How to Make Choux Pastry

Choux Pastry, also known as pâte à choux, is a light pastry dough used in many European desserts. This easy recipe shows step-by-step photos so you can master this delicious pastry!

Growing up my mother hosted many dinner parties, one of her classic go-to treats was cream puffs drizzled with a coffee icing. They ALWAYS disappeared at parties.

While you can easily buy a box of frozen cream puffs making them from scratch is quite easily done!

I love the customizations you can do with cream puffs. Check out the bottom of the post for all the fillings and toppings I like to use. I also have a recipe for cream puffs and chocolate cream puffs.

Let's get to the recipe.

What is choux pastry

Also known as pâte à choux it is a simple pastry that is made without a leaving agent, the dough rises thanks to the high moisture content. Similar to Yorkshire Puddings, when baking them do not open the oven door! You want to keep as much heat and steam inside.

Choux pastry is a simple, airy, light, and crispy pastry. The outer shell is light and crisp and the inside is almost hollow like, super airy.

Pâte à choux is used in many European pastries, you will most likely recognize choux pastry from Creme Puffs, Profiteroles, or Eclairs.

The beauty of this pastry is that you can make the dough up to 5 days before you plan to bake it! Once baked the pastry is best served that day.

The liquid and moisture from the eggs are what helps the pastry rise, adding water specks to the sheet pan helps create even more moisture in the oven creating a better more successful rise for the pastry.

Ingredients Needed for pâte à choux

• Salted Butter. I prefer salted but you could use unsalted. We are cooking the butter until it melts so no need to soften the butter ahead of time.
• Salt. I always add salt to my baked goods, don't skip it, trust me!
• Granulated Sugar. Just a bit gives the tiniest sweetness to the flavor profile.
• Whole Milk. Some recipes call for all water or all milk, I find a combination of the two to create a delicious pastry.
• Water. Just plain tap water is good!
• All-Purpose/ Plain Flour. I prefer unbleached flour.

How do you make choux pastry

In a medium-sized heavy-bottom saucepan add the butter, salt, granulated sugar, water, and milk. Cook over low-medium until the butter has melted. Let the mixture heat up to just before the boiling point. You want the sugar and salt to be fully melted into the liquid.

Add the flour and use a wooden spoon to beat it in, avoiding splashing the liquid, during this, I usually hold the pot off of the heat to ensure the flour is fully mixed in, you don't want any flour lumps, it needs to be smooth. The mixture will look weird and you'll be thinking you've done something wrong, but just keep mixing. The flour needs to absorb all of the liquid.

Place the pot back on the heat. You will need to mix for a couple of minutes, the mixture will come to a ball and pull away from the sides. Keep the pot over low-medium heat, mixing constantly, warming the mixture to cook of any excess liquid.

If you were to stick a normal spoon into the dough it would stand up straight without falling over, if the spoon falls over the dough has too much moisture still and needs to cook a little longer.

Take off the heat and add to the bowl of an electric stand mixer, or if using a handheld mixer use a large bowl. Let the dough cool for 10 minutes before moving on to the next step.

Once the dough is cooled add three eggs, one at a time, mixing on low- medium speed after each addition so the egg is fully incorporated.

Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl after each egg. Don't over mix, you don't want to add to much air.

The final egg I whisk it in a bowl and add half of it to the dough. You may or may not need all of the last egg, every dough is different. You want to check the dough after the half of the egg is combined to see if it is ready.

The dough is ready when it is more of a pipe-able texture if you hold the paddle attachment up and let the dough drip off you will notice it falls into a v shape.

This may very well mean that you don't use all of the fourth egg.

The dough is easily moveable and elastic but holds its shape, and it has a beautiful glow to it and sheen to it. In the photo below you can see I used a clean finger to draw a line in the dough and it held its shape without collapsing on itself.

When the dough is ready, place a large piping bag with a large round tip or no tip at all and add the dough. I like to place the piping bag inside a large glass so that it holds the bag up for me. At this point, you can place it in the fridge for up to 5 days before cooking. Or you can pipe it out.

I usually make eclairs or cream puffs. Choux pastry does puff up quite a bit so be careful not to pipe them too large or too close together. For eclairs I will also often use a star tip to pipe the dough.

When piping for cream puffs or profiteroles I pipe about a 1 ½ inch circle by piping straight down and letting it expand in both height and width.

For eclairs, I pipe about a 3-31/2 inch rectangle.

You will notice when you pipe that there may be a little bit of the pastry taht sticks up or to the side- we do not want any dough poking out- as it can burn. So dip your finger in water and gently press the dough into place.

Then I flick the silpat liner with water, the water will create steam in the oven helping the choux pastry to cook at a more even level.

Whatever you do, do not open the oven door when baking these. Opening the oven door releases some of the heat, which can cause the choux pastry to collapse.

Bake for 10 minutes then reduce the temperature to 350F/180C and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes.

When the choux pastry has baked for 25 minutes total, so 15 minutes into the second temperature, I quickly pull the tray out of the oven and use a sharp knife point or a skewer to prick the shells on the side- this will help release the heat and steam from inside, ensuring the center is dried out. Don't leave the oven door open when you are pricking the pastries, you need the oven to stay hot.

Place the tray back in the oven and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes, you want a gorgeous golden brown color.

Once they have reached their golden brown color and are done, turn the oven off, open the oven door completely and let them cool in the oven for 10 minutes, then place them in a draft-free place to cool completely.

You need to let them cool completely before attempting to fill.  Store the pastry in an airtight container for up to a day before using, but keep in mind these taste best the day they are baked. 

How to fill

You can either cut/ tear the pastry in half as I have in the photo below. And scoop the filling in.

Or you can use a piping tip and just stick it into the side of the shell and squeeze/ press the filling in.

I like to dust the tops with powdered sugar.

You can also fill them with ice cream, whipped cream, or pastry cream. Get creative and use coffee icing and a chocolate glaze for a mocha flavor!

I have a recipe for coffee pastry cream, dulce de leche pastry cream, chocolate pastry cream, and regular vanilla bean pastry cream.

You can top them with a coffee drizzle like my mom does or with a chocolate ganache, or keep it simple with the confectioners sugar.

For a coffee drizzle combine 1 cup of sifted confectioners sugar with 1-2 tablespoons of strong brewed coffee. I like to use a teaspoon or two of instant espresso powder mixed with a drop or two of hot water. Then drizzle away!!

When making a chocolate ganache for cream puffs I like a 1:1 ratio so if I use 8oz of finely chopped chocolate I will use 8oz of warmed heavy whipping cream to melt the chocolate and create the ganache.

I like to fill my cream puff first then dip it in the bowl of chocolate ganache.

If you wanted an extra shiny chocolate ganache glaze you could add 1 teaspoon of or golden syrup or corn syrup to it.

Tips for Success

How long ahead of time can I fill the choux pastry?

Ideally only 1 hour ahead of time, two if you must.

How do I prevent a flat and soggy dough?

Don't add all of the eggs, each batter is different. You will know when the choux pastry dough is ready when it has a sheen and glow to it. The dough should be easily moveable and elastic but hold its shape. If you drag a clean finger to draw a line/ trough in the dough and it held its shape without collapsing on itself the dough is ready.

★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!

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