How to Make Pate a Choux is a simple step by step tutorial and recipe for making perfect choux pastry for cream puffs, cheese puffs, and eclairs with only 5 ingredients!

Parmesan gougeres on a wire rack

Bonjour!  I’m greeting you in French because my kitchen was transformed into a French bakery yesterday.  I made something very special, which is coming to you Thursday.  

For now, we’re going to focus on the main attraction — Pate a Choux, or choux pastry.  This pastry has a fancy French name (pronounced “pat-a-shoo”), and while it is somewhat fancy, it’s one of the easiest things you’ll ever make.

I grew up loving eclairs and cream puffs way before I’d ever been to France.  There’s something about the crisp pastry with that cool cream that’s so irresistible.  

I’d never made pate a choux until I went to culinary school, and it was one of my favorite units.  I graduated over a year ago, and it’s still something that I make on a semi-regular basis.  

It makes some really special dishes for entertaining and holidays that aren’t soon forgotten. 🙂

Close up of eclair before frosting and filling

Why you’ll love this recipe:

  • Pate a choux is so versatile, which makes it a wonderful addition to your baking arsenal.  It’s the foundation for eclairs, cream puffs, profiteroles, cheese puffs.  There are so many possibilities.   
  • This pastry may be used in sweet or savory applications.  Fill it with pastry cream, whipped cream, mousse, or ice cream, or add grated cheese to the dough for cheese puffs (like my gougeres), or fill them with a great chicken salad or spinach dip.  
  • Pastry is so easy to make, and may be made in advance and even frozen until you’re ready to use it.
  • It’s a special recipe for parties or easy enough for every day.
Gougere cut in half on a wire rack

Recipe ingredients

Pate a choux takes 5 ingredients — yes, only 5!  And you’ve got them all on hand all the time.  You can also easily memorize the recipe so you can make it anywhere you go.  

My cooking instructor helped us remember it in 1/4’s:

  • 1 cup water
  • 4 ounces unsalted butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup flour (substitute with brown rice flour for gluten free)
  • 4 eggs

How to make this recipe

How to make choux pastry process collage 1

Add the water and butter in a medium saucepan and heat on low until the butter has melted.  Once it’s melted, turn up the heat and bring to a boil.

How to make choux pastry process collage 2

Remove the pan from heat and add the flour all at once.  Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the flour is completely incorporated.  The flour will immediately absorb the water, and the stirring helps develop the gluten, giving us a nice, elastic dough.

Once the flour is incorporated, place the pan back over medium heat and stir vigorously to dry out the dough, until the dough forms a cohesive mass around the spoon and leaves a film on the bottom of the pan, about 1-2 minutes.

How to make choux pastry process collage 3

It’s time to add the eggs, but since the dough is really hot, we need to cool it down or the eggs will scramble (wince!).  You can either leave the dough in the pot to cool on it’s own and beat the eggs in a little at a time with the wooden spoon, or use my preferred method here, which is to place the dough in the bowl of a stand mixer.  

Mix it for a minute or two on medium speed until it’s cooled slightly, then with the mixer running constantly, add the beaten eggs about 2 tablespoons at a time, making sure the egg is fully incorporated before adding more.  

How to make choux pastry process collage 4

Baking tips

  • Whether you’re making puffs or eclairs, you’ll want to draw a little template on some parchment paper so the sizes are uniform.  For example:
  • If you’re doing cream puffs, you can use a 2 1/2″ biscuit cutter to draw circle on the parchment, with about 2-3 inches between each one to leave room for your puffs to expand 
  • Pipe the dough with a 1/2″ round tip, or make them nice and rustic by spooning the dough onto the templates.  I like to go rustic for these.
  • If you’re doing eclairs, draw rectangles about 1″ wide by 3-4″ long, with 2″ in between, and definitely pipe the dough with a 1/2″ tip.
  • Pro tips:  Turn the parchment upside down so the writing doesn’t transfer to the dough;  If you have a little pointy tip after piping, smooth it out with your finger or a lightly oiled butter knife.
Eclairs after baking

You’ll get about (2) baking sheets full, so bake them in the top and bottom thirds of the oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes to get them to puff nicely, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and rotate the pans from top to bottom and front to back.  Bake another 20 minutes to finish off the baking.  

After that, remove the puffs or eclairs from the oven and cut small slits toward the bottom of the pastry on each side to let some steam out.  Turn off the oven and place them back in for 10 minutes to dry out a bit, and you’ll have some nice, crispy, golden brown pastries.

The hardest part for you will be deciding what to fill your pastries with.  Are you gonna go sweet, or are you gonna go savory?  

Decisions are hard. 🙂

Recipe notes:

  • *For eclairs, make a template in rectangles 1″ wide by 3-4″ long. You should use (2) pieces of parchment, each with 5 eclairs on the top and 5 on the bottom, spaced at least 2″ apart.
  • *For puffs, make 2 1/2″ circles with a biscuit cutter in the same fashion as the eclairs, with 10 per sheet, with a minimum of 2-3″ between.
  • The dough can be made up to 4 hours in advance and piped onto the parchment, covered with plastic wrap, and refrigerated until ready to bake.
  • Once baked, the puffs or eclairs can be frozen before being filled and stored in the freezer in a zip top bag for up to 1 month. Re-crisp in a 375 degree oven until warm and crisp, and cool before filling.
  • The puffs are best when served the day they’re filled, as the longer they sit the soggier they will get from the creamy filling. Leftovers can be stored in an air tight container for up to 2 days.

More pate a choux recipes:

Gougeres on a wire rack

How to Make Pate a Choux {GF option}

How to Make Pate a Choux is a simple step by step tutorial and recipe for making perfect choux pastry for cream puffs, cheese puffs, and eclairs with only 5 ingredients!
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Ingredients

  • 1 cup water
  • 4 ounces 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup all purpose flour or brown rice flour for GF
  • 4 large eggs beaten until whites and yolk are completely combined

Instructions 

  • Position the oven racks to the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees.
  • Make templates for your puffs or eclairs on parchment paper, turn the parchment over so the writing doesn’t transfer to the dough, and place on (2) baking sheets.*
  • Place the water, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan and heat over low heat until the butter has melted completely. Increase the heat to medium and bring to a full boil. Remove from heat and add the flour all at once, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon until incorporated and the dough forms a cohesive mass around the spoon.
  • Place back over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes, until the dough leaves a thin film on the bottom of the pan.
  • Place the dough in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on medium speed for 1-2 minutes or until the dough has cooled slightly.
  • With the mixer running constantly, add the egg about 2 tablespoons at a time, making sure it’s fully incorporated before adding more. Repeat until all of the egg has been mixed in.
  • If making puffs, pipe or spoon the dough onto the templates — if eclairs, definitely pipe it. Smooth out any pointed tips with your finger or lightly oiled butter knife. I used a 1/2″ round piping tip.
  • Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees, rotate the pans from top to bottom and front to back, and bake an additional 20 minutes. Turn off the oven. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and cut small slits toward the bottom of the pastry on both sides. Place back in the turned off oven to dry out for an additional 10 minutes.
  • Fill with pastry cream, whipped cream, mousse, or savory foods like chicken salad or spinach dip. Enjoy!

Notes

  • *For eclairs, make a template in rectangles 1″ wide by 3-4″ long. You should use (2) pieces of parchment, each with 5 eclairs on the top and 5 on the bottom, spaced at least 2″ apart.
  • *For puffs, make 2 1/2″ circles with a biscuit cutter in the same fashion as the eclairs, with 10 per sheet, with a minimum of 2-3″ between.
    The dough can be made up to 4 hours in advance and piped onto the parchment, covered with plastic wrap, and refrigerated until ready to bake.
  • Once baked, the puffs or eclairs can be frozen before being filled and stored in the freezer in a zip top bag for up to 1 month. Re-crisp in a 375 degree oven until warm and crisp, and cool before filling.
  • The puffs are best when served the day they’re filled, as the longer they sit the soggier they will get from the creamy filling. Leftovers can be stored in an air tight container for up to 2 days.
  • Recipe adapted from Tante Marie Cooking School, San Francisco, CA, and The Art & Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet.

Nutrition

Calories: 150kcal, Carbohydrates: 12g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 131mg, Sodium: 150mg

Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.

Did you try this recipe?Be sure to tag @flavorthemoments with the hashtag #flavorthemoments on Instagram so I can see what you made!

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