I like comparing choux pastry to puff pastry. In the article about puff pastry this leavening result of a combined action of heat and steam is explained.
In choux pastry the mechanism is the same:. You can make choux pastry using just water, but it is not uncommon to find recipes where water is partially or totally substituted by milk:. The most used fat is butter, but choux pastry can be made also with oil, margarine or lard. The higher is the content of fat, the more the cream puff will be crumbly and rounded with a smooth surface.
Less is the fat compared to the flour , lighter the cream puff will be with an irregular and cracked surface. Protein content should be higher in case of fat rich dough. Quantity in recipes is approximate because several factors can influence the preparation: boiling time, type of flour, cooking time. For more in-depth details and pictures, check out my Chocolate Eclairs post.
Eclairs are a bit trickier than profiteroles when it comes to maintaining their shape. With eclairs, I also prefer to use a French star tip over a round tip. This really helps with maintaining the eclair shell shape. I also prefer to use bread flour, so that the dough will be more sturdy than with AP flour. Eclairs bake better on silpat than on parchment paper! For more details, check out this post for tips on how to pipe eclairs and make classic chocolate eclairs.
Some recipes call for choux pastry to be baked at two different temperatures. If this works for you, go ahead. As I mentioned earlier, I find that the high temperature makes the shells expand too much, causing cracks.
This means you should never open the door during the first minutes of baking for standard-sized choux pastry; the time goes down for smaller shells and up for larger ones. I wait till the shells are golden colored before opening the door. This prevents steam from escaping too early, which will cause the shells to collapse. I used to prick each choux pastry shell with a toothpick as soon as they came out of the oven and were cooling down, in order to dry out the shells. So now I open the oven door at the minute mark, prick each shell with a toothpick or skewer during that last mins of baking, and allow the steam inside the shells to escape.
Use a sharp toothpick to pierce the casings. For larger pate a choux pastries more than 2. There are many different types of filling that you can use to fill profiteroles or eclairs! The most popular filling is vanilla pastry cream, which is also known as creme patissiere. You can get the recipe for creme patissiere right here. OR if you prefer chocolate creme patissiere chocolate pastry cream instead, get the recipe for that right here.
You can get the recipe for Salted Caramel diplomat cream in the recipe for Choux au craquelin with salted caramel cream. This will give you a softer shell, but it will have more flavor because of the milk.
I prefer bread flour to make eclairs, and AP flour for profiteroles. But you can try either of these and see which you like better. Toppings — You can also make little cookie discs craquelin to place on top of the profiteroles, for a crunchy version of choux pastry buns.
Unbaked choux pastry dough can be stored in an airtight container, and in the fridge for up to 2 days. I place the dough in a pastry bag and seal the bag so that the dough has zero contact with air. You can also place the dough in a bowl, and then cover the whole surface with plastic wrap. You can also pipe the choux pastry into the shape you like and freeze as quickly as possible. As soon as the choux pastry is frozen, you can place them in ziploc bags.
The most important thing is to prevent freezer burn. Baked choux pastry can be stored in an air tight container, at room temperature, for 24 hours unfilled. Unfilled cases can also be frozen in airtight container for longer.
But will need to be warmed in the oven before being filled. Just go for it! If you are a beginner, start with profiteroles or cream puffs. They are easier and more forgiving to make. Then you can graduate to eclairs , and then even try your hand at these addictively delicious craquelins! Digital Kitchen Scales. Silpat mats. Looking for more recipes?
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Learn how your comment data is processed. I made some today that failed. They were all flattened at the exit of the oven. My question now: What can I do with the shells, the flattened ones? Can I do some kind of dessert? There must be some kind of something I can still use them. Thank you. Hi Serge Sorry for the late reply When I was young I have eaten many flat choux pastry cases that my mom has made, so it is still very much edible and tasty.
You can either just pipe a stiff filling on top of the flat cases to serve it like a mini tart. A savory or sweet filling will work. The perfect measurement is ml eggs ml oil ml water g flour.
If you reduce or increase the amount of one ingredient, make sure to proportionally reduce or increase the rest of them. I understand that Americans and French often fill these with ice cream and cover with melted chocolate.
These are then called profiteroles. When it comes to filling, in Croatia we always make them with custard made of egg yolks, milk, cornstarch, sugar, vanilla and butter. Cornstarch is preferred over flour, as it gives the filling lightness and beautiful texture.
Butter is preferred over margarine here because it makes the filling extra smooth, silky and rich. Oftentimes, we add a layer of whipped cream over the custard filling, although this can be omitted.
A dusting of powdered sugar is always added on top. Our cream puffs are always mile high. You can also fill with fresh fruit like berries maserated in sugar with a spoon of whipped cream. I usually drizzle with chocolate or a hard caramel. If you like them sweet use about 2T. If you want to make these savory omit sugar, up the salt a little and you can even add pepper to them to make them tastier. Fill with salmon mousse or a savory cheese spread.
I've made these so many times and they turn out really good every time. And on some variations, I drizzle melted chocolate on the shells. Always a hit! In Australia we know these as profiteroles a French dish and people make a spectacular wedding cake out of them by building the filled puffs into a pyramid and covering them with a hard toffee glaze.
As plain profiteroles we serve them filled with whipped cream or custard and covered in chocolate sauce. This is a very good recipe! My oven is gas and only needed degrees Celcius, not for the first 20 minutes.
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