Hey everybody I am here today to take the mystery out of Pat a Choux. I was shocked in pastry class when I learned how easy it was. It's basically boiling flour in buttery water, then beating in eggs one at a time and you are done. The hard part is the piping but these lil guys taste so good that if a few of them look weird no one notices after the first bite. I did not have the tip I needed for classic puffs so these have a little ridge to them. I made savory gougere, by adding pepper salt and pecorino cheese to the pastry before piping and filled them with a roasted tomato and garlic reduction. The recipe below is for a regular pat a choux for cream puffs or eclairs.
Here is what you will need for a small batch (20-30 puffs)
1/2 pint water
3 oz. butter
1/4 tsp salt
5 oz flour
5 large eggs
Bring to a boil the water salt and butter, at the boil throw in the flour and stir. Stir constantly until it leaves the sides of pan and a film at the bottom. I usually take it off the heat as soon as that occurs. Transfer it to an electric mixer beat for like half a minute to cool it down. Add eggs one after the other until absorbed. Some say to add most of em at once then gradually add the rest. It needs to be glossy and hold it's shape for a moment when you draw a finger through it. the consistency in the pic with the paddle over the bowl, is perfect.
Pipe em out onto parchment. Bake for 12-14 minutes in a 425 degree oven.
If you want to make them into cream puffs, fill with pastry cream
