Choux pastry – the basic recipe

Choux pastry (or pâte à choux) is probably the easiest of all the pastries – as long as you weigh out the ingredients and bake it for long enough you can’t go far wrong. Plus there is none of the worry about over-working the dough and keeping the ingredients cold, which seems to put many people off making their own pastry.

The choux pastry dough is made of flour, water, butter and eggs. The water and butter are brought to a boil before the flour is incorporated, the eggs are then whisked in a little at a time to form a smooth glossy paste. It can then be piped into any shape to make things like éclairs, profiteroles and many other French patisserie classics, some of which I will be attempting to make this month.

The water in the pastry evaporates when baked, forming steam, which creates a hollow pastry shell ideal for filling with whipped cream or crème pâtissière. This also means that the pastry will expand to up to three times it’s original size whilst baking, so it’s important to keep this in mind for the piping and spacing of the choux pastry on the baking tray.

I have found Raymond Blanc’s choux pastry recipe works really well so I have adapted it here for various different quantities. All of the recipes I will be making this month will refer back to the basic recipe below so they can be easily scaled up or down as you wish.



Things I have learnt from making choux pastry:

Leith’s Baking Bible describes the texture of the dough once the eggs are whisked in as a ‘reluctant dropping consistency’. The dough should not run off the spoon of it’s own accord, but only when you flick the spoon.

The number of eggs you need to get the correct consistency will vary depending on many different factors, such as the amount of water that evaporated whilst you heated it up and the absorbency of the particular brand of flour you are using. Add the beaten eggs very gradually so that you don’t over do it.

I like my choux pastry really crispy, but you can make a slightly softer pastry by replacing all or part of the water with milk if you prefer.

The basic choux pastry recipe:

• Crack the eggs into a measuring jug and briefly whisk together with a fork
• Heat the butter and water in a pan over a medium heat until the butter is melted and the water comes to a rapid boil
• Take off the heat and dump in all the flour in one go. Beat with a wooden spoon until it forms a smooth dough

• Return to the heat and beat until the dough comes away from the sides of the pan as you stir

•  Remove from the heat again and gradually add in the eggs very slowly, stirring vigorously after each addition. It will turn into a slimy lumpy mess but keep stirring and it should come together.

• Keep adding in more beaten egg until it reaches a reluctant dropping consistency (see notes above, and picture below). You may not need all of the egg to get to this stage

•  Put into a piping bag with a 1.5cm plain nozzle and leave to rest for 5-10 minutes whilst you pre-heat the oven to 200C 
• Pipe onto baking trays lined with greased baking parchment
• Smooth any uneven tops with a finger dipped in water
•  Bake for 20-45 minutes (depending on the size of the pastry) until very crisp and golden
•  Switch the oven off and, with the door slightly ajar, leave to cool thoroughly
•  Once cooled the choux pastries are ready to be piped with the filling