How to Make Gougères aka Choux Pastry

How to make Gougères Recipe Video – scroll down for recipe

To Begin to make Gougères you must first make Pâte à Choux, aka Choux Pastry

I first learned how to make Shoe Pastry when I was living in New Zealand, dating the ChefBoy, and learning all kinds of neat-o Real Chef Things. Things such as: It’s actually spelled choux pastry. It took me more time that I care to admit to figure that one out.

Choux pastry is what profiteroles, cream puffs, croquembouches, and eclairs are all made of. Add some cheese et voila! you got gougères. Unlike puff pastry, choux pastry is a CINCH to make! Imagine the sheer delight upon your guests’  faces when you pull a hot tray of steaming, golden, cheesy puffs from the oven. These are easy and so impressive!

How to Make Gougères – Printable Recipe

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Gougères

French Choux pastry bites with parmesan cheese

  • Yield: 15

Ingredients

  • • 1/2 cup water
  • • 3 tablespoons butter
  • • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • • 2 eggs
  • • 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan, about 2 ounces

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. Combine water, butter, and cayenne pepper in a sauce pot and put over medium-high heat until the butter melts.
  3. Dump the flour in all at once and stir quickly until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pot.
  4. Remove from heat and let sit for 2 minutes to cool.
  5. Add one egg and beat again until incorporated, by hand or with a mixer.
  6. Once fully incorporated and smooth, add the other egg and mix again.
  7. Add all but 2 tablespoons of the cheese and mix.
  8. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  9. Use two spoons or a pastry bag to make cherry-tomato-sized balls of dough, spaced 1 inch apart. You should get about 30 balls.
  10. Top each with a pinch of the remaining cheese
  11. Bake for 10 minutes at 425 then reduce heat to 375 and bake another 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
  12. Remove from oven and cool on racks.

Notes

For a drier, lighter gougere more suitable for filling, poke a hole in the bottom of each puff with a skewer and let cool.

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24 Comments

  1. Bev Weidner on December 13, 2011 at 10:10 am

    Duuuuuude, UH. FREAKING. HUH.



    • Hilah on December 13, 2011 at 11:55 am

      Get it in yo’ mouth.



  2. Amber Boegly on December 13, 2011 at 11:50 am

    Aside from the cayenne pepper, this sounds really good. I can eat a lot of spicy things, but I’m sure there are ways to substitute. Thanks for all the great recipes, Hilah. My husband and I are big fans.



    • Hilah on December 13, 2011 at 11:53 am

      Hi Amber!
      You could sure substitute sweet paprika or smoked paprika. Even a little fresh thyme or oregano would be delightful!!
      Thank you for writing.
      -hilah



  3. Great Stone Face on December 13, 2011 at 1:33 pm

    If thyme or oregano could substitute for the cayenne, it could be a little Middle Easternized with za’atar instead. Just be aware that za’atar has salt in it. Then, sprinkle a little za’atar on top? In Jordan, I had croissants made that way.

    Instead of scooping the dough (batter?) using two spoons or a pastry bag, how about a melon-baller or a very small ice cream scoop?



    • Hilah on December 14, 2011 at 9:05 am

      YUM! That sounds Good. Then maybe fill them with some eggplant spread? Also reminds me of the Berebere spice mix I have in the cabinet that would probably also be fantastic.
      You could use a little scoop, but a melon-baller might be hard because the dough is quite sticky. One of those restaurant-style portioning scoops with the squeeze release handle would work great I bet, though.



  4. Mazz on December 13, 2011 at 8:38 pm

    Your audio seems a bit wonkadonk on this one. I only have it on one speaker. The right one to be specific.

    I have had a problem like this and it was a phase issue in my mixing /recording. I don’t know if that’s the problem but if it is happening to some people and not others I would bet that is the cause.



    • Mazz on December 13, 2011 at 8:49 pm

      Your video quality has been excellent lately by the way… The white borders on the wipes and split screen are a great touch. Was that a conscious addition or just some happy luck when you added the effect? It makes the video sink into your page in a cool way.



      • Hilah on December 22, 2011 at 9:05 am

        Thank you for noticing, Mazz! Chris is finally really starting to enjoy the new Final Cut X and I guess it shows in the editing!



  5. Diane on December 13, 2011 at 9:45 pm

    All tomorrow’s pleasures? Did I hear that right? But I’ll be making these for some parties, for sure; I love a recipe that seems like it won’t come together . . . and then does. Plus these look fantastic!



  6. Jack on December 14, 2011 at 12:25 pm

    What is this sorcery where you show TWO views of the SAME action?! I like it! Cool camera work.

    If I weren’t on the road again (as usual!) I would totally try these. They look really good, just like you Hilah! Spicey and delicious.

    Nice Daisy cameo, too!



    • Hilah on December 22, 2011 at 9:04 am

      I know not how it’s done, only that if I whip my editor long enough, he makes it so.
      Someday Daisy will learn “catch it in your mouth”.



  7. Chris on December 17, 2011 at 9:17 am

    bugger, i was gonna ask what i was doing wrong, but i just noticed, i thought it was a stick of butter, but it’s just 3 tbls lol
    that will explain why it was to runny 🙂



    • Hilah on December 17, 2011 at 6:09 pm

      Oh no, Chris! I’m sorry! I hope you can try again.



      • Chris on December 18, 2011 at 6:07 am

        wasnt all bad, i seem to have invented some almost edible cheesy biscuit thingys lol



        • Chris on December 18, 2011 at 7:00 am

          well i’m still doing something wrong, the dough came out to runny, more like cupcake batter, so i got no puffyness in my cheesy puffs.
          maybe i need to mix a bit more before adding the eggs, till the dough is firmer



          • Hilah on December 19, 2011 at 4:40 pm

            Maybe also try using smaller eggs? In my experience, too big an egg is the biggest pitfall with this recipe.



        • Hilah on December 19, 2011 at 9:01 am

          Ha! Well I am glad they are edible and that you are still smiling about it. I’m wondering if it’s a problem with converting the measurements for you? Sorry, I don’t know – do y’all use volume measurements for baking in the UK?



          • Chris on December 19, 2011 at 5:05 pm

            Lol well you dont learn anything if it works perfectly now do you 🙂

            i think the US is the only place using volumes, we use weights for all cooking in euroland. Most things can be converted online these days anyway so it’s no biggie, eg a standard butter pack here (250g) = 2.204 sticks of butter, adds to the fun 😀

            I think it may be that i didn’t heat it up enough, your dough was a lot more solid than mine before you added the eggs, i’ll try again tomorrow and see if i can get the dough more doughy and less gooey



          • Hilah on December 20, 2011 at 2:37 pm

            Bless your heart, Chris! I have such little patience when things don’t work out right the first time. Oy, maybe that should be my New Year’s Resolution: Be more patient. 🙂



          • Chris on December 20, 2011 at 2:46 pm

            Depends how close i am to getting it, if it’s really close but not quite, it REALLY annoys me, if it goes completely pear shaped, i dont mind so much, i cant help but laugh at some tasteless shapeless blob on the counter that was supposed to be some culinary masterpiece lol

            as for the poofs, looks like 3rd times a charm, i didnt heat the water/butter enough, i went more by “until the butter melts” rather than “med/high heat” i did it hotter this time, and it came together much better, they are in the oven now, just past the 10 min mark and they look to have poofed up nicely 🙂 so assorted appendages crossed 😀



          • Hilah on December 22, 2011 at 9:01 am

            Great news! I’m so happy you got it!
            I guess for me, the worst part is the waste. So I’ll “save” the faulty dish in the refrigerator until it goes bad and then throw it away. Problem solved. 😉



  8. Chris on December 22, 2011 at 11:58 am

    The first think i leant when i started to make my own sausages (links not patties) was, ‘it’s never a sin to bin’ the way i look at it, yes i wasted a couple of batches, but now that i can make my own, as well as saving money, i will have less waste in the long term, as i’ll not be buying éclairs in fancy packaging, and i’ll make just the amount i need, not the amount the store sticks in a packet.
    Plus it impresses people no end at work when you take in home made stuff lol



    • Hilah on December 28, 2011 at 10:02 am

      Well, that is a great perpective, Chris! I’d never heard that “it’s never a sin to bin” quote (maybe because we don’t call it a “bin” in the US!) but I’m sure gonna use it now.