You might not know it, but this basic pastry preparation is actually quite simple to make.
Here is my easy and foolproof recipe for making cream puffs, zeppole, eclairs, and other recipes with choux pastry.
If you’d like to prepare profiteroles, here’s the recipe for the chocolate cover:
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 10.5 oz all-purpose flour
- 10.5 oz butter
- 1.25 cups water
- 6 eggs (whole)
- 0.1 oz salt
Tools
- 1 Pot
- 1 Electric whisk
- 1 Piping bag
- 1 Ladle
- Plain nozzles
- 1 Baking tray
- Parchment paper
Steps
To make the choux pastry, we need to start by creating a polenta-like dough in a pot.
First, place the water with the butter and salt in a large pot. Turn on the heat.
When the butter has completely melted and the water is boiling, pour in all the flour at once and without turning off the heat, start mixing until you get a polenta-like mixture that detaches from the sides of the pot.
At this point, turn off the heat and transfer the mixture into the bowl of the stand mixer or another bowl where you can use the electric whisks.
Once we have transferred the choux pastry base into the stand mixer bowl, let it cool slightly.
We can start incorporating the eggs one at a time, using the paddle attachment or electric whisks, and mix well until you get a soft but consistent dough.
Our choux pastry dough is ready! Insert a nozzle of your choice, either fluted or plain, about 10/12 mm (for profiteroles) in the piping bag.
Fill it with the mixture. Take a non-stick baking tray or line it with parchment paper.
Start creating slightly flattened balls with a diameter of about 1.5 inches and space them apart as they will expand during baking.
Preheat the oven to 350/390 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for about 20 minutes.
Storage
The choux pastry (cooked) can be stored in a sealed container for several days. Alternatively, you can freeze the already cooked cream puffs.
