Foolproof Pate a Choux Every Time

Holidays are one of the greatest inventions, no? I mean, what's better than a day off work, spending time with family, and eating a smorgasbord of great food? Summer holidays are something I daydream about in the (very) long Cleveland winter months, especially when nothing is going on January-March.

I have such fond memories of the Fourth of July, spending every year at my grandparents' house for a cookout (they lived right down the road from us and it was the best!). A few games of croquet were a must (my grandma's favorite), and my sister and I always brought our batons since nationals were the following week (I also have video evidence of my uncle successfully catching a toss cartwheel after several dozen attempts one year). And yes, we were that family buying the massive set of sparklers, poppers, and smoke bombs from Walmart. After dinner and a quick trip back home to grab some blankets, bug spray, and popcorn, we capped the night off on the lawn at Solon Community Park watching the best fireworks show around.

A few years ago, my mom and I were inspired watching the Spring Baking Championship on the Food Network where the bakers had to create red, white and blue desserts. We decided to each bake our own. For pretty much every holiday since then, I like to challenge myself to bake something new to bring over to share. This year, I decided to try macarons after a successful marjolaine a couple weeks before.

After a couple failed attempts at notoriously finicky macarons (not giving up forever, but realized it definitely wasn't happening at 10:30 pm), I scrapped the whole idea and decided to just sleep on it and whip something together the next morning.

Sleeping on it was exactly what I needed; I woke up with cream puffs on my mind. My go-to. My specialty. I find cream puffs and pate a choux (I know there are a ton of accents over those letters, but can we just pretend they're there for the entirety of this blog? Thank youuuu) so easy. I've never had cream puffs NOT rise, and I've really never had any issues at all with them. Watching Baking Championships and Best Baker competitions, it always baffles me when incredibly experienced pastry chefs struggle with it.

Here's exactly what I do every time, step-by-step, for any sweet or savory recipe calling for pate a choux. I want to go in-depth about why we're doing certain things, why it works, and where you can go wrong, so get ready to read. Check out my Reese's Peanut Butter Cream Puffs recipe for a twist on this classic recipe.

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Foolproof Pate a Choux

Time: 60 minutes
Makes: about 4 dozen puffs

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
4 large eggs

Place water, butter, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Let the butter melt down completely and the water come to a rolling boil, then add all at once, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon until the dough forms a ball in the middle of the pan. Remove from heat.

Transfer dough into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium-high speed until bowl is no longer hot to the touch.  Add 4 large eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to incorporate completely into the dough.

Fit a piping bag with a round tip and fill with finished dough. For cream puffs, pipe 1 inch circles 1.5 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. Flatten tops if necessary. For eclairs, pipe into 4 inch logs 1.5 inches apart.

Preheat oven to 425˚. Bake for 12-15 minutes until puffs are tall and golden, then reduce heat to 375˚ and bake for 18-20 minutes. Turn off heat and prop oven door open, letting puffs sit for 15 minutes.
Fit a piping bag with a thin angled tip and fill with desired cream puff or eclair filling. Use a skewer to start a hole at the bottom of each puff (or two in each eclair), then fill entirely with cream. Finish with chocolate, caramel, or powdered sugar if desired.

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The Details

Need a little more info? Let's break it down in detail.

Step 1: Stovetop

Place 1 cup water, 1 stick of unsalted butter (4 oz), and 1/2 tsp salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Let the butter melt down completely and the water come to a rolling boil, then add 1 cup flour all at once, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon until the dough forms a ball in the middle of the pan. Remove from heat.

This step incorporates the water and fat evenly throughout the dough, which is crucial for a good rise and texture. As you stir in the flour, make sure you don't have any pockets of white, dry flour anywhere, and you'll notice it start to come together and pull away from the sides of the pan, forming a cohesive dough in the middle; that should take only about 30 seconds-1 minute. 

I like to use a wooden spoon because the dough is quite thick and paste-like, and a wooden utensil stirs through it much easier to uncover those flour pockets I was talking about. Metal works too, but I prefer not to use metal spoons on metal pans. I suggest not using a whisk for this because the mixture is too thick once you add the flour, and you'll get a big ball of unmixed dough stuck between the wire loops.  

I've seen recipes that also include sugar and vanilla for sweet recipes, but I prefer to use this exact recipe for both sweet and savory puffs. The flavor comes from the filling, and the structure and texture comes from the shell.

Step 2: Mixer

Transfer dough into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium-high speed until bowl is no longer hot to the touch. 

This step is simple as can be, but so crucial to creating a satiny smooth dough. Use the paddle attachment on a stand mixer and let it go on speed setting 7 for about 2-3 minutes. You'll notice steam pouring out at first, and that will subside after a minute or so. The goal here is to cool down the dough before adding the eggs so that we don't accidentally cook them. 

After a few minutes, feel the bottom and sides of the bowl. If it feels hot or very warm, let it beat for another minute, or rub the outside of the bowl with an ice pack to help cool it down faster. Continue to the next step only once the bowl is noticeably cooling down (can still be warm to the touch, just not at all hot). 

Step 3: Eggs

Add 4 large eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to incorporate completely into the dough.

We want to go slow here and let the dough pull itself together. Crack your eggs into a spouted measuring cup for easy adding, and it will also ensure you don't accidentally get any eggshells by adding directly into the dough. When you go to pour in an egg, let one yolk fall in and it will grab an even amount of whites with it. 

After egg number 3, stop the mixer and check the texture of the dough. If the texture is shiny and elastic, it's ready. Skip that last egg. This will differ based on humidity in the air and egg size. I always buy large eggs, but not every egg is identical in size, so some batches will use fewer eggs than others. If you're not sure you need that whole last egg but feel like the mixture is a bit too stiff still, add just part of the egg. You can always add more, but you can't take it out. 

We could probably be fancy here and go by weight, but the beauty of this recipe is that it's not an exact science. The only chemical reaction going on is the water within the dough turning into steam, causing the dough to puff up, then the evaporating, leaving a hollow shell. There's more going on, I know, but compared to a typical recipe with acids and bases and bonds and... science words, this is much simpler. Water = evaporate. 

Step 4: Pipe

Fit a piping bag with a round tip and fill with finished dough. For cream puffs, pipe 1 inch circles 1.5 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. Flatten tops if necessary. For eclairs, pipe into 4 inch logs 1.5 inches apart. 

Use a large round tip like a Wilton #1A for this and a 16" disposable pastry bag.

I've used parchment paper and I've used a silicone baking mat. Either works just fine. My silicone mat isn't large enough to fit my half sheet pan and I only have one of them, so I use parchment for this recipe. If you find your parchment keeps popping up or rolling on the sides, use a dot of dough on each corner to glue it down. Once it bakes, it will flake right off the pan for easy disposal. 

For piping, hold the top of the bag in your dominant hand with the twisted part in the space between your thumb and forefinger, and use the rest of your fingers to squeeze the bag. Your other hand will just be there to stabilize the tip. 

To pipe cream puffs, position the tip vertically, squeeze firmly and count 1 second, then stop squeezing and quickly move the tip in a tight circle, flicking your wrist to cut the end of the dough. It should result in a circle about 1 inch in diameter. If you get any swirls on top of the dough, dip your fingertip in water and gently smooth it out.

To pipe eclairs, position the tip at a 45 degree angle, squeeze firmly and slowly pull back until you reach 4 inches in length, then do the same wrist-flicking motion to cut the tip. Smooth with a wet fingertip if necessary. 

You can also use this dough for churros. Use a star tip and pipe directly into a deep fryer with oil at 375 degrees. Snip each one with scissors once you reach the desired length. 

Step 5: Bake

Preheat oven to 425. Bake for 12-15 minutes until puffs are tall and golden, then reduce heat to 375 and bake for 18-20 minutes. Turn off heat and prop oven door open, letting puffs sit for 15 minutes. 

There's a method to this madness. The initial high heat zaps the dough, making them puff up quickly and get a nice solid shell. This is where things can go wrong if the heat is too low (the puffs have more of a chance of deflating or being too soft on the outside), or if you bake at the high temperature the entire baking time (too dark, crunchy, and overbaked). 

By reducing the heat gradually, it allows the inside of the puffs to dry out without the shock of moving from a hot oven to room temperature. Since we get that nice solid shell initially, it will maintain that shape for the rest of baking. I've found that by finishing inside the turned-off oven with the door propped open for 15 minutes or so, it further allows the shells to get the ideal texture and reduces absolutely any chance of deflating. 

Side note, don't open the oven a single time during the first two steps of the process. There's no need to rotate pans or touch the puffs at all; use your oven light and peek through the window if you have it, or just trust the process. Opening the door causes a decrease in temperature, change in humidity, and a rush of air that may cause deflating during the initial rise and dry. 

Bonus: Fill and Top

Fit a piping bag with a thin angled tip and fill with desired cream puff or eclair filling. Use a skewer to start a hole at the bottom of each puff (or two in each eclair), then fill entirely with cream. Finish with chocolate, caramel, or powdered sugar if desired. 

I use a Wilton 230 tip to fill cream puffs. It has an angled, pointy tip that's good for getting into the hole. I also use a wooden skewer to get the hole started. I've tried it without doing that and trying to just poke in with the tip, but it tends to push the tip back into the bag that way and it gets messy. By starting it with the skewer, it gives the tip a leg up. 

Insert the tip and tilt it to a slight angle. Spin the puff around slowly as you squeeze the top of the bag firmly, and slowly remove the tip from the puff as you squeeze. Once you reach the end, if you notice the cream from inside the puff is squishing out, hold the tip inside to force the cream to fill any empty spaces inside the puff, then remove the tip. Keep a clean paper towel close by to wipe away any excess cream from the tip.

When filling blind, it can be difficult to know when they're filled all the way. Use the first as a test puff: fill until you think it's full, feeling the difference in weight between empty and full. Cut open or bite into it and check the cream level. If necessary, adjust accordingly for the remaining puffs. 

You can also use a digital scale (a Godsend in the kitchen - I use this Oxo one!). Weigh each puff before filling, fill it, then weigh it again. Test a puff, weighing it before and after filling, then cutting into it. If the cream is at a good level, note the difference in weight between the empty and full puff, and use that as a baseline for the rest of them. 

You can also cut the puffs in half and pipe cream in that way for a more decorative look, plus that way, you're guaranteed to know how much cream is in each one. Use a star tip to get a ruffled edge or the same round tip you used to pipe the dough for a smoother look.

You can get as fancy and intricate as you want with decorations. I've left them plain before and every single one was gone by the end of the day. This time, I used a few different colors of melted white chocolate chips and some white shimmer sprinkles to make them look festive. Or, use a thin caramel to make a crunchy candy shell, stack them together and call them a croquembouche to surprise and delight your friends! The possibilities are truly endless.