Alright, let’s talkΒ Choux Pastry. Also known asΒ PΓ’te Γ Choux. This is admittedly a long post, but if you’re looking for some tipsΒ to make Perfect Choux PastryΒ to use in profiteroles, eclairs and etc., then you’re in the right place!
So what do we know about choux pastry?
We know that it comes from France. It’s a light, airy, crispy pastry used to make eclairs, cream puffs/profiteroles (both sweet and savoury),Β croquembouches, gougΓ¨res, French crullersΒ and more. Flour, eggs, butter and water are all you need to make it. And depending on who you ask, choux pastry is either super easy or insanely difficult to make.Β What’s up with that? Let’s find out.
Yes, I love puff pastry, shortcrust and filo (or phyllo), but choux pastry has always been my absolute favourite to make. And I find it pretty ingenious that choux pastry doesn’t use a chemical raising agent to rise. Instead it uses layers of air and moisture trapped in the dough to rise. I used to eat a lot of eclairs and cream puffs when I was little, so choux pastry has a special place in my heart. But when I also found out that I can make churros, gnocchi and so much other deliciousness using choux pastry, I was hooked for good. π
I had maintained for quite some time that I was a choux pastry whiz, until one time in the not so distant past, I just couldn’t get it right! AndΒ I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. So I started testing different ways of making it, until I finally understood what made it work for me. However if you do have a choux pastry recipe that works for you, stick with it. But it helps to understand WHY a recipe works, especially for troubleshooting purposes.
And another thing I will always maintain is that, if you need choux pastry, PLEASE make it yourself. The store-bought ones are dry and horrible. And tasteless. Homemade choux pastry however, is the real deal! Crisp on the outside and airy & custard-like on the inside. And when you know what’s happening, it really is super easy to make.
So let’s find out how to make PERFECT Choux Pastry every single time. I can’t fit everything into one post (it’s long enough as it is), so I will only cover the basics here, and expand on it later.
What is PERFECT choux pastry?
A pastry with a light and crisp outer shell, and a delicious, soft, creamy, custard-like inside. And it’s airy with large air pockets inside as well. A few cracks will be visible on the outside, but it still retains the shape it was piped in.
BUT, shit happens. So what can go wrong?
Choux Pastry shell is flat, too soft and soggy – usually due to a runny dough.
Choux Pastry shell has risen irregularly, with lots of cracks and kind of looks like a flower – due to rapid expansion.
Choux Pastry shell is too dry – baked too long.
Now let’s see why these things happen.
L to R – 2:1:1:2 ratio recipe, runny dough, dough not cooked longer, extra flour
Choux pastry shell is flat, soft and soggy.
One confession I’d like to make here is that I actually LIKE these. I love the soft shells that seem even more “custardy” on the inside, although I’m not a fan of the flatness. This is not how we want to impress people now is it? π
Chances are the dough is too wet and runny. When you pipe out the batter, it probably didn’t hold its shape (see the picture above – the runny batter kind of spreads out). That means it has too little flour, or too much liquid in the form of water, eggs and/or butter. So it doesn’t rise as much, and the little that they rise will deflate when they come out of the oven.
What to do if choux pastry is too runny?Β
I’m glad you asked. Whatever you do, NEVER ADD EXTRA FLOUR! NEVER! Repeat after me – I will never add raw flour to a runny choux pastry dough.
So then what? Make another half batch of the dough with water, salt, butter and flour (no eggs!). Once you have made that part of the dough, and it has cooled down, add it to the runny dough a bit at a time, mixing it into the dough well, until you get a pipeable consistency. It might not be perfect, but once you fill it and drizzle chocolate over it, you can get away with it π
OR – throw it out, and start over. I usually do this.
Also, if you remove them from the oven too early, the shell will not rise properly and even if they do rise, due to too much moisture inside the shell, they will start to deflate when they cool down.
Choux Pastry shell has risen irregularly, with lots of cracks and looks like a flower.
So you pipe it nice and smooth, but when it comes out of the oven, it looks all kinds of weird.
Chances are, there’s stuff in your pastry batter that shouldn’t be in there. Things like flour that has not been sifted or salt that was not melted. This can interfere with the smoothness of the pastry. So sift the flour! If you can, triple sift it. The lighter the flour, the less it would form clumps. And add the salt (and the sugar) when you’re heating the water, so that they completely dissolve.
Also the addition of completely dissolved salt apparently helps prevent cracks from being formed on the shell, although I’m not sure why. I didn’t test it without salt to see if that’s indeed the case. You’re supposed to add a bit of salt to the dough anyway, so there’s really no reason to go without salt.
Many recipes call for choux pastry to be baked at two different temperatures. First at a higher temperature for a few minutes, and then finish off at a lower temperature. The reasoning behind this is that the higher temp. facilitates the rise of the pastry because the high heat causes the water to evaporate faster, thereby raising the pastry faster and higher. Then the temperature is lowered and the pastry is allowed to dry out and bake properly.
While the theory maybe sound and it may work for some, I found that cooking choux pastry at one set temperature the whole way through, produced more consistent results with a smooth top and minimal cracks. Plus it’s more convenient of course. I’ve found that the high temperature that most recipes call for, makes the choux pastry expand and rise rapidly, almost chaotically, causing the pastry to split and look like an ugly-ass flower.
Choux Pastry is too dryΒ
You do get a nice crisp shell, but when you crack it open, it’s not as deliciously “custardy” or soft on the inside.Β Whoopsie!
Either you used too much flour (no glossy sheen in the dough), OR you baked it too long.
Look for that glossy sheen!
If you baked it too long the first time, just reduce the time in the oven by a few minutes next time. Every oven tends to be slightly different depending on how hot it actually is and the hot and cold spots you get in the oven.
Now here’s what gives me the most consistent results for Choux pastry.Β
Michael Ruhlman’s ratio by weight for choux pastry is 2:1:1:2 of water, butter, flour and eggs. While this works well, I found that adding a little extra flour (when using AP flour) helps make the choux pastry that much more crisp – a very desirable result.
Whenever you can, ALWAYS measure ingredients by weight, not by volume. This is true for any kind of baking. While I don’t have a problem measuring by volume for some recipes, I always prefer to use weight because that gives more consistent results. Here is my favorite kitchen scale that is reliable and affordable!
When you add flour to the boiling butter-water mix, you need to mix in the flour well (flour needs to absorb all the moisture of the butter-water mix) and then cook it further on the stove so that enough moisture evaporates so you get a good dough. A lot of recipes will talk about the dough leaving the sides of the pan when you’re mixing it, or looking like mashed potatoes or leaving droplets of oil on the surface, as signs that indicate a good dough.
Apart from all that here’s what I look for. When I mix in the flour, it forms a ball and leaves droplets of oil on the surface of the pan as I mix the dough. Additionally, if I were to stick a spoon in the dough it’ll stick and stay upright in the dough as shown in the picture below. If the spoon doesn’t stay up like that, that means there’s still too much liquid/moisture in the dough. This is what I call the “spoon test”.
The amount of eggs added is variable. Usually it’s 4 eggs for 8 oz of water (because 1 egg is considered 2 oz, but that depends on the size of it).
Only add 1 egg – that’s lightly beaten – at a time, and mix it in well before you add the next. The reason you should lightly beat the egg before you add it is that, if you realize half way through adding that lightly beaten egg that adding more would make the dough too runny, you can easily stop yourself from adding the rest of the egg. Because what you’re looking for is a dough that’s glossy, still thick and pipeable. Sometimes I only need to add 3 eggs and a bit before I get the right consistency and if I added all of that 4th egg, my dough would lose that stiffness I need. If that happens, the dough won’t hold its shape when piped, leading to flat choux pastry. Not good.
If you are piping the dough, make sure the tip is just touching the surface and then move up as you go. This will help create less ripples and folds. Alternatively, you can use a spoon to spoon it on to a baking sheet (like I did for this post), which some bakers prefer to do. Remember to use a damp finger to flatten the apex or any points, otherwise these points will burn when you bake the choux pastry.
I use either the Wilton 1A Round Tip orΒ Wilton 2A Round Tip
And another trick I use to get the choux pastry shells to expand even more is toΒ spray the baking tray with some water!Β It’s simple, yet it works brilliantly.Β As the water on the baking tray evaporates from around the dough, it helps “raise” the dough from the outside while the moisture IN the dough, helps raise it from the inside.
So just a light spray of water on the baking sheet gives the dough a little extra boost – especially if you use extra flour. Probably because extra flour = extra gluten = so more rise. I will test this theory out at a later date. π
When the choux pastry comes out of the oven (after it has been baked to a nice golden brown, crisp shell), use a toothpick to pierce each shell. This lets out any moisture trapped inside, without causing the shell to collapse.
TO FILL THE CHOUX PASTRY SHELLS – There are many fillings that you can use to fill profiteroles or eclairs! The most popular filling is Vanilla pastry cream, which is also known as Creme Patissiere.Β You can get the recipe to make Creme Parissiere here!
And that ladies & gentlemen, is how you make Perfect Choux Pastry, every time! π
Have you checked out my new cookbook?Β
Basic Choux Pastry and Troubleshooting guide
You can switch between US and Metric measurement by toggling between the buttons below the ingredients.
Each pastry shell in this recipe comes from a spoonful of dough (either piped or spooned on to a baking sheet, roughly 2 inches in diameter). Baking time here is based on this.
Ingredients
- 8 oz water
- 4 oz unsalted butter cubed and at room temp.
- 4.5 oz AP flour sifted
- 8 oz eggs weighed without the shell, about 4 large eggs
- generous pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp white sugar optional
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375Β°F.
- Place salt, water, sugar (if using) and butter in a saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the water is just starting to boil (butter should be melted at this point), add the flour in one go (do this with the saucepan away from the stove/heat) and vigorously mix the flour in so that it absorbs all of the water (use a wooden spoon or spatula to do this). When the flour has absorbed the water and it's forming a dough, return the pan to the stove (medium heat).
Cook the dough for 2-5 minutes while you mix and move it around in the pan until you get a dough that pulls away from the sides of the pan, forms oil droplets on the surface and when you stick a spoon in the dough, it stays upright.
Transfer the dough to a bowl, and let it cool down slightly for a few minutes. With a hand held mixer (or whisk), mix the dough while adding the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Make sure the eggs are lightly beaten so that you can stop adding eggs immediately, when you reach the right consistency - a dough with a glossy sheen with pipeable consistency. (you may not use all the eggs, please see the post for details)
- Prepare a baking tray with parchment paper and mist the surface with water (either using a mister or lightly sprinkle water with your hands - this is an optional step).
Pipe the desired shape on to the baking sheet - either using a piping bag fitted with a large tip (I use Wilton 1A or 2A tip, or you can cut the pastry bag opening instead), or spoon it on to the tray, using a teaspoon. Then with a damp finger, flatten the apex and any points.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 - 40 minutes in the center of the oven, or until the choux pastry shells puff up and are golden brown on top. Do not open the oven door at least till you have reached the 25 minute mark. Importantly, baking time depends on the size of your pastry shell. Bake for a couple minutes longer, if you prefer a drier shell.
- Remove from the oven, and prick each shell with a toothpick and let it cool completely.
- Fill with a sweet or savoury filling and serve immediately. Or you can store cooled choux pastry shells in an air tight container for up to a day (preferably in the fridge).
Recipe Notes
Please note - these are instructions for smaller pastry cases (1 1/2 - 2 inches in diameter when piped)Β
If you require larger profiteroles, you will need to bake the cases at 420Β°F for 10 minutes, and then at 325Β°F for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and puffed up.Β
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16 inch Disposable Pastry bags
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Hi! The water can be substituted with milk?
Hi Dani,
Yes, you can use milk instead. The choux pastry shells may turn out a little softer if you use milk, and it will add a touch more flavor as well. I hope that helps.
I’m obsessed with this recipe and I’ve made it 20+ times in the past year and it’s resulted in perfect pastry every time. Thank you so much for your detailed instructions and explanations. I’ve also used your pastry cream recipe once and it was a hit! Greetings from Trinidad and Tobago!
Hi Amanda, thank you so much for letting me know. I’m really glad you love this recipe! It’s one of my favorites too. π
Works beautifully! I had a fail of a batch from adding the flour when the water/butter wasn’t boiling enough (stirred forever… never became right), so tried again waiting first for a real boil and they’re perfect. Thank you for all this detail!
Hi dini I made some eclairs and buns by Paul hollywood and they were as flat as pancakes ! I tried again with your recipe and method and omg !!! They came out very puffed up and totally perfect as u said they would so thanks a mill love them x
Thank you so much for letting me know Colleen! π I’m so glad they came out well for you and you loved the recipe!
My oven has options for a fan forces, conventional(convection) or conventional and fan forced together. I am having trouble determining which setting is preferable as some websites suggest fan forced is necessary to keep the oven dry while others say that fan forced is too strong and will affect the shape of the pastry? I was wondering which setting you would recommend? and if fan forced should I be dropping the temperature in your recipe by 25 degrees?
Thanks for sharing such an informative recipe!!!! π
Hi Bridgette!
When it comes to baking (especially pastries and cakes), I always stick with conventional only. I find that using the fan forced options, create lopsided baked goods. For these Choux pastries, definitely stick with conventional π
I don’t mind using fan forced for roasting or grilling at high temperatures and yes! You do decrease the temperature by 20Β°C which is about 70Β°F.
I hope that helps!
I always have trouble when baking. At first, when the pastry shells come out, the bottom is darker but inside the shell, it is still a little bit wet. Just can’t find out the reasons.
Also the tips are super helpful, never read such tips before.
Thank you, Dini. They saved me from stupid mistakes.
Hi, Iβve made this for the first time and they turned out gorgeous. I was thinking if the dough can also make eclairs? Thank you!
Hi Ann, thank you so much for letting me know, I’m glad they turned out well for you! And yes, choux pastry is what is used to make eclairs as well, and I’ve shared a recipe for mini eclairs that used this choux pastry – https://www.theflavorbender.com/chocolate-eclairs-coffee-creamer-creme-patissiere/
I hope that helps!
Oh! hi, Yes they were really gorgeous as in they made by a pro. I was very happy and excited for the result of my choux. You can check them on Pinterest, Iβve commented and posts a photo there. And also yes, Iβve made the eclairs already and they were still gorgeous. Thank you always and youβre welcome. xxx
Thank you so much for writing such a detailed post on choux pastry. I have made the pastry many times, and it always worked…..until today. It’s too runny and I couldn”t figure out why. I was about to add =extra flour, but thought I’d check the internet first, and luckily I found your post! After reading it (and I promise I WON’T add extra flour!), I think my problem is that the eggs I used were larger than normal so made the pastry runnier than normal.
Hello,
Thank you for the recipe π
Is it possible to freeze the shells?
Hi Feyza!
Thank you! π
And yes, you CAN freeze the empty choux pastry shells. But they need to be completely cooled before being stored in an airtight container, in the freezer. But please do note, that it still will lose some freshness compared to freshly baked choux pastry shells.
I hope that helps! π
Thank you for the quick reply. The shells turned out great I’ll try freezing them, today.
Thank you for your tutorial! I just made the cream puffs by measurements as I always do and I knew they were going to have to much flour. Silly me..of course it did . Then I bfound your site to fix it. Run out 9f eggs so now I have double decker puffs! Next time I won’t deviate. Thank you so much
After following a recipe for croquembouche on Bon Appetit’s website and ending up with flat, awful choux buns, I scoured the internet for the best directions and finally found your site! Wow, what a difference! This is the best choux recipe ever! Your instructions are fantastic, and I really appreciated all of your detailed explanations. I made this recipe twice (I was afraid to double it — very bad at math!) and got perfect results. I also followed your recipe for creme pat — which was also fantastic, and came out perfect. I made my croquembouch for Christmas dinner using your two recipes (and David Leibowitz’s caramel directions) and the whole thing was an absolute triumph. Major kudos to you!
Hi Jeanne,
Thank you so much for your kind words, it made my day! π I’m so glad you enjoyed the choux pastry and creme pat recipes. They are some of my favorites too. Happy holidays to you and best wishes for a great new year!
Cheers,
Dini.
Are these supposed to taste eggy?
Hi Antonio!
These have never turned out to be eggy for me, and for most who have tried it. I would recommend adding the eggs when the choux dough base is not too hot to prevent the eggs from “cooking”, and a little extra vanilla can help too. π
I hope that helps!
My first attempt at making choux pastry with this recipe and turned out perfect! I was so excited!!! The only thing is that I only cooked them for 20mins before they were golden brown and needed to be taken out before over-browning…could have just been a powerful oven but definitely glad I was keeping an eye on them!! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe xx
I had never made this before, hadn’t even heard of it until a couple weeks ago when I saw it on a show. Inspired, I set out to find a recipe and came across yours. Since I had never made it, I followed your recipe to the letter. My kids made it with me because we wanted to do together. We were thrilled as each step came finished how you said it should. We made sure to leave the oven door shut. And we were absolutely thrilled when we pulled the beautifully puffed up, golden brown results from the oven. Thank you so much for your detailed post.
I just made an attempt at choux puffs, and unfortunately it was with a recipe that was very unclear. I ended up with dense baked balls of dough that didn’t truly puff at all. I’m thinking I used to much flour because it formed a dough immediately; there was no waiting for it to leave the sides of the pan. Do you think that might have been the problem? Or handling it too much when I was putting it on the pan?
Hi Wendy!
Unfortunately, I can’t be 100% certain without knowing what the recipe stated and the quantities it required…
However, it does sound like you added too much flour. With choux pastry, it’s the water (and to an extent the eggs as well) that acts as the raising agent. So if there is too much flour, the flour absorbs the water and the dough will be too heavy / not have enough water to evaporate and puff up.
I hope that helps π
Hi Dini,
Do you have a receipe for cream puff filing?
Thank you,
Reena
Hi Reena
Unfortunately I dont have one yet. But I will share one soon! π
Thank you!
Hi Reena!
I’m happy to say that I have a recipe for Pastry cream which is perfect to fill profiteroles or eclairs! π
https://www.theflavorbender.com/creme-patissiere-vanilla-pastry-cream/
Hi Dini, great advice but I still need help with my choux pastry, I’m intolerant to dairy so can I change the butter in the recipe for dairy free margarine like Nuttelex for cooking & baking. And do I use the same weight amount or can you suggest something I can use? Thanks
Hi Lind!
I have actually made dairy free profiteroles using dairy free margarine (similar to nuttelex). I use the same weight as the butter. Choux pastry cases (profiteroles or eclairs) made with a butter alternative, can usually be a little softer than the butter counterpart. But it’s still very do-able and still tastes great! Be mindful that margarine has a higher water content than butter, so you may need to “cook” the choux pastry dough a little longer once you add the flour. The best test to make sure there is no extra moisture in the dough is the spoon test π After that follow the recipe (and tips) and you should still have nice and puffy choux pastry cases! I hope that helps!
Hi Dini, thanks for the quick reply I’m still a newbie to baking what is the spoon test you mentioned?
Hi Lind, the spoon test is actually described in the post π This is where you test the consistency of the dough with a spoon.
Thanks
Hi Dini.
I tried your choux puff recipe today and all puff baked perfectly! But when I tried to remove them from the parchment paper after removing them from the oven, most of the puffs stayed stuck to the paper so the bottoms came off ‘holey’. What should I do?
Hi Judy!
I am so sorry that happened! I haven’t heard of that happening with choux pastry before, because properly cooked choux pastry releases beautifully from parchment paper with very little help. Is the parchment paper you used a brand that you always use, or is it a new brand? I ask this because I have had baking mishaps using unfamiliar (and low quality) parchment paper that got stuck to my food in the past. If you find that parchment paper doesn’t work for you for any reason, you can brush your baking tray with butter, and then dust it with flour instead of using parchment paper too. π I hope that helps!
Hi, I was wondering if you could translate the recipe into cups and teaspoons please.
Hi Veronica!
The ratio of ingredients for choux pastry using cups is 1:1:1:1 (1 cup water, 1 stick butter, 1 cup flour, 1 cup eggs). HOWEVER, the reason why I created this tutorial is because these ratios DO NOT give consistent result every single time. The best way to get consistent results is to measure out the ingredients and I would highly recommend purchasing a cheap digital kitchen scale. It’s a great investment too. You are absolutely welcome to try these cups measurements :), but my recipe measurements are slightly different to ensure consistent results every time!
I hope that helps.
Cheers
Dini
So I went thur the Web and the ratio came out different for me, it’s 1 cup water, 1/2 cup butter, 1-1/2 cups of flour, and 4 eggs.
You can try that, But the choux pastry may come out doughy. There are two ratios for Choux pastry. One is 2:1:1:2 by weight or 1:1:1:1 by volume. This translates to 1 cup of water (8 oz), 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup, or 4 oz), 1 cup flour (4 – 5 oz, depending on how you measure the flour), and 1 cup of eggs, (which is about 4 large eggs or roughly 8 oz).
If you have found a different ratio that works for you, I would recommend that you go with what works for you. This post was created after a lot of trial and error to make sure consistent results can be achieved every time. π
Good Luck Veronica!
Hi
I just made choux pastry for the first time and followed your recipe step by step and used water.
Turned out great!
Thanks so much
Hi Faye, I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe and it turned out great! Thank you so much! π
OMG!!! I have tried to make pate a choux for years and NEVER gotten it perfect. I didn’t really mind, most of the time it was flat and custardy and just like you I find the soft shell yummy, lol. But I still dreamed of some day baking perfect cream puffs that actually puffed and were crispy without overbrowning or overbaking! And I finally did it!!!!! I FINALLY FREAKING DID IT!!!!!! Bless you for finding a solution and sharing it!!!! You have no idea how freaking excited I am to FINALLY get PERFECT cream puffs!!!!! Eeeeeeeek!!!!!! The excessive amount I ate in celebration may be contributing to my current hyper bouncing off the walls excitement, lol
any ideas on how to adapt your recipe to gluten free???
Hi Connie,
I have been baking gluten-free for years and know how frustrating it can be. I have not tried to make gluten-free choux pastry yet, but I have perfected cakes, biscuits and cookies.
The science behind gluten-free baking is basic. Gluten a protein that forms as a natural reaction to working and cooking wheat flour. The gluten serves as a binding agent which allows the flour to stick together with enough force to rise and hold its shape. Baking gluten free, especially with store bought gluten free flour is expensive and often falls flat, literally, because there is not enough protein to hold the dough together as it bakes.
There are two ways to get around this problem, You can fix it 99% of the time by adding more egg to your recipe. I usually substitute the water in a recipe with more eggs. 1 cup of water becomes 1 cup of eggs (about 4 large eggs). This works beautifully in cakes, but might not work for choux pastry which needs water to rise. The other thing that you can try, which I recommend for this project, is to purchase xanthan gum. Its a little pricey, but worth the investment because a little goes a long way and it last forever if you keep it in the refrigerator. I plan to start by adding 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum for every cup of flour used. I have never needed more than that, but you may need to experiment with adding more if you don’t get the leavening effect you are looking for.
Please keep in mind two things: 1) I mix my own gluten free flour which is far cheaper and more effective for baking than any pre-mixed flour i have found, so you might need to play around with your recipes even with my tips. 2) Altitude plays a big role in cooking. I live about 1100 ft above sea level.
Don’t get frustrated if it takes a few attempts to get right. Write the original recipe you want to make in a notebook in pen, then take good notes off to the side in pencil each time you bake saying what you tried, the results, and ideas on how to adjust the recipe to fix the problem on your next attempt. I know it’s terrible to love baking and eating sweets and then go gluten free. You feel like you have to do without because it is difficult and expense. Keep at it. If you are interested, I would be happy to give you my flour mix recipe. It is cheaper than store bought mixes, which really takes the pressure off the trial and error process of gluten free baking because you don’t see dollar signs every time your recipe falls flat.
I hope that this helps you!
~Emily
Hi, I’m really impressed by your tutorials it is very detailed. The only thing different with my recipe is that I use 1 cup of all purpose flour instead of 4.5 Oz’s and they turn out great
Thank you so much Elizabeth! π I love choux pastry!
It will definitely work with 1 cup of AP flour too! 1 cup of AP flour weighs between 4.25 (scoop and level method)- 4.6+ oz (scoop and packed method), depending on how you measure the flour. I use just over a cup to ensure that the dough is stiff and stays crispy!
Hi Dini!
You never mentioned how many pastries this recipe makes.
Also, what would be an ideal temperature to add the eggs into the mixture? Would it be based on touch or based on a food thermometer.
Thank You
I read this meticulously three or four times and finally attempted it….and my pastry turned out AMAZING!! I am not a baker whatsoever- I tend to burn things- but this gave me confidence! Thank you so much!!
Hi. I love your post! So wonderful to learn some reasons behind why things fail so you can troubleshoot! I was wondering if you have any advice for making Choux without butter? Eclairs are one of my partners faves but he has an extreme lactose intolerance. For most recipies I substitute with an olive oil base margarine, coconut oil or vegetable shortening, but it takes me a while of playing around to get some of the recipies right. Do you have any advice?
Thanks very much in advance
Hi Zillah!
I am so glad you enjoyed my post! I am very sorry for my late reply too… The good news is that I have made dairy free eclairs for most of my adolescent life because my mother is lactose intolerant and loved eclairs! I use a dairy free butter or margarine instead of butter, but be mindful that these contain a higher moisture content. This means you may need to “cook” the dough a little longer, until you can stick a spoon in the dough and it will stay upright (the same way you would troubleshoot for the version in my post). The pastry shells are not as crispy, but they are still delicious π
I don’t really use shortening, because I don’t like the mouthfeel of shortening, but I haven’t tried it for Choux pastry. I hope that helps and Good luck!
Thank you very much! I tried with margarine and they worked great! Thanks for the tip about cooking the dough a bit longer, think that has been why I failed in the past. Thank you for the reply
Thank you so much for posting this. I’ve tried so many choux pastry recipes, and every times the shells came out hard and dry, and I could not figured out why.
I like soft, and soggy shell too, this really helps. So, if I want soft shell, I should replace water with milk, and add more liquid, correct? About how much more liquid should I add?
Hi Saruda!
I wouldn’t recommend adding extra liquid because the batter will be too runny and you won’t be able to pipe them onto the tray. Using milk (instead of water), and cake flour instead of AP flour will add to softening the choux pastry shell as well! Once the choux pastry is baked, and you take it out of the oven, don’t prick the shells to let out the air, and the heated air will create a softer shell too. I hope that helps!
Hi Dini
I love your post and I’ll be watching for more π
My dad has been teaching me today how to make choux pastry – he used to be pastry cook but hadn’t cooked choux for 20 years.
His recipe is 1:1:1:1:x
100g milk, 100g water, 100g butter, 100g flour, and 4 eggs to start and adjust consistency with maybe a 5th egg. He also uses “strong” flour and salted butter.
He’s a great pastrycook but not great with instructions so I’ve found your post to be very helpful in filling the gaps.
Many thanks
Hi Alan!
Thank you so much! That is definitely a interesting recipe to try π I have heard the 1:1:1:1 ratio for volume (1 cup flour, 1 cup butter, 1 cup of liquid 1 cup of eggs), but never for weight! I’ll give it a go next time to check the results! I tend to add just a touch more flour (if it’s AP) just to make sure the pastry is a little stiffer, but that extra flour is not necessary with Strong flour as it absorbs more water! And it does tend to give crispier shells.
For this post, I really wanted to know what the outcome would be for variations for AP flour, since most people are familiar with it… More choux pastry (and other) troubleshooting posts to come as soon as I finish my cookbook! π I hope you do come back!
Thank you again!
Cheers, Dini
Thanks so much for your amazing recipe & tips. Virtually my first attempt (after many years). Turned out perfect shells, crispy, puffed up and full of air. Used very strong Canadian flour with high gluten content. Now I need to work on my piping skills.
Is it normal if my choux tastes eggy?
Hi Diana
Usually choux pastry shouldn’t taste eggy. Sometimes this can happen if the eggs are added while the choux pastry base is too hot, as it cooks the eggs. I would recommend adding the eggs when the base has cooled down to see if that would make a difference!
I hope that helps!
Dini
may i change the water with milk??
Hi Alifiya, yes you can use milk instead of water, but it does soften the choux pastry shell though. Hope that helps.
Excellent recipe. I just made these and they turned out perfect! Thanks so much.
Please help mine test like scrumbled egg π what did go wrong? Thanks
Hi Ally
Did the choux pastry dough turn out to be like scrambled eggs? or does the end product taste like eggs?
It came out perfect but it tast eggy.
Hi Ally,
I haven’t had that problem when I make Choux pastry with this recipe. But if it tastes eggy, I suggest trying it with less eggs (only just enough to make the dough pipeable and glossy), to reduce the egg taste?
I hope that helps!
I have been making Choux pastry for a lot of years, and have had mixed success.
Around 50% of the time quite successful, the remainder, very average.
Following your recipe exactly and the tips supplied, I have made the pastry a number of times and not once have achieved anything less than perfect on each occasion.
Very much appreciated.
hello, im just using your recipe and it turns out perfect! but it doesn’t has a cripsy texture, just soft π whats wrong with my choux ? π please help, thank you so much!
Hi Nick!
Thank you for letting me know!
It sounds like the Choux pastry may have needed a little more baking time to dry out/crisp up in the oven. Since every oven is different, it’s hard to predict how much extra time it might need to come out perfect since it depends not only on the oven, but the size of the choux pastry shell. Remember to prick the shells to let the shells dry out completely, so that the heat doesn’t make it soggy too. Another option is for you to try the same recipe with bread flour instead of AP flour which also helps with creating a crisper choux pastry because of the higher protein content.
I hope that helps!
I already use my bread flour. baked it for 30minutes and it turns out very brownie, im afraid that my choux tasted bitter and looks scary lol thanks for your reply Dini! i love your blog anyway :))
You are too kind Nick! Thank you so much!
But I will try to get to the bottom of this π I’ll be making some choux pastry in the coming week or two, and will keep an eye out for any variations – AP vs Bread flour. I will let you know if I find out anything!
If you let the flour mix to completely cool down before adding the eggs your cooked choux will be crispier.
If you want extra crispy, you can look up recipe for a Craquelin for puff pastry. Its made of butter, brown sugar and flour. When you put it on top before baking the said pastries, it will give an incredibly crispy petit choux Γ la crΓ¨me π
Oh, I’ll definitely try these tricks the next time I make eclairs! My eclairs aren’t exactly bad, but not perfect yet hehe. I do have a question though: when I get my eclairs out of the oven, they’re crispy and nice. But when I fill them with custard, the pastry becomes soft. This didn’t happen the first couple of times I made eclairs, but it’s happened the last two times and I’m not sure how I feel about it. Is it normal for the pastry to go from crispy to soft? If not, what do you think I might’ve done wrong?
Thank you!
Hi Madoka!
There’s usually a time limit before the eclairs become soggy, BUT I suggest that you try to make the eclairs with bread flour (or high protein flour), as that will help the shell crisp up more than with AP flour. You can also bake the shell just a touch longer, to make it crisper, but it sounds like, it needs a thicker structure to withstand the filling. This will be my next round of experimenting, but it will take a little longer for it to make it to the blog! If you do try it, let me know how it comes out! I hope that helps!
I love this recipe,i failed my first batch (another recipe) ,it was too runny. Was looking around for a solution but I found this and decided to just make a new one. I’ve added only 3 eggs,since my first dough was so runny, I took precautions and made the dough not as liquid-like as seen in the pictures,I placed one in the oven and it rised!! Thank You so Much.
My dough was too thick and had no idea how to fix it, I used 4 eggs and beated them into the mix individually and it was think I went ahead and piped them on the sheet and back them but they didn’t puff. . I do not know how to fix this or what causes it
Hi Arikka
I’m not quite sure what happened there. Usually if the choux pastry doesn’t puff up, it’s because the dough is too heavy. This could be due to too much flour, or the use of a heavy flour like spelt or wholewheat, or that the water evaporated too much in the cooking process.
Could you let me know if the choux pastry dough become glossy when you added the eggs and How you weighed your flour? I might be able to help you if I knew a little more! Thank you!
I have tried making Choux over and over again. Why I keep trying….well, I don’t know. I made some amazing eclairs last night and the pastry was sensational. I followed exactly what you said to the T. Thank you so very much!
Whoa! Lots of WONDERFUL info here! Thanks for taking the guess work out of it – love the pictures. Should be easy to do, now!
This is a basic yet the best Choux Pastry!! I tried other recipes and your is the one that came out perfect. It was light, has flavor, and the crust was just right. Thank you for doing all the hard work by testing it out!! Great recipe!
Can you pipe out the pastry and leave out to cook after first batch has finished. I made 2 trays and the tray that was on top shelf of oven was cooked and rose perfectly but the bottom tray did not rise as much and overall not as good as top tray. After I took top tray out of oven I moved the bottom tray up and cooked for a few more minutes. Was wondering if next time I should cook them in 2 batches. What do I do with the piped batter in between, just leave on bench or should I put it in the fridge, cover, not cover. So many questions, sorry.
Hi Michelle! I love the questions! π
I usually bake one tray at a time, because of my current oven. However, in the past I have baked two trays at once, switching the tray positions in between (quickly, because you don’t want to lose the heat build up). I’d rather bake one tray at a time though π
I pipe one tray at a time and I put the excess choux pastry dough in a pastry bag and leave it in there until I can bake the next batch, at room temperature. You can leave the dough in the bowl too, just cover the bowl with plastic wrap tightly so that it doesn’t dry out and form a crust. Pipe them out before you bake them π You could keep it in the fridge too, but it will require extra time to bake.
I hope that helps! Please feel free to ask me any other questions you might have!
Thank you so much for the in depth post. After a failed Mary Berry attempt this recipe did the trick! SO pleased with the results!
Finally a recipe that actually works! I have tried so many recipes from pastry chefs that fail. Thanks for all your help!
Thank you so much for all the information! I tried the 2:1:1:2 ratio recipe and 190C temperature and got the best choux I’ve ever made! They were so pretty, with no holes in them (my biggest issue with choux pastry previously) – i couldn’t believe my eyes π The only thing i’m still struggling with is determining the right dough consistency – because for some reason my dough becomes glossy before it actually becomes pipeable, so this sign doesn’t work for me. Are there any other signs besides the sheen that the dough is ready to use?
Hi Anna!
I am so sorry this reply is late! Technically the choux pastry is “pipeable” as soon as its cooked, but the eggs give them the extra lift and moisture needed for that final result we want! π The main thing is to not add eggs to the point of it being too runny (where it doesn’t hold its shape). Add enough eggs to make it glossy, but it can still hold its shape when piped or spooned on to a tray – and it sounds like the dough becomes glossy while it still is stiff, and thats ok, as long as you can form the shape you need and bake it.
I hope I didn’t misunderstand what you asked! Please let me know if that made sense π
I am really glad that you loved the choux pastry and it came out so well!
Hi Dini,
Thanks for putting up this very detailed article. Tried and tested successfully. I have always been thinking choux pastry was tough to get right. Your tips definitely helped! Looking forward to seeing others too…
Hello! I really need help! These tips seem perfect! But I’m making an Italian/American pastry called lobster tails. It’s a flaky pastry that puffs up and u can fill it with cream. To get a nice air pocket in the pastry to add filling you need to add choux pastry. I tried this but it didn’t rise and i had no room to add any filling. Please please can you help me! Does the choux pastry need to be quite thick so it is puffy? I honestly have no idea! Please help!
Thank you so so much if u can help in any way! X
Hi Chiara!
I have actually made lobster tail pastry before as well. They are traditionally made with a buttered and thinly rolled out dough but can be made with puff pastry as a short cut (not choux pastry). Then they are filled with Pastry cream or whipped cream. The puff pastry sheet is rolled out to be thin, brushed with butter and then rolled into a log. Then slice 1 – 2 inch discs from the log (depending on how big you want the pastry to be), and these are stretched out to form the lobster tail-like pastry. Then these are baked until crisp and flaky, and when it’s cooled down, the filling, like cream is piped in – The italian version is stuffed with ricotta or mascaporne and baked with the filling inside. I will do a video tutorial of making these in November (in time for Christmas), because it’s hard to explain how to stretch and flatten these out, but till then, I hope this video helps you – https://youtu.be/-4uP5i4iLyw?t=2m56s
Let me know! π
Dini
You said that it was optional to add sugar to the recipe, but never specified when to add it in. Would you add it with the butter/water/salt mixture?
Hi Hannah!
Yes, the sugar is added along with the butter, salt and water. The sugar has to dissolve so that it won’t interfere with how the pastry bakes (to prevent cracking and splitting). I hope that helps! π Thank you!
Great article and tips. Will definitely try the ‘spray water on baking tray tip’ . Thanks for sharing.
Heya,
Great article! Just a little question I would
Love some help on!!! Why does my choux flatten in the oven before it rises???? Meaning I lose my star shape?
Hi Emily!
Thank you π
It is very hard to get a proper star with choux pastry – Are you looking to make star shapes? or ridged Choux pastry? If you use a large star tip you are able have ridges on the choux pastry – but for this you need to have a stiffer dough by adding less eggs (add just enough to create some gloss, but thick enough to hold shape better).
I hope that helps!
Can I use self rising flour for this recipe?
Hi Wendy!
Traditional Choux pastry doesn’t use any chemical leavening agents like baking soda and baking powder. Self rising flour has baking powder, and because of that it won’t be suitable for Choux pastry as it can interfere with the natural rise from eggs and water. Hope that helps Wendy! π
Yes it helps tremendously , Thank you so very much for responding so soon. I live, and am from Louisiana. My nana was french, and made so many wonderful treats when I was little. She passed away before I could learn many of them. Thank you for the time, and effort you put into this. It’s greatly appreciated.
Hi! Some recipe indicate to use half water& half milk. It’s ok from your point of view? Can be more tasty with milk?
Thank you!
Hi Meda! The milk definitely makes the choux pastry softer than using all water. That’s because of the milk proteins interfering with gluten formation.
It is absolutely OK to add 50/50 water and milk or all water or all milk, depending on what you want the end result to be π
Hello! Just wondering what weight of flour I should use if replacing APF with bread flour?
Hi Rosie!
With bread flour, since it has a higher protein content, it can absorb more water. I would suggest only using 4oz instead of 4.4oz (Although I cannot be 100% sure, as I haven’t tried it properly myself). The texture of bread flour does tend to end up being stiffer and chewier, as it does develop more gluten than AP flour. If you stick to the same rules of getting that nice pipeable glossy dough as you add eggs, it should turn out well!
I hope that helps!
Thanks for all the tips. Every time I try to make it I get different results. Hope the next will be perfect
I made them your way and they were lovely. Thank you for taking the time to explain everything
I tried making these today and for some reason after mixing in the flour and cooking the dough, it remained oily and mushy. It has the consistency of oatmeal. I kept cooking it for a good 10 minutes to see if it would dry out and it did not – the oil kept pooling in the pan. Do you have any tips to prevent this? I followed all of the instructions, except I used white whole wheat flour (but I didn’t think this affected the results…?).
Hi Maggie
I haven’t ever tried making Choux Pastry with Whole Wheat flour or White whole wheat flour because the texture of the flour will be different from White Flour.
Generally if you’re using 100% Wheat flour in the recipe, you will have to add extra water to compensate, because WW Flour absorbs more water. This could explain why the dough is drier (therefore resembles oat meal).
I suggest maybe reducing the flour to 4 oz (instead of 4.4) and maybe that may help. I can’t be 100% sure without having tried it myself. I hope the explanation helps though! I’ll look into it in more detail and let you know if I find out anything else.
Hi I had the same issue despite using white flour and the correct ratio 2:1:1:2. I also ended up with extremely runny dough in fact rather oily, although I measured the butter. Would you suggest adding more flour or using less butter and any idea why there was so much left over butter in the dough?
Hi Alisha!
My recipe actually does not follow the 2:1:1:2 ratio. In the post I explain why, and also what to look for in the dough in each step of the recipe, so you can always get perfect results. In the ingredients you can see I add just a little extra flour because I find I get better results that way. I also explain in the post, that even though most recipes call for a finite amount of eggs, I don’t always add all the eggs required because sometimes it can make the dough runny. For example, my recipe technically needs 4 eggs, but sometimes (depending on the humidity and protein content of the flour), I only need 3 or 3.5 eggs (this is also mentioned in the post). Choux pastry is a very easy recipe to master if you know what to look for π I very highly recommend reading this post because I explain everything in detail. Hope that helps, good luck!
Love your recipes & your style of writing! Thanks!
Tamara
Is there any possible way of using whole powdered eggs in this recipe? thank you for your time
Hi Alice!
Thank you for visiting my blog! Unfortunately I have never used powdered eggs before, so I can’t be sure if it can be used for this recipe. I just did a quick read about powdered eggs, and they say it does not need to be reconstituted for baked goods. However I don’t know if it will work for Choux pastry as it can be very temperamental with ingredient changes. You can definitely try a half batch and check if the powdered eggs still turn the dough glossy and smooth.
I’m sorry I don’t have any other advice. I’ll ask around and let you know if I learn something π
I followed this recipe and got beautifully puffy choux that was crisp on the outside and ‘custardy’ on the inside. However, when I tried one it tasted kind of eggy. Is this normal? I ended up using four eggs to get that shiny consistency.
I’ve never gotten an eggy taste before Nicole π That can be very off putting and I’m so sorry!
There are a few things you could do though to help with that!
1 – Use the freshest eggs you can possibly get your hands on! π
2 – Add (extra) vanilla
3 – (OR) Add a small piece of lemon zest into the water, but remove it when the water comes to a boil. Yes, it will have a slight citrus taste, and mostly the smell of lemon, but it doesn’t interfere with the flavor too much!
I hope that helps for next time! I am happy that it did come out beautifully otherwise Nicole π Would LOVE to see what you did with it too!
What type of piping bag do you use? I grew up using the cloth ones for choux pastry but can’t find it easily in Florida for some reason. I think like the plastic ones may pop? What do you think? I’ve never tried “spooning” lol.. I feel like I won’t get a good shape
Hey Renz! I only spoon them on if it’s for just my family π I always pipe them if I want them to looks neater!
I love the cloth piping bags too and I own them as well, but I admit I find it easier to use plastic disposable bags, because I don’t have to wash them! I use the 16 inch Wilton disposable bags for Choux Pastry because I find them durable and so easy to use – None have popped on me so far! You can buy them in packs on Amazon too! π
Yaay. Great. Thanks. Will get those. I see those for sure but can’t seem to readily find the cloth ones. Thank you. And great tips on the post. I learned some of these rhe hard way lol
I made this today and they came out awesome!!! I filled them with Rumchata Pudding recipe and the drizzled milk chocolate on top. So delicious!!
Your tips and tricks really helped. I knew exactly what to look for when it was done. Thanks again!!
Thank you so much Veronica! I am so happy that you liked the recipe and the tutorial was helpful π Choux Pastry is much easier to make when you know what to look for.
I absolutely love the sound of Rumchata pudding filled profiteroles! I wish I could try them out π
This is so great and helpful! I’ve been meaning to make some choux after finishing up the latest season of the Great British Baking Show on PBS. Thanks for the tips and the science!! I love the detail!
I love making choux pastry. It always feels like such an achievement to get it right.
I’m going to give this recipe to my hubby because he LOVES choux pastry … especially profiteroles! Thanks for all the tips!
Thanks, Dini! My mum used to make great Choux pastry. But this is the first time I have read a choux pastry recipe properly given in such easy steps and outlining all the pit falls. Your photos show a tempting array of pastries. If one makes it on your advice one will definitely not be able to shoo ones guests away!
Zita
I am so glad that you liked this post Zita! I loved researching, testing it and writing it! I hope you make Choux Pastry at home too and please let me know how it came out! π
What an awesome guide to choux pastry! Pinned for future reference! π
Wonderful post Dini!! Thanks for all the tips – they’re super important
This is so informative! I agree store-bought chop pastry is horrible….this gives all the answers to make it perfectly! Thank you!
Thank you for sharing your secret, I love Choux pastry and have learnt a lot here.
One of my wishes is to nail the choux pastry! I’m gonna follow your steps, and will take photos π
Wow what an informative post…I’ve always wanted to make choux pastry but was too scared to attempt it. Will definitely try it now, thanks to your post! π
This is just like Play Doh in the kitchen…and sooo soooo good!!
I have always wanted to make choux pastry! My mother keeps telling me she will show me, but at her age, we don’t have many cooking days as I would like. π I am totally saving this and if I use your recipe… totally giving you props my friend!! π I love your sh*t happens.. LOL!!! I know I will fall into that category at first. π
I took a cooking class at Sur La Table a couple of years ago on how to make Choux Pastry but I have yet to try making it at home … that is until now. Your post gives me the confidence to give it a try.
Great info on an essential recipe, just in time for holiday appetizers…Thanks!
Dini this is such an awesome post!!!! I love how informative it is and in what great detail you go into! Now no one should have a problem making profiteroles!!!!