Choux pastry is a delicate pastry used in many desserts, such as eclairs, cream puffs and profiteroles. You only need 6 ingredients, plus my step-by-step photos and detailed guidance to be on your way to delicious pastries that will be sure to impress. The key to perfect pastries is managing the moisture content, so don’t miss the tips section before getting started!
While choux pastry can seem intimidating and has a bad reputation for being difficult, it really isn’t hard to make. It just takes some time, patience, and attention to detail. I learned quite a bit during the process of making eclairs and cream puffs, two of my favorite desserts that begin with choux pastry. I wanted to share all of my tips and tricks here, so you can make the perfect choux pastry the first time. The main thing you need to achieve here is a dough that isn’t too thin (has too much moisture), but also isn’t so thick that it can’t expand properly.
With my guidance on visual cues to look for during the process, you’ll be on your way to beautiful, tasty cream puffs, eclairs, and profiteroles in no time.
What Is Pâte à Choux?
Pâte à choux is the French name for choux pastry (pronounced shoe pastry). It’s somewhere between a dough and a batter, as it’s thinner than most doughs, so that it can be easily piped, but holds its shape better than a batter.
As noted above, it’s the base for many pastry desserts like eclairs, cream puffs, and churros. It is very light in texture, golden, and crisp. Since it’s meant for filling (typically), there’s not much in the way of flavor. Instead, the flavor comes from the fillings and toppings. Or in the case of churros, the dusting of cinnamon sugar.
Ingredient Notes
Here’s an overview of the 6 ingredients needed to make this classic French recipe. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Eggs – The exact amount of egg needed will vary for each batch of choux pastry. I find that starting with 4 large eggs ensures I have as much as I need each time.
- Butter – I always recommend unsalted butter, so that salt can be added separately later. Slice it into 10 pieces for easy melting.
- Salt – Adds flavor to the dough.
- Sugar – Not all recipes include sugar but I find the tiny amount of 2 teaspoons adds just the faintest hint of sweetness to the dough.
- All-purpose flour – Be sure to measure the flour very carefully. A food scale is ideal but the spoon and level technique, outlined in my post How To Accurately Measure Flour, will also work. Even just a tiny bit of extra flour will change the consistency and require more egg.
How to Make Choux Pastry
Here’s a detailed overview of how to make choux pastry. Pay close attention to the photos, as the visual cues are just as important as the written instructions.
Lightly beat the eggs in a measuring cup. Set aside some egg so there is 3/4 cup.
Add the butter, water, sugar, and salt to a saucepan.
Stir over medium heat until the butter melts. Bring to a simmer.
Reduce the heat to low. Add in all of the flour.
Quickly stir the flour until completely combined.
Press the dough against the sides of the pan as you stir to remove any lumps.
The dough will naturally form a ball. Continue quickly stirring until a thin white film appears on the bottom/sides of the pot.
Transfer the dough to a mixer bowl. Let cool for a few minutes.
Add the eggs in 3-4 additions, mixing between each one, until the mixture is shiny, thick, smooth, and pipeable.
Swirl the paddle attachment around and lift it up. If it falls slowly and leaves a “V” shape on the paddle, it’s ready. If it drizzles off, it’s too thin.
Once the dough has reached the right consistency, transfer it to a piping bag with a large piping tip, such as Ateco 809, which I use for cream puffs. Now your dough is ready for making cream puffs, eclairs and more!
Tips for the Perfect Choux Pastry
After a bit of trial and error with this recipe, I’ve discovered a few key tips to perfecting choux pastry. Take a second to read these before starting, so you can avoid my mistakes!
- Use all water. Some choux pastry recipes use milk or a combination of milk and water. I use and recommend all water. As the water in the pastry evaporates, the choux pastry expands. I think you get a better rise with water, plus a crispier shell with less fat.
- Look for the thin white film. Cooking the flour mixture a bit helps remove excess water and lets the starches gelatinize, which also strengthens the dough so it can trap the steam needed to rise. To know when it’s ready, look for a thin white film to form on the bottom and/or sides of your pan as you stir.
- Add just the right amount of egg. One of the most difficult things about choux pastry is that it’s nearly impossible to say exactly how much egg needs to be added. It changes every time, based on humidity, temperature, if just a smidge too much or too little flour was added, etc. That’s why the visual cues are so important. Too little egg = pastry that’s too thick and won’t expand properly. Too little egg = not enough structure to hold the steam that causes them to expand.
- Bake longer than you think. The most common mistake I’ve seen is not baking choux pastry long enough. If it’s under baked, there will be too much moisture remaining and the pastry shells will deflate as they cool. Bake them a little longer than you think, until they are golden brown all over. The pastry shells should have a crisp outside. Don’t be afraid to bake them a few extra minutes.
- Bake time varies. The exact time the pastry shells need to bake will depend on the size. It’s important to rely as much on how they look as the exact time. They should be brown and crisp when they’re ready.
- Avoid opening the open. The pastry shells will deflate if you open the oven too early and let the heat out. Turn on your oven light to see how they’re doing, rather than opening the oven door.
- If piping cream puffs. To pipe a tall mound, rather than a short one, keep your piping tip lifted above the baking mat a bit, rather than closer. It allows the choux pastry to spread, while also building up, rather than spreading out more and staying shorter.
Filling Ideas
The fun thing about choux pastry is that there are lots of ways to use it! Eclairs and cream puffs are the two most common desserts. I use my pastry cream in the eclairs and a lightened up pastry cream in my cream puffs (recipes to come this week!). Chocolate pastry cream would also be good! Another common dessert is profiteroles, which is simply a pastry shell filled with a scoop of ice cream.
But, you can absolutely just slice the pastry shell in half and add any filling you want. Any whipped cream, whether it’s plain whipped cream, cream cheese whipped cream, or mascarpone cream cheese, works. I also like to use flavored whipped creams, like strawberry whipped cream and chocolate whipped cream.
Fruit fillings like lemon curd and raspberry filling are a bit too dense and tart on their own but they’re fantastic stirred into plain whipped cream for a fruity twist.
Why Did My Pastry Shells Deflate?
The two primary reasons that pastry shells piped from choux pastry deflate are that they weren’t baked long enough and they had too much moisture.
You really want them to dry out. The things that contribute to too much moisture are under-baking and adding too much egg. Keep in mind that if you make them bigger or smaller, that also affects how long they need to bake, so pay attention to the visual appearance.
The other possibility is that the oven door was opened too soon. Use the oven light to check on the progress and keep the door shut until they’re fully baked.
If the shells do deflate, though, all is not lost. You can still cut them in half and add a stable filling, like whipped cream, instead of piping them with pastry cream.
Can I Make Choux Pastry Ahead?
The short answer is yes, as long as you are not too worried about the perfect texture.
The choux pastry dough can be made ahead and stored in the fridge in a piping bag. While it’s not ideal, I tested refrigerating it overnight and it worked fine. If it’s too thick to pipe when cold, just bring it back to room temperature before piping.
The baked choux pastry shells, on the other hand, will soften with time and will no longer be crispy the day after baking them, even if you haven’t filled them yet. If that doesn’t bother you, you can certainly bake them one day and fill them another or even bake and fill them for later.
If you opt to make them ahead and really want a crispy shell, preheat your oven to 375°F and bake the shells in the oven for 3-5 minutes to crisp them back up a bit. It may not be quite as crisp as before, but it should help.
Choux Pastry
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Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup (112g) unsalted butter (sliced into 10 pieces)
- 1 cup (240ml) water
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 cup (130]/adjustable]) all-purpose flour
Instructions
Make the Dough
- Add the eggs to a large measuring cup and lightly beat with a fork. Set aside a little bit of the egg, so that you have ¾ cup. Hold onto the egg that was set aside, in case you end up needing it. Set eggs aside.
- Add the butter, water, salt, and sugar to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the butter has melted, then bring the mixture to a simmer.
- Once simmering, reduce heat to low (so you don’t scorch the flour or over-brown the mixture) and add all of the flour at once. Quickly stir until the flour is completely combined and a thick dough forms. As it starts to come together, you can press the dough against the sides of the pan as you stir. This helps remove and incorporate any lumps of flour.
- Continue quickly stirring the dough. It should be thick and naturally form into a ball. Stir it until a thin white film forms on the bottom and/or sides of the pot. This could take anywhere from 1-5 minutes, depending on your heat, size of your pot, etc. Look for the thin film to form.
- Remove the dough from heat and add it to a mixer bowl. Let it cool down for a few minutes so you don’t scramble your eggs in the next step.
- Slowly add the eggs to the dough in 3-4 additions, mixing well between each. It’s important to start by adding a smaller amount, to help break up the dough and help it combine evenly, without getting lumps. The exact quantity of egg you add may vary depending on how much moisture evaporated during the cooking stage. Stop adding when the dough is shiny, thick, smooth and pipeable. If you measure by weight, I usually add about 190 grams of egg, but be sure to look for visual cues. The best way to look for the right consistency is to swirl your paddle attachment around in your dough a couple times and then lift it up. If it slowly falls and leaves a “V” shape on the paddle, it should be ready. The “V” shape shouldn’t look too shaggy, but should be smooth without being too thin. If it drizzles off, it’s probably too thin. It should kind of plop as it falls off the paddle.
- Line your baking sheets with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Add the choux pastry dough to a piping bag fitted with a large piping tip (I use Ateco 809).
Pipe Shapes
- To make long pastries (such as eclairs): Pipe logs that are 4 inches long and about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. If you need to smooth down any peaks created after piping, dip your finger in a little water and pat them down.
- To make round pastries (such as cream puffs): Pipe mounds that are about 2 inches wide and an inch tall, 2-3 inches apart. If you need to smooth down any peaks created after piping, dip your finger in a little water and pat them down. Tip: To pipe a tall mound, rather than a short one, keep your piping tip lifted above the baking mat a bit while piping, rather than being too close. It allows the choux pastry to spread, while also building up, rather than spreading out more and staying shorter.
Bake
- Let them rest while you preheat oven to 400°F. This resting time helps them rise more evenly.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes (or until they are just lightly golden), and then, without opening the oven door, reduce oven temperature to 350°F and continue to bake for 10-15 more minutes until golden brown all over. They should have a crisp outside. Don’t be afraid to bake them a few extra minutes (under baking will lead to them deflating). Do not open the oven as the pastries cook, or the heat and steam that is helping them rise will be released and they can deflate.
- Once done, turn off oven, open oven door and using a paring knife to pierce the side where you’ll fill it later. Let cool in the oven with the door open for 5-10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.
- When you’re ready to fill your pastries, you can use pastry cream to make cream
Fill and Finish
- To fill the pastry shells, use your favorite filling. Pastry cream is most common for eclairs and is also common for cream puffs. Chocolate pastry cream would also be good. You can also refer to my cream puffs for the filling I use which is a lightened-up pastry cream. Or use plain whipped cream, mascarpone whipped cream, cream cheese whipped cream, strawberry whipped cream, or chocolate whipped cream. You could even stir a little lemon curd or raspberry filling into the plain whipped cream for something else fruity. You can also fill them with a scoop of ice cream to make profiteroles.
Notes
- Yield – The number of pastries you’ll make from this dough will vary by which pastry you make and how large you make each one. But you should be able to get about 20 pastries, give or take.
- Bake time – If they are under baked, there will be too much moisture remaining and they will deflate as they cool. Bake them a little longer than you think, until they are golden brown all over. They should have a crisp outside. Don’t be afraid to bake them a few extra minutes. Keep in mind that if you make your cream puffs larger or smaller, your baking time will vary, so it’s important to look for them to be brown and crisp to know they are done baking.
- Don’t open the oven too soon – The pastry shells will deflate if you open the oven too early and let the heat out. Turn on your oven light to see how they’re doing, rather than opening the oven door.
- To crisp pastries after baking – The baked shells will soften with time and will no longer be crispy the day after baking them, even if you haven’t filled them yet. To crisp them up again, preheat your oven to 375°F and bake the shells in the oven for 3-5 minutes to crisp them back up a bit. It may not be quite a crisp as before, but it should help.
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
