softening water, and the surface ends up
tough.
Cream Puff Pastry,
Pâte À Choux
Choux is the French word for “cabbage,” and
choux pastry forms little irregular cabbage-
like balls that are hollow inside like popovers.
Unlike popovers, choux pastry becomes firm
and crisp when baked. It provides the classic
container for cream fillings in such pastries as
cream puffs (profiteroles) and éclairs, and
also makes such savory bites as cheese-
flavored gougères and deep-fried beignets,
whose lightness inspired the name pets de
nonne, “nun’s farts.”
Choux paste was apparently invented in
late medieval times, and is prepared in a very
distinctive way. It’s a cross between a batter
and a dough, and is cooked twice: once to
prepare the paste itself, and once to transform