Today I’m teaching you how to make choux pastry (pâte à choux) with about 100 pictures to show you how it’s done. If you’re not digging all the step-by-step photos, video tutorial, and explanations, scroll down to the recipe to get started. 🙂
By popular request, we’re tackling a French pastry dough: choux pastry, pronounced shoe pastry. Or, in French, pâte à choux. I learned how to make choux pastry in the French baking class I took earlier this summer. We spent an afternoon diving deep into this versatile classic and I’m sharing everything I learned with you today.
“Choux” means cabbage. So, in other words, cabbage pastry. Why is it called “cabbage” you ask? The name comes from the resemblance the pastry has to tiny cabbages. When baked, the pastry puffs up with little crinkles and ruffles– pictured above. Little cabbages! But instead of cabbage pastry, let’s simply call it choux pastry.
Like other French pastries such as croissants or even croissant bread, choux has the reputation for being difficult, but– as I witnessed with several other bakers in our French pastry class– it’s surprisingly simple. Master this easy recipe and you can make many pastries most bakers are scared to try. Pipe logs and fill with pastry cream for eclairs, pipe dollops and sandwich with whipped cream or ice cream for cream puffs and profiteroles, mix it with cheese and herbs for savory gougères, deep fry it for churros, French cruller donuts, choux beignets, the list goes on.
Choux pastry is a wonderful recipe to master because if you stick to the 1 basic recipe below, the door to DOZENS of other pastries is wide open.
Today I’m showing you how to make sweet cream puffs and profiteroles. Later this week, I’ll show you how to make eclairs. (Update: here is the eclairs recipe!) Feel free to use this basic choux dough in any of the pastries listed above!
TWO SIMPLE RULES FOR CHOUX PASTRY
- stick to the ingredients and measurements
- don’t open the oven while it bakes
The 7 ingredients are staples that you likely have in the kitchen right now: butter, water, milk, sugar, salt, flour, and eggs. Some recipes use all water instead of milk + water, but I find the combination yields a slightly softer and richer pastry. Not many choux pastry recipes call for sugar, but only 2 teaspoons provide a little flavor. The bulk of the pastry dough is eggs. Eggs provide some leavening, allowing the pastries to puff up when baked. The centers are soft, light, and airy. The exterior is golden and crisp. A beautiful marriage of textures!!
Choux pastry comes together in about 10-15 minutes. Most of the ingredients are cooked together on the stove; this initial cooking causes the starch in the flour to gelatinize, which will help the pastry hold onto steam and puff up. The Spruce Eats has an interesting article explaining the science of choux pastry if you’re into that!
After the choux pastry dough is gently cooked on the stove, transfer to a mixing bowl and add AROUND 4 beaten eggs. That’s the finicky part– the number of eggs in choux pastry isn’t really consistent between batches. Humidity, the exact size of egg, or an accidental extra 1/2 teaspoon of flour creates inconsistencies. 4 beaten eggs is an ideal starting point, though. Only add as much as you need to create a shiny, thick, and smooth dough with a pipeable consistency. I usually leave a few teaspoons of beaten egg behind, which can be used with the egg wash.
The yolks in the eggs bring most of the flavor and color to choux pastry:
At this point, our choux pastry dough is complete! Yes, that’s really all you need to do before shaping/baking it. Cook 6 ingredients on the stove, then beat in the eggs.
Now let’s make our cream puffs or profiteroles.
CREAM PUFFS
Filled with flavored whipped creams. Today I’m using homemade vanilla whipped cream, aka Crème Chantilly. Top with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar or a spoonful of chocolate ganache.
PROFITEROLES
Filled with ice cream and frozen. Topped with chocolate ganache. Profiteroles were my FAVORITE!!! We used butter pecan ice cream and coffee ice cream.
Choux Pastry Video Tutorial
Watch me make the choux pastry and shape/bake into cream puffs and profiteroles:
Do you have a better understanding of the process after watching the video tutorial? Not too scary at all, right? You totally got this!
ONE TRICK I LEARNED
And it makes a huge difference in (1) how much the pastry puffs up and (2) how delicious the pastry tastes. Bake the pastries on parchment paper, the BEST nonstick surface for this choux pastry dough. But before you pipe the dough onto the parchment paper, moisten it with water. You can see me doing this in the video tutorial above.
Why? Think of cheesecake. We bake cheesecakes in a water bath, right? Cheesecake, like choux pastry, is egg-heavy. Eggs need a moist and humid environment in the oven to (1) properly rise and (2) avoid drying out and burning.
Water moistened parchment paper = perfectly puffed up pastries with a deliciously light center and crisp exterior. Pastry perfection.
For cream puffs and profiteroles, use Wilton 1A piping tip. Pipe 2-inch mounds about 3 inches apart. (Watch the video above for a good visual.) You could also use a zipped-top bag and cut off the corner for easy piping. Using a water moistened finger, smooth down the peaks and lightly brush each mound with egg wash.
↑ These mounds bake into this golden puffy pastry! ↓
Split open the baked and cooled pastries, then fill with homemade whipped cream, lemon curd, jam, pastry cream, a combination of these, or your favorite filling!! You can also poke a hole in the pastries and pipe the filling inside.
Check out these beautiful hollow pastries, thanks to the steam created from the moisture inside and outside the baking dough!
And for profiteroles, ice cream with a generous shower of chocolate ganache. I teach you how to make these pictured cream puffs and profiteroles in the recipe notes below.
See Your Choux Pastry!
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge! Feel free to email or share your recipe photos with us on social media. 🙂
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How to Make Choux Pastry (Pâte à Choux)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Yield: 16 puffs
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Description
Choux Pastry can be used in anything from cream puffs, profiteroles, and eclairs to churros, croquembouche, French cruller donuts, choux beignets, and gougères! It only takes about 10 minutes to prepare and the options for filling and shaping are endless.
Ingredients
Choux Pastry
- 1/2 cup (115g; 8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
- 1/2 cup (120ml) water
- 1/2 cup (120ml) 2% or whole milk
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
- 4 large eggs, beaten
- egg wash: 1 egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon milk or water
Equipment
- medium saucepan
- wooden spoon or rubber spatula
- handheld or stand mixer
- large mixing bowl
- 2 baking sheets
- parchment paper
- pastry brush
- piping bag (reusable or disposable)
- piping tip
Instructions
- Watch the video in the blog post above; it will help guide you through the next few steps.
- Make the choux pastry dough: Combine the butter, water, milk, salt, and granulated sugar together in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the butter has melted. Bring mixture to a simmer. Once simmering, reduce heat to low and add the flour all at once. Stir until the flour is completely incorporated and a thick dough clumps into a ball. Mash the dough ball against the bottom and sides of the pan for 1 minute, which gently cooks the flour. Remove from heat and transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or, if using a handheld mixer, a large mixing bowl. Allow to cool down for a few minutes before adding the eggs in the next step.
- Read this step in full before starting. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the eggs in 3-4 separate additions mixing for 30 seconds between each. The mixture will look curdled at first, but will begin to come together as the mixer runs. Pour in the final addition of beaten eggs very slowly. Stop adding when the choux pastry has reached the desired texture: shiny, thick, and smooth with a pipeable consistency. I usually leave a few teaspoons of beaten egg behind, which can be used with the egg wash.
- Your choux pastry dough is complete! You can use it immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. There’s no need to bring it to room temperature after refrigerating. In fact, you can store it in a piping bag (see step 6) in the refrigerator and then pipe/bake right away. If it’s too stiff to pipe, though, let it warm to room temperature a bit as the oven preheats.
- For cream puff and profiterole shells: Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly brush the parchment with water, which creates a humid environment for the pastry shells allowing them to puff up without drying out or burning.
- Transfer choux pastry dough to a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1A piping tip. Pipe 2-inch mounds about 3 inches apart. Watch the video in the blog post above for a visual. You can also use a zipped-top bag and cut off the corner for easy piping. Using a water moistened finger, smooth down the peaks and lightly brush each with egg wash.
- Bake for 20 minutes then, keeping the pastries in the oven, reduce oven to 350°F (177°C) and continue to bake for 10-15 more minutes until golden brown. Do not open the oven as the pastries cook, as cool air will prevent them from properly puffing up. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before filling.
- Split open pastries and fill with homemade whipped cream, lemon curd, pastry cream, jam, a combination of these, or your favorite filling. You can also poke a hole in the pastries and pipe the filling inside. For my pictured cream puffs and profiteroles, see recipe notes.
- Cover and store leftover filled pastries in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Cover and store unfilled pastries at room temperature for 1 day, in the refrigerator for 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before filling and serving.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Prepare choux pastry dough through step 3. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before shaping and baking.
- Special Tools: KitchenAid Stand Mixer | 5-qt Tilt-Head Glass Mixing Bowl | Glass Measuring Cup | Wooden Spoon | Saucepan | Baking Sheet | Wilton #1A Round Piping Tip | Reusable Piping Bags or Disposable Piping Bags | Pastry Brush
- Cream Puffs (pictured): Crack open each cooled pastry shell and generously spoon homemade whipped cream (it’s vanilla flavored, so it’s called Crème Chantilly) inside each. Top with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar or drizzle of chocolate ganache (ganache instructions below).
- Profiteroles (pictured): Crack open each cooled pastry shell and fill with a scoop of your favorite ice cream. Freeze for 1 hour or up to 1 day. Top with chocolate ganache. For the chocolate ganache, finely chop two 4-ounce semi-sweet chocolate bars and place in a medium bowl. Heat 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream in a small saucepan until it begins to gently simmer. (Do not let it come to a rapid boil– that’s too hot!) Pour over chocolate and let it sit for 2-3 minutes to gently soften the chocolate. Slowly stir until completely combined and chocolate has melted. Allow to cool for 3 minutes before pouring over pastries.
Adapted from Baltimore Chef Shop, where I took my pastry class 🙂
Keywords: Choux Pastry, Pâte à Choux
I was looking for a great recipe that I could understand to make for the first time. Easy to understand can’t wait to try..
★★★★★
Great recipe! Enabled me to successful make eclairs for the first time. The images of the finished dough were very helpful as well as the hint about not needing to use all the egg. Thanks so much
★★★★★
Thank you for the tips on baking the finished Choux pastry. dough.The next time I make this dough I will be trying those important tips such as wetting the parchment paper for moisture and using an egg wash on the dough before baking to ensure a better pastry crust for the cream puffs, eclairs, etc, I think these tips will help a lot.
★★★★★
I just had the most disappointing Zeppole. The choux tasted like it has been frozen, thawed and maybe rebaked to crisp it up? The custard cream was “gritty” So, I came here looking for a highly rated choux to make my own. I made it once years ago. I ant wait to make them.
Perfect! MUCH easier than it looks, thanks to your instructions. I used about 2-1/2 cups of whipped cream as filling, but could have used a bit more if I had it. Opening them up to see the insides perfectly hollow felt like magic, haha.
★★★★★
Hi Sally!
I was wondering if this recipe could have craquelin put ontop of it? Is there a difference between putting that on the cream puffs and your recipe?
Hi Kaylie, We haven’t tested it but can’t see why not. Let us know if you give it a try!
Perfection! Not super sweet, just a light fluffy treat. Thank you! Will definitely make again, just like your chocolate chip cookies.
★★★★★
Wow!!! This is the 3rd recipe of yours and it was perfect. I am not a baker, however you are turning me into one!! Watching the video really simplifies the process. For my filling I did not have all the ingredients, so I used mascarpone, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla extract, powered and granulated sugar, salt and a teeny bit of milk. So yummy. Thank you
★★★★★
Hi Sally love your recepies!!! Can we freeze the baked pastries? What’s the best way, I just want to have them ready and thaw them. I’ve tired it once before but it tastes stale. Regards,
Amna
Hi Amna, you can freeze the baked and unfilled pastries for up to three months. For best freshness, you can individually wrap each of the pastries in plastic wrap or Press N Seal and then place them in the refrigerator to thaw the night before you hope to fill and serve.
I love your recipes, ALWAYS successful. Thank you
Thank you so much! Do you have any favorites?
I tried to half the recipe and used two full eggs and think my dough was too thick. It was difficult to pipe and sticky. Also, when I baked them, not even for the full time listed, they were completely burned. Any advice?
Can I add more beaten egg to the dough I’ve already made?
Hi Marie, you’ll want to add more eggs in this case. Was the dough shiny and smooth with a pipeable consistency as described? The dough should be thick, but it sounds like yours was too thick. I understand I’m not seeing this question until late, but if this happens again, you can add more eggs.
Is your choux pastry the same as puffed pastry?
Hi Liz, puff pastry and choux pastry are different. Puff pastry is mostly butter and flour layered and folded together (see my rough puff pastry recipe), while choux pastry is cooked in the preparation process and contains eggs.
Would I need to adjust anything for high altitude baking?
Can you assist me with baking time conversion for making these mini (about half the size)?
Hi Amanda, We’re unsure of the exact bake time for a mini version, but it would be shorter. Keep a close eye on them.
You make everything so easy! These turned out great. For next time, I’m going to store in the fridge after step 3. Should I then let the dough come up to room temp before piping and baking, or can I pipe right out of the fridge? Thanks!!
★★★★★
Hi Kiki, you can bake it right out of the refrigerator. Holds shape nicely that way.
Mine came out perfectly! Did a craquelin on top and it was delicious! I ended doing a double batch and had some of the dough left over and refrigerated it. I’d like to use rest today but wanted to see how I should go about using it out of the fridge. Should I just let it warm up to room temp in the bowl and then add it in the pipingbag? Or put it in the bag right out of the fridge? Thanks! I’ll be using your recipe from now on.
★★★★★
Hi Holly! I’m actually just seeing this comment now. There’s no need to bring it to room temperature after refrigerating. In fact, you can store it in a piping bag in the refrigerator and then pipe/bake right away. If it’s too stiff to pipe, let it warm to room temperature a bit as the oven preheats.
Hi Sally! I’m making these for my mom for Christmas, but I know my family is going to be after them! Any reason that I couldn’t double the recipe or am I better off making two separate batches? Thanks so much! Your recipes are always AMAZING! 🙂
Hi Kirsten, best to make two separate batches rather than doubling this one. Hope your family loves them!
I just made these and they came out perfect. I then took a piping bag and piped in the lemon curd from your website. I am telling you, these are fantastic. Thank you for the awesome recipes.
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Hi there, I’m looking to make a croquebouche for a holiday party and am unclear if it’s better to freeze the choux unbaked (up to step 3) or if I can bake the pastries and freeze them unfilled. Any advice? Thanks!
Hi Cait! You can do either. It really depends on how much work you want to do once you need the choux (do you want to simply thaw and fill or will you have time to thaw and bake?). Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Have you made a chocolate creme filling for these yet? I’m wanting to make chocolate creme puffs this week. These look incredible!
Hi Joy, we’d recommend making our chocolate ganache and then following the directions there for whipping it — would be delicious as the filling here! Let us know if you give it a try.
I had my mother’s recipe for these, but lost the Pate a Choux recipe, this is the closest I have found to her recipe! My mother made these for every special occasion! She filled them with homemade cream pudding and topped them with chocolate ganache. She also made some with the cream pudding and sprinkled them with confectioners sugar. They were delicious and full of family memories!
★★★★★
Hi.. If no milk, would half and half work instead? Thanks.
Hi Maurita, half and half would be too thick for this dough. We find milk to work the best!
Absolutely love your recipes!!! Everything always turns out. Your carrot cake is the best and I’ve become famous among family & friends for it!!! I’ve made for so many people on their birthdays
Thx again for the addition to your recipes
★★★★★
Can I use a hand mixer to mix the dough and eggs? I don’t have a stand mixer.
Sure can.
Hi,
Can the choux pastry be frozen once baked?
Hi Em, yes, you can freeze the baked choux for up to 3 months.
Im gonna made tomorrow my day off. Gonna fill with a little pastry cream an some cherry filling. yummy
Could craquelin topping be used on these choux buns?
Hi Elizabeth, We haven’t tested it but can’t see why not. Let us know if you give it a try!