Cream Puffs Pate A Choux Recipes

PATE A CHOUX (CREAM PUFF PASTRY)

Steps:

• Place a bowl on your mixer and fit the paddle attachment to it.
• Put your eggs next to the mixer.
• Mix the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt in a 2-quart saucepan.
• Bring to a full boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
• Stirring constantly, add the flour all at once, and stir quickly and without stopping until the flour is thoroughly incorporated.
• Then continue to cook and stir for another 45 seconds, or until the dough comes into a ball and a light film of paste coats the bottom of the pan.
• Immediately scrape the dough into the bowl of your mixer, and turn the mixer on low speed.
• Let it mix for a minute or two - the first few turns of the paddle will put up a cloud of steam.
• That's fine.
• Just let it mix until no more steam is coming off the dough.
• Then add the first egg, letting it mix in fully before adding the next one.
• Keep the mixer on low speed - you don't want to incorporate too much air into the paste.
• Scrape down the bowl every 2nd egg just to make sure everything is mixing together.
• Before adding the 6th egg, stop the mixer and check the consistency of the dough.
• You will know it is perfect if, when you lift the paddle, it pulls the dough with it, then the dough breaks away and forms a peak that slowly bends down.
• If the dough is too thick and doesn't form that peak, add the last egg.
• The dough is now ready to be used to make éclairs, cream puffs, profiteroles, or any other recipe calling for choux paste.
• It should be used immediately.
• NOTES FOR MAKING CHOUX PASTE SUCCESSFULLY: The liquid must be heated to a full boil.
• Add the flour all at once and stir madly until every last speck of flour is incorporated, then keep cooking and stirring some more - it's this last bit of cooking that will take the raw taste out of the flour; you'll know you are ready to quit when the dough forms a ball around your wooden spoon and the bottom of the pan is covered with a light film of paste.
• Stop mixing when you still have one egg left to add and inspect the dough.
• Depending on the condition of the flour, the room, or the moods of the pastry gods, the dough may or may not need the last egg.
• The dough is finished when you lift the paddle and it pulls up some dough that then detaches and forms a slowly bending peak - if you don't get a peak, add another egg.
• And relax.
• Even if you can't decide what to do, add the egg - you will still get a good puff.
• Use the paste while it is warm.
• It cannot be kept.
• Unfilled puffs or éclairs can be well wrapped and frozen for a few weeks.

SWEET OR SAVORY PATE A CHOUX

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Boil water, butter, and salt or sugar. Add flour and remove from heat. Work mixture together and return to heat. Continue working the mixture until all flour is incorporated and dough forms a ball. Transfer mixture into bowl of a standing mixer and let cool for 3 or 4 minutes. With mixer on stir or lowest speed add eggs, 1 at a time, making sure the first egg is completely incorporated before continuing. Once all eggs have been added and the mixture is smooth put dough into piping bag fitted with a round tip. Pipe immediately into golfball-size shapes, 2 inches apart onto parchment lined sheet pans. Cook for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350 degrees F and bake for 10 more minutes or until golden brown. Once they are removed from the oven pierce with a paring knife immediately to release steam.

PATE A CHOUX PUFFS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a medium saucepan, combine the milk and butter, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the salt, sugar and flour, and stir vigorously with a heatproof spatula. Cook, stirring constantly, until a dense dough forms that pulls away from the side of the pan, about 3 minutes.
• Add the dough to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. On low speed, beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions to make sure everything is evenly mixed.
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using a 1-ounce scoop, drop the dough, 1 inch apart, onto the prepared cookie sheet. Bake until puffed and golden, 35 to 40 minutes. (The puffs should feel light when you pick them up.) Make sure to keep the oven shut until at least the halfway point -- if you open the oven before 20 minutes have elapsed, the puffs will deflate and you won't be able to get the texture back. Remove the puffs from the oven and prick each one on the side to allow the steam to escape. Let cool completely.
• To dip in chocolate: If desired, dip the tops of the puffs in Warm Chocolate Ganache, shaking off the excess. Place on a platter and sprinkle with sliced almonds. Let stand for about 30 minutes, to set the glaze, before eating.
• Heat 1 inch or so of water in a medium saucepan over low heat. Put the chocolate chips and cream in a heatproof bowl that fits snugly into the saucepan without touching the water. Heat, stirring, until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth, about 5 minutes.

PATE A CHOUX

Steps:

• Combine water, butter, sugar, and saltin a medium saucepan over medium-highheat. Bring mixture to a boil, and immediately remove from heat. Stir in the flour.When flour is combined, return to heat. Thismixture is called a panade. Dry the panadebystirring constantly for 4minutes. It isready when it pulls away from the sidesand a film forms on the bottom of the pan.
• Transfer panade to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment,and mix on low speed, about 2minutes,until slightly cooled. Add the eggs one at atime on medium speed, letting each oneincorporate completely before adding thenext. Add the last egg a little at a time until the batter is smooth and shiny. Test thebatter by touching it with your finger andlifting to form a string. If a string does notform, the batter needs more egg. If youhave added all the egg and the batter stilldoesn't form a string, add water 1 teaspoon at a time until it does.
• The batter may be used immediately orstored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2days. To use chilled,remove from the refrigerator, and stir tosoften before filling piping bag.

PâTE à CHOUX FOR CHEESE PUFFS AND CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Put butter and salt in medium saucepan with 1 cup water, and bring to a boil. Add flour, and stir with wooden spoon or sturdy whisk until mixture comes together, about 1 minute. Lower heat and cook for 1 minute more.
• Transfer dough to bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Mix at medium speed to cool mixture slightly. Increase speed and begin to add eggs, one at a time. Make sure each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next. After fourth egg has been added, beat for a minute more, until dough is smooth and glossy. Stop machine, add cayenne, nutmeg, pepper and grated cheese, then mix briefly to combine. (If you don't have a mixer, you can also beat the dough vigorously by hand.) Scrape down sides of bowl and remix, then put mixture in pastry bag.
• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line two 12-by-18-inch baking sheets with parchment. On each sheet, pipe six rows of 1 1/2-inch-round mounds of dough, five to a row, with at least 1 inch of space between them. (If you prefer, use two soup spoons to put the dough on the sheet.) Brush each mound with beaten egg, smoothing the tops with a finger if not quite round.
• Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 degrees. Continue baking for about 25 minutes, turning baking sheets as necessary, until mounds are puffed, golden and crisp. Serve immediately or cool on a rack and reheat later.

PATE CHOUX WITH PUDDING

Steps:

• First, prepare pudding.
• In a large saucepan, stir flour, sugar, and milk together.
• Stir continuously, cooking over medium heat, until bubbly.
• Cook, while stirring, for two minutes more.
• Remove from heat and stir about a cup of the milk mixture into the eggs gradually.
• Add this egg mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the milk mixture and cook until NEARLY bubbly, avoiding a boil.
• Cook on low heat for two minutes more, stirring.
• Stir in the vanilla, cover the surface of the pudding with plastic wrap, and chill until serving time.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Combine the water, oil, sugar, and salt in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.
• Add all of the flour and stir well with a wooden spoon until dough forms a distinct ball in the middle of the saucepan.
• Cook a minute longer, while mashing and mixing the dough.
• Remove from the heat and let rest to cool for two minutes.
• Beat each egg into the dough, one by one.
• Drop the dough, in smoothed mounds, onto a greased baking sheet and bake about 25 minutes.
• For assembly, use a serrated knife to cut almost entirely around each puff three-quarters of the way up, to make a lid.
• Scoop out any excess dough that may be left inside, and spoon some filling into each puff, replacing the lids after finishing.
• Dust in a light coating of powdered sugar for presentation.

PâTE à CHOUX PUFFS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
• In a medium saucepan, bring the water, butter, sugar, and salt to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring gently to encourage the butter to melt. As soon as the mixture begins to boil, add the flour all at once and stir rapidly with a spatula until the mixture forms a thick paste and pulls away from the sides of the pan.
• Remove from the heat. Wait for 2 minutes, stirring the paste a couple of times to cool it slightly, then vigorously beat in the eggs one at a time, making sure each one is completely incorporated before adding the next. (I do this by hand, but some folks prefer to use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.)
• Using a pastry bag fitted with a plain 1/2-inch (1-cm) tip, pipe the choux paste into mounds 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) high on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them 3 inches (8 cm) apart. Or, use 2 teaspoons to drop the paste into mounds.
• If you want puffs with a shiny glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and milk and brush the tops of the puffs without letting the glaze drip down the sides, which will inhibit rising.
• Bake until the puffs are golden brown on the tops and sides, 25 to 30 minutes. Turn off the oven and let them rest in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and poke each puff in the side with a paring knife so that it releases its steam. Let cool completely.
• Pâte à choux puffs can be stored at room temperature for several hours. I prefer not to freeze them because there is a noticeable difference in quality between fresh and frozen puffs, but if you have leftovers, you can freeze them for up to 1 month and recrisp them in a low oven before serving.

CRAQUELIN-TOPPED CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• To make the craquelin: Pulse the butter, sugar and salt in a food processor until just blended. Add the flour, and pulse until you have moist curds; pulse in the vanilla. Scrape the dough out onto the counter, and pull it together into a ball. Divide in half, shape each half into a disk and roll out each piece between parchment paper until it's about 1/8 to 1/16 inch thick. Freeze for at least 1 hour, and then cut into 1 3/4-to-2-inch-diameter rounds. Freeze until needed (always use frozen).
• Preheat the oven to 350. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Have a small (2-teaspoon capacity) cookie scoop, spoon or a piping bag at hand.
• To make the puffs: Bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt just to a boil in a medium pan. Reduce the heat to low, add the flour all at once and start stirring like mad with a flexible spatula. Stir and mash the dough until it comes together and leaves a film on the bottom of the pan. Keep cooking and stirring nonstop for another 3 minutes to dry but not color it. Scrape the dough into the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or work with a hand mixer). Beat the dough for 2 minutes to cool it down a bit. Combine the eggs and white, stir with a fork to break them up and then add to the dough in three additions, beating on medium speed. Beat until the dough is satiny and runs off the beater smoothly.
• Scoop, spoon or pipe puffs that are about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, leaving about 2 inches between each puff. (At this point, you can freeze them and then, when they are solid, pack them in an airtight container. When you're ready to bake, arrange the frozen puffs on a lined baking sheet and keep them on the counter while you preheat the oven.) Place a frozen round of craquelin on each puff.
• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, rotating the baking sheets if needed, or until the tops are golden brown and crackled. The puffs will feel firm when gently squeezed and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Transfer them to racks, and cool to room temperature.

PATE A CHOUX

Steps:

• Bring butter, sugar, salt, and 1 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Using a wooden spoon, quickly stir in flour. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture pulls away from sides and a film forms on bottom of pan, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until slightly cooled, about 1 minute. Raise speed to medium; add whole eggs, 1 at a time, until a soft peak forms when batter is touched with your finger. If peak does not form, lightly beat remaining egg white, and mix it into batter a little at a time until it does.