Fool-Proof Choux Pastry

Fool-Proof Choux Pastry

Time taken: 1 hour

This recipe is a sturdy choux with a method that helps you get to grips with the process.

Equipment Checklist:

  • Small saucepan, medium-large bowl, wooden spoon or spatula.

  • Small bowl/pouring jug

  • Piping bag, piping tip s10, silpat/baking paper, baking tray

Fool-Proof Choux Pastry

Water | 60g

Milk | 60g

Butter | 50g

Salt | 1g

Sugar | 2.5g

Flour | 7.5g

Eggs | 100g-125g

Note: you need to work as quickly as possible during this stage in order to ensure that the dough stays chilled.

Note: A simple turn = 1 turn, A double turn = 2 turns

We do double turns to speed up the process, but if you feel more comfortable just doing single turns, simply repeat step two 5 times.

A bit about choux pastry:

You might notice looking at various recipes for choux that the milk and water are often in different proportions to each other. This is because when you alter the ratios, the choux changes structure and therefore can be specialised for different purposes. 

This recipe may not seem like a lot, but as you will see, choux pastry goes a long way. If you want to use half now, you can refrigerate the batter for up to 5 days, or even freeze it once piped, ready to bake when you need it. 

Method:

  1. First, weigh the water, milk, butter, salt and sugar into a small saucepan. Place it over a low heat and wait until the butter has melted. 

  2. Whilst waiting for this, weigh your flour into a large bowl, and your eggs into a small bowl or a measuring jug. (Go for the higher measurement of eggs, I will explain later why this is a range rather than an exact measurement). Place the flour next to the saucepan, ready with a wooden spoon or plastic equivalent. 

  3. When the butter has melted, turn the heat right up, and allow the contents to come to a rolling boil - the kind where it rises up the side of the pan. Be careful to remove it from the heat before it overflows!

  4. Now, tip all of the flour into the saucepan, and quickly beat it in until the mixture is homogenous. Place the mixture back over low heat to dry it out, beating it continuously. 

  5. Once suitably dry, meaning the mixture easily isn’t sticking to the sides of the saucepan anymore. Put the mixture into a medium-large bowl on the side.

  6. Now it’s time to add the eggs. Add these in very small increments. Pour a small amount of egg over the mixture, and beat it in so it is totally combined. Keep doing this until your mixture starts to become very smooth and shiny. You will know it’s ready when you let mixture drop off the spoon and it leaves a perfect ‘v’ shape. Be careful not to go too far, adding too much egg can make the mixture runny and therefore difficult to pipe. 

  7. When ready, place into a piping bag with a s10 (1cm) tip, or another tip of your choice, and pipe onto silpat silicone mat, or just baking paper if this isn’t available. See my video on piping technique to help you.