The Australian Women’s Weekly New Zealand Edition — May 2017

132 MAY 2017

choux

pastry

Choux puffs

Our food expertsFran Abdallaoui

andPamela Clarkreveal the

secrets to preparing choux pastry,

a technique that is easy to master

with a little practice.

Choux puffs
MAKESABOUT 24 PREP AND COOK TIME
45 MINUTES

75g butter, chopped
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (180ml) water
¾ cup (110g) plain flour
3-4 eggs

1 Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced).
Grease two oven trays. Combine the butter,
salt and the water in a medium saucepan.
Bring to the boil – do not let the water boil
for longer than necessary while melting
the butter as it will evaporate and affect
the balance of ingredients.
2 Add the flour all at once, beating with

Choux pastry is unusual because it’s
“cooked” before it’s baked and uses
steam created by the eggs in the recipe
as the raising agent. The puffs “puff”
because the steam is trapped inside
them, causing them to rise up and
out. Each choux puff needs enough
room on the oven tray to spread, so
leave 3cm between each. This also
allows the heat to circulate and brown
the puffs evenly. Once cooked and
cooled, the puffs can be frozen, then
refreshed in the oven before serving.
“Choux”, meaning little cabbage,
describes cream puffs accurately.

How to make

a wooden spoon until mixture is smooth

and pulls away from the side of the

saucepan to form a ball (Step 2, below).

Continue to beat for a further 30 seconds-

1minuteoverlowheat.

3 Transfer dough to a medium bowl.

Using a wooden spoon, beat 3 eggs into

dough, one at a time, beating vigorously

and thoroughly after each addition

(Step 3). Add enough of the remaining

beaten egg to dough until it is thick and

glossy and just falls from the spoon –

not all the egg may be needed.

4 Drop rounded teaspoons of dough

3cm apart onto prepared trays (Step 4).

Sprinkle or spray puffs with a little water.

5 Bakefor10minutes.Reduceheatto

200°C (180°C fan-forced). Bake for further

15 minutes or until puffs are golden. Cut a

small opening in base of each puff; return

to oven for 5 minutes or until puffs are dry.

6 Choux puffs can be filled with sweet

or savoury mixtures (Step 6), such as

thick custard or vanilla-scented cream.

Suitable to freeze. Not suitable

to microwave.

Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 6

[ Ask the experts]

PHOTOGRAPHY BY LOUISE LISTER. STYLING BY RACHEL BROWN.