperature and continue baking to fully cook the insides of the puffs.
• To remove excess moisture from the baked puffs (which can deflate if they’re not dry enough inside), make a slit or small holes in the sides of the pastries when they are done. Leave them in the turned-off oven to further dry out the puffs and to cool them completely.
• Avoid baking choux paste on a humid or rainy day. Too much moisture in the air can make the puffs wilt.
• There is no need to brush pâté a choux with egg or milk before baking them. The egg on top can cause the pastry to crack open more, for one thing. And a nicely browned, shiny surface is achievable with this dough even without an egg wash.

Click here for a Cream Puff recipe.