Choux pastry

recipe

Choux pastry

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A great classic of French pâtisserie, choux pastry is used for making éclairs and profiteroles. The traditional cake for weddings and communions in France, the croquembouche, is an elaborate cone-shaped confection of custard-filled choux buns, caramel, spun sugar, and fresh flowers

Ingredients

Makes 750g (1lb 10oz) dough
125ml (4 fl oz) water
125ml 4 fl oz) full-fat milk
1 scant tsp caster sugar
1 scant tsp salt
110g (4oz) butter
140g (5oz) plain white flour

Directions

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Pour the water, milk, sugar, and salt into a pan. Add the butter. Bring to the boil. As soon as the liquid boils, add the flour all at once. Beat vigorously until the dough is smooth.
Continue to beat the mixture for another 2-3 minutes until the dough dries out and comes away from the sides of the pan in a ball. Tip it into a large bowl.
Add the eggs one by one, beating well so that each egg is thoroughly incorporated before adding the next.
When the dough falls as a ribbon, it is ready to be shaped as required by the recipe and baked straight away.
Preheat the oven to 180 ˚C. Put the choux pastry dough into a piping bag (I had used a disposable one). Pipe balls of the mixture about 5cm in diameter onto a baking tray lined with baking parchment, spacing them about 5cm apart.
Bake in oven for about 10 mins or until the pastries are puffed up. Lower the temperature to about 170 ˚C and continue to bake until the pastries are golden and feel hollow, about 10 minutes.
Transfer to wire rack and cool. Tip: The choux paste cannot be kept so bake it as soon as you have made it. If you want to make it in advanced, bake the choux paste and keep the cooled choux pastries instead in airtight container.