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
Hi Sally, planning to make this pastry at the weekend. I was wondering if it is completely necessary to use a stand mixer when mixing in the eggs or could I just do it very slowly by hand?
Thanks
★★★★★
Hi Eno, you can do so by hand, but it will take some arm muscle!
Thank you so much for the video tutorial, detailed instructions, pictures and tips. This will be my go to recipe. I made profiteroles and they turned out great! I felt like a star baker 🙂
★★★★★
Oh!! SALLY… THANK YOU SO MUCH… ITS VERY SIMPLIFIED…EXCELLENT SALLY❤
I MADE THEM LAST WEEK… FROM ANOTHER CHEF’S RECIPE….STATING THAT WE NEED TO USE A STRONG FLOUR…LIKE BREAD FLOUR TO HOLD ITS SHAPE…
OH ! SALLY IT WAS A DISASTER…NEVER AGAIN WITH A STRONG FLOUR….
THANKS SALLY.
CANT WAIT TO MAKE MY. PATE CHOUX..
★★★★★
These turned out great but I did taste a strong egg flavor. Anything I did wrong that may have caused this?
★★★★
Hi Shaelah! Choux pastry will naturally taste a little eggy. How was the consistency? Very thin? If so, maybe there was too much egg. Thank you for giving this recipe a try!
Absolute perfection on the first try!
★★★★★
Love this recipe, however, I skipped the sugar in the dough since the filling was sweet enough. I set the oven at 415 and cooked for 16 minutes with the convection on…turned out perfectly browned. My husband was surprised at how quickly I made around 24 delicious melt in your mouth puffs and he ate six at once, lol. Will be making again when guests arrive since they are so easy to make, no pastry bag needed =) Thanks for sharing.
★★★★★
Hi, Sally my father ate one and said that they were delicious. Thanks for the recipe.
★★★★★
YUM! My mom used to make the puffs a bit smaller and then fill them with tuna salad or egg salad and have them as an horduerve at cocktail parties. Super good!
★★★★★
Perfection on the first try! Thank you!
★★★★★
Not sure what happened. I followed recipe but when I took out of oven they collapsed. Also doughy in the middle. Maybe needed to allow to cook longer and not worry about the light brown color during the 400 degree cook time and lower to 350 and cook longer?
★★★★★
Hi Chris! You’re right, it sounds like they needed to bake longer. It’s possible your oven runs a bit hot (which would cause the outside to darken before the inside is cooked) – we always recommend using an in-oven thermometer for best results. Thank you so much for giving these a try!
First time!! Excellent recipe. Great detail. Will do again and again!!
★★★★★
I followed the recipe exactly and at 15 minutes they were burned black. Sad day. I’ll try again.
★★★
I was so surprised I was able to make the dough my first time! The tips and video tutorial were really helpful. Unfortunately, they started to burn about 20 minutes in. Maybe I need to check my actual oven temperature in case it runs high. Should I maybe drop the temp to 375 for the first 20 minutes and then to 350? Or drop the temps even more?
Hi Nicky! We always suggest using an in-oven thermometer for best results. You can try reducing the temperature – would love to hear how it goes.
Thanks. I did try read several other recipes and watched some videos before trying again. I think the egg wash and brushing the parchment with water affected the bake. I’ll try your recipe again without doing those and see how it goes!
I made this as written… even printed and kept reading as I was making it. Very easy to follow, I really appreciate the pictures and video. Used a lemon curd to fill them. Just wondering, are they supposed to be a bit bland? Would consider myself a beginner at pastry so wasn’t really sure what to expect. They weren’t bad but I guess I was expecting them to be sweet… even though there’s not much sugar hehehehe. Also not much texture. Again just curious about the pastry itself. Thanks!
★★★★★
Looks delicious! Am I able to half this recipe without issue?
For best results, I recommend making the dough as written. If you’re in a pinch, you can definitely try halving it.
Dear Sally, No matter what I do, the inside of my choux pastry (after I bake) is wet and ‘doughy’ . I am guessing I am not drying the dough out enough on the stove before adding the eggs. What should the dough feel like when you are done drying it?
Could it be anything else?
Thank you so much.
Hi Josh, I’m just seeing your comment/question now so my apologies on the delay responding to you. You may want to keep the dough in the pan for an extra minute (where you mash the dough ball against the sides of the pot– extend to 2 minutes). What might also help is lowering the oven temperature to 375°F (191°C). Lower heat will cook them more evenly. Extend the bake time since the temperature is lower.
Sally, do you recommend using the higher protein King Arthur All Purpose Flour for this? Looking forward to trying this later in the week!
Hi Andi, I usually bake with King Arthur Flour– simply my preferred brand. Though I’ve made these with other brands when flour was hard to come by last year. Should be fine with any.
Great recipe with detailed instructions. I used margarine instead of butter and it still turned out great.
★★★★★
Mine turned out a bit too dark, a bit too “eggy” tasting, and not quite light enough. I’m going to try a recipe without milk next time I think. I also think it’s a bit strange to egg wash a pastry that’s mostly eggs and butter…so I won’t be doing that again. They did puff up really nicely though.
I really want to make this recipe, but I don’t have parchment paper. Could I use silicon baking mats instead?
Hi Lydia! I’ll try to answer your question;) of course, you can use a silicon mat for choux or eclairs ☺️
This was so much fun to make! And so much easier than I imagined; definitely finding ways to use it often, thank you! I also made the lemon curd recipe linked in this pastry recipe- also fantastic.
★★★★★
I am french and pate a choux is one of my very favorites. I learned to make them as a child. Your instructions are spot on. They are indeed fairly easy to make, once you know how to incorporate the right amount of egg.
One trick you didn’t mention, that I learned way back when, was this: once the petits choux are baked, and before filling them, poke a whole in the bottom not too large but enough to allow you to remove the small amount of the dough that is not as cooked as the rest. You can you your finger or the handle of a teaspoon. That is usually a small amount at the base of the chou. Make sure to close the flap (as small as you can make it) after the filling is in.
The reason you do that is that this small amount of “less-cooked” dough is harder to digest and keep repeating hours after you eat the delicious choux. Try it!
★★★★★
Do you put the ganache on when you make them? Or right before serving?
Hi Kelly, If making Profiteroles you will fill with a scoop of your favorite ice cream and freeze for 1 hour or up to 1 day. Then you can make the ganache and pour on top before serving. See recipe notes for details!
My dough was too runny and I followed exact measurements
★★★
Help! I’ve tried this recipe twice and both times I ended up with egg bread. They didn’t rise or puff at all. I followed the recipe very carefully. What am I doing wrong?
Made for first time. Always stayed away from making as figured too hard lol!
Anyway first time success story. Will now be part of regular baking favourites
★★★★★
We’re so glad you decided to give this recipe a try, Rhonda. Thank you!
Thank you for this great recipe Sally! I’m a beginner baker and I’ve literally been baking using all your recipes! I never thought I would be able to bake cream puffs at home but thanks to you I did! I surprised my parents with these and they loved it! I just have one question where would you recommend I place the baking tray in the oven? I placed mine in the middle rack and used the exact temperature as your recipe states and some of the puffs came out with their tops a little darker than golden brown. Should I have put it on the lower rack perhaps? Thanks again!
★★★★★
Hi Stacy, We are thrilled you have been enjoying our recipes and that these were a hit! If they baked well but were just a little brown on top, you can lower the oven rack so the pastries are lower in the oven. That’s an easy fix if you try them again!
Hello
Thank you so much
I made it and it was wonderful
I am now just asking if I want to fry it as churros, what is the needed oil temperature at the beginning of the process and after that should I lower it?
Thanks again
★★★★★
Hi Maher, I’m so glad you enjoyed the choux pastry. For churros, I would recommend the same temperature for frying these homemade doughnuts: 375°F (191°C)
This recipe was easy to follow. The instructional video was a bonus! My whole family loves them! Perfect dessert for us on Thanksgiving today! Thank you!
They turned out perfect and I followed your whipped cream recipe and my son loves it more than cool whip!!!
★★★★★
Hello, how many choux pastry will this recipe make? I want to make about 30 for Thanksgiving. Thanks!
Hi Kris, This recipe yields about 16 puffs. For the best results, we recommend making 2 separate batches. Don’t want the texture to be ruined from working with too much batter!
Thanks Stephanie!
★★★★★
I never bake. But profiteroles are my girlfriend’s favorite. This recipe was excellent, I was able to easily follow along with the pictures and videos and they came out perfect.
★★★★★