Choux Buns Recipes

STRAWBERRY & WHITE CHOCOLATE CHOUX BUNS

Steps:

• Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Heat oven to 200C, 180C fan gas 6. Heat the butter in a nonstick pan with 125ml water until melted. Increase the heat until boiling then remove from the heat and quickly beat in the flour until the mixture comes together as a ball. Cool 5 mins then beat the eggs with 1 tbsp water then beat into the pastry a little as a time to make a thick glossy mix.
• Spoon onto the baking tray in 8 equal size blobs then add the almonds if using poking them into the mixture. Bake for 25-30 mins until well risen and golden. Take from the oven make a slash in the sides and return to the oven for 5 mins more to dry out.
• While baking make the filling. Mix the custard powder with a little of the milk then, with the remaining milk and vanilla put in a non stick pan and cook, stirring over the heat until thickened. Stand for 5 mins then beat in the yogurt and set aside to cool, stirring frequently to make sure a skin doesn't form. When cold, stir in the grated chocolate.
• Reserve 1 tbsp of the custard mix then use the rest to fill the buns. Distribute all but 8 halves of strawberries between the buns, then blob a little of the remaining custard filling on top and add the reserved strawberries. Lightly dust with the icing sugar before serving if you like.

CREAM PUFF "CRACK BUNS" (CHOUX AU CRAQUELIN)

Steps:

• Mix butter, brown sugar, flour, and salt together in a large bowl using a spatula. Place dough between two sheets of waxed paper or inside a zip-top bag. Press or roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Trim off the edges slightly to get a rectangular shape, if desired. Freeze crust until ready to use.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat.
• Combine water, butter, and salt in a saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add flour; stir with a wooden spoon until mixture comes together into a smooth dough and pulls away cleanly from the bottom of the pan. Transfer to a bowl and spread out with a whisk to speed up cooling. Cool until warm, about 10 minutes.
• Whisk eggs, one at a time, into the pastry, mixing well after each addition. Finish mixing with a spatula. Scoop pastry into a pastry bag and pipe into 6 to 8 buns on the baking sheet. Smooth out tops with a wet finger.
• Use a cookie cutter to cut crust into circles about the diameter of the buns. Lightly push crusts onto the buns, just enough to secure them.
• Place buns in the preheated oven. Immediately reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake until browned and fully puffed, 30 to 40 minutes. Transfer buns onto a cooling rack and place rack back on the baking sheet. Place in the turned-off oven, leave door partially open, and let cool completely, at least 20 minutes.
• Melt chocolate in a microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl in 15-second intervals, stirring after each interval, 1 to 3 minutes.
• Spread a few teaspoons of melted chocolate onto the bottom of each bun. Gently press each chocolate base back on the baking sheet to spread it evenly. Let chocolate harden, about 1 hour.

CHOCOLATE CHOUX BUNS

Steps:

• Melt the butter with the water and caster sugar in a heavy-based pan.
• Bring to the boil, turn off the heat and immediately tip in all the flour.
• Beat thoroughly with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a smooth ball in the centre of the pan.
• Turn the ball into a bowl and cool for 15min. Preheat the oven to 220°C (190°C fan) mark 7.
• Gradually whisk in the eggs a little at a time until the mixture is shiny.
• Sprinkle water over a non-stick baking sheet. Put eight large spoonfuls of the mixture on to the baking sheet.
• Bake for 30min until risen and golden brown. Turn off the oven.
• Pierce each bun. Leave in the oven for 10-15min. Cool on a wire rack.
• Halve buns and fill with cream. Top with warm melted chocolate.

HOW TO MAKE CHOUX PASTRY (PâTE à CHOUX)

Steps:

• Watch the video in the blog post above; it will help guide you through the next few steps.
• 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. I usually leave a few teaspoons of beaten egg behind, which can be used with the egg wash.
• Your choux pastry dough is complete! You can use it immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
• Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly brush the parchment with water, which creates a humid environment for the pastry shells allowing them to puff up without drying out or burning.
• Transfer choux pastry dough to a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1A piping tip. Pipe 2-inch mounds about 3 inches apart. Watch the video in the blog post above for a visual. You can also use a zipped-top bag and cut off the corner for easy piping. Using a water moistened finger, smooth down the peaks and lightly brush each with egg wash.
• 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.
• Split open pastries and fill with homemade whipped cream, lemon curd, pastry cream, jam, a combination of these, or your favorite filling. You can also poke a hole in the pastries and pipe the filling inside. For my pictured cream puffs and profiteroles, see recipe notes.
• Cover and store leftover filled pastries in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Cover and store unfilled pastries at room temperature for 1 day, in the refrigerator for 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before filling and serving.

CHOCOLATE CHOUX BUNS

Steps:

• The mousse filling should be made several hours in advance. First, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water (make sure the base of the bowl doesn't touch the water). Then beat the egg yolks into the chocolate and allow the mixture to cool. Now, using an electric hand whisk, whisk the egg whites to the soft peak stage. Stir 1 tablespoon of the egg white into the chocolate mixture to loosen it, then carefully fold in the remainder. Cover the bowl and chill the mousse in the fridge for about 3 hours. You can watch how to whisk eggs in our Cookery School Video on this page. To make the choux pastry, you are going to need to 'shoot' the flour quickly into the water and melted butter, so begin by cutting out a square of baking parchment, fold to make a crease, then open it out again. Sift the flour straight on to the square of parchment and add the sugar. Next, put 5 fl oz (150 ml) of cold water in a medium saucepan, together with the pieces of butter, then place the saucepan over a moderate heat and stir with a wooden spoon. As soon as the butter has melted and the mixture comes up to the boil, turn off the heat immediately, as too much boiling will evaporate some of the water. Then tip in the flour - all in one go - with one hand, while you beat the mixture vigorously with the other. You can do this with a wooden spoon, although an electric hand whisk will save you lots of energy. Beat until you have a smooth ball of paste that has left the sides of the saucepan clean - this will probably take less than a minute. Then beat in the beaten eggs - a little at a time, mixing in each addition thoroughly before adding the next - until you have a smooth, glossy paste. At this stage, hold the greased baking sheet under cold running water for a few seconds, and tap it sharply to get rid of excess moisture. This will help create a steamier atmosphere, which in turn helps the pastry to rise. Place rough dessertspoons of the choux pastry on the greased and dampened baking sheet and bake on a high shelf in the pre-heated oven (200C) for 10 minutes. After that, increase the heat to gas mark 7, 425ºF (220ºC) and bake for a further 20-25 minutes until the buns are nicely brown and puffy. Pierce the side of each one and put them back in the oven for a further 2-3 minutes to crisp up, then cool on a wire cooling tray. It's best not to put the filling in until about an hour before serving. They are best made and eaten on the day but if you want to get ahead you and make, cool and freeze but they will go soft but they can be crisped up in the oven (from frozen) before you fill them. Then keeping the heat at its lowest, allow the chocolate to melt slowly - it should take about 5 minutes to become smooth and glossy. Then remove it from the heat, give it a good stir and leave to cool for 2-3 minutes. Next, stir the crème fraîche into the chocolate and spread some of the topping over each bun and finally, sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts. Note: this recipe contains raw eggs.

BASIC CHOUX PASTRY AND TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Place salt, water, sugar (if using) and butter in a saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the water is starting to boil (butter should be melted at this point), add the flour in one go (do this with the saucepan away from the stove/heat) and vigorously mix the flour in, so that it absorbs all of the water (use a wooden spoon or spatula to do this). When the flour has absorbed the water and it's forming a dough, return the pan to the stove (medium heat).
• Cook the dough for 1 - 3 minutes (over medium heat) while you mix and move it around in the pan until you get a dough that pulls away from the sides of the pan, forms a film or oil droplets on the bottom of the pan, and when you stick a regular tablespoon in the dough, it stays upright. (The cook time will vary depending on your stove top).
• Transfer the dough to a bowl, and let it cool down slightly for a few minutes. Add the vanilla extract (if using), and then with a hand-held mixer (or whisk), mix the dough while adding the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Make sure the eggs are lightly beaten so that you can stop adding eggs immediately, when you reach the right consistency (i.e. a dough with a glossy sheen with pipeable consistency. You may or may not use up all the eggs, please see the post for details).
• Prepare a baking tray with parchment paper and mist the surface with water (either using a mister or lightly sprinkle water with your hands - this is an optional step).
• Pipe the desired shape on to the baking sheet - either using a piping bag fitted with a large tip (I use Wilton 1A or 2A tip, or you can cut the pastry bag opening instead), or spoon it on to the tray, using a teaspoon. Then with a damp finger, flatten the apex and any points.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 - 40 minutes in the center of the oven, or until the choux pastry shells puff up and are golden brown on top. Do not open the oven door, at least until you have reached the 25 minute mark. Importantly, baking time depends on the size of your pastry shell. If you prefer a drier shell, bake for a couple of minutes longer.
• During the last 5 - 10 minutes of baking, prick each shell with a skewer or toothpick and let them dry out in the oven while baking.
• Remove from the oven, and let the choux pastry cases cool completely in a draft-free area. Preferably in a place that is not cold. (Letting them cool in an open but turned off oven is even better, but not necessary).
• Fill with a sweet or savory filling and serve immediately. Or you can store cooled choux pastry shells in an air-tight container for up to one day. To store them for longer, keep them in the freezer in an air-tight container.

FILLED CHOCOLATE CHOUX BUNS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200°C (180° fan) 400F gas 6.
• To make the choux pastry, bring 250 ml (approximately 1 cup) of water to a boil with the butter, sugar and salt.
• Pour in all the flour in one go, add the cocoa powder and stir vigorously over a low heat until the dough forms a ball and leaves the sides of the pan clean.
• Tip the dough into a bowl and beat in the eggs one at a time. Finally, beat in the baking powder.
• Fill a piping bag with the choux pastry and pipe 20 walnut-size heaps onto a cookie tray lined with baking parchment.
• Bake for 25 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and slice each profiterole through horizontally. Replace the pastry lids and let cool.
• To make the filling, slit the vanilla bean and place in a pan with the cream. Bring the cream to a boil, remove from the heat and leave to steep.
• Beat the egg yolk and sugar until thick and creamy and stir in the hot cream.
• Pour back into the pan and cook over a medium heat stirring with a spatula. Do not allow to boil.
• Push the sauce through a sieve and let cool down to room temperature.
• Beat the butter with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy then whisk the vanilla cream into the butter little by little.
• Melt the chocolate over simmering water, let cool and mix into the cream.
• Spoon the filing into a piping bag with a large star nozzle. Pipe a portion onto the bottom half of each profiterole and replace the top.