Sweet or Savory Pate a Choux

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Show: Good EatsEpisode: Choux Shine

Rated: 5 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (58)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(58)

Cook Time:
30 min
Level:
Difficult
Yield:
4 dozen bite-size cream puffs

Times:

Prep: 5 min
Inactive Prep: --
Cook: 30 min
Total:: 35 min

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Ingredients

1 cup water
3/4 stick butter (6 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon sugar plus 1/8 teaspoon salt (for sweet)
1 teaspoon salt (for savory)
5 3/4 ounces flour
1 cup eggs, about 4 large eggs and 2 whites

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Boil water, butter, and salt or sugar. Add flour and remove from heat. Work mixture together and return to heat. Continue working the mixture until all flour is incorporated and dough forms a ball. Transfer mixture into bowl of a standing mixer and let cool for 3 or 4 minutes. With mixer on stir or lowest speed add eggs, 1 at a time, making sure the first egg is completely incorporated before continuing. Once all eggs have been added and the mixture is smooth put dough into piping bag fitted with a round tip. Pipe immediately into golfball-size shapes, 2 inches apart onto parchment lined sheet pans. Cook for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350 degrees F and bake for 10 more minutes or until golden brown. Once they are removed from the oven pierce with a paring knife immediately to release steam.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Sweet or Savory Pate a Choux
john gulfport, MS 10-17-2009
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what else can i put in them
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

i keep finding new things to fill them with. my favorites are ham and cheese for the savory and banana and cheesecake pudding... for the sweet.Read more
recipe Sweet or Savory Pate a Choux
Kayla Canby, OR 10-03-2009
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Holiday Eclairs
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I've made these a few times before and they've always turned out great. So for October I thought I'd mix it up. For the... filling (I use vanilla pudding, I think Alton used it on the show) and I added food coloring to make it orange. Then after adding the chocholate to the top I put different Halloween sprinkles on before it set. I usually use a cookie sheet with parchment paper to bake, but this time I used what's called a canoe pan. It took some time to get a feel for how much batter to put in the wells, but once I got that down they were coming out beautifuly. Also because the shape and size were slightly different I upped the baking time per temp from ten minutes to fifteen minutes and they still come out a golden brown and fully cooked. And in making a couple dozen (I take them to work sometimes) I learned that the topping can be frozen if you end up making too much, LOL!Read more
recipe Sweet or Savory Pate a Choux
Crystal Winter Park, FL 09-29-2009
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Perfect, even without a mixer or piping bag!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I didn't see the episode (I searched for it since I couldn't find my Lindsey Shere book after I moved), but the puffs were... perfect! The structure and flavor were just what I was looking for in eclairs, and they softened nicely with the bavarian cream while holding their structure. Very easy too -- I don't have a mixer, so I used a spoon and my hand. I was out of reclosable bags, so I spooned the dough on a olive-oil spritzed aluminum baking sheet -- no stickage problems. I used a convection oven and I may bump the temperature down since they browned so quickly, but they didn't taste overcooked even though they looked it.Read more
recipe Sweet or Savory Pate a Choux
todd orange, CA 08-16-2009
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Perfect...
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I followed the directions exactly after watching the show again on DVR. So easy, and they turned out perfect. Everything went... just like the show, except my first batch into the oven came out ugly and the size of tennis balls. Next batch in came out like little hollow, golf balls of fun...Still surprised at how easy this was, especially since I don't really bake...Read more
recipe Sweet or Savory Pate a Choux
Nicholas Colorado Springs, CO 07-19-2009
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Great Cooking Technique!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Alton's recipe was pretty much the same as the recipe I had for my own Cheesy Chicken Poofs, minus the swiss cheese. Well at... the high altitude we are at (7500ft above sea level) my recipe would never puff right. Using Alton's method of high heat then low heat, they kept their shape and stayed puffed. I do recommend chilling them slightly before baking so that they dont spread out. The first batch I made sort of became huge horizontally and wasnt much left to puff, but they were still twice the height of what they would have been normal cooking style. While those were in the oven I had the rest of the batter in the fridge, and the next batch turned out 100% perfectly, and I attribute that to being colder and they kept their shape long enough in the oven. A+Read more
recipe Sweet or Savory Pate a Choux
Hailey Clovis, CA 05-31-2009
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Fabulous, even for a beginner!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

This was my first experience with any kind of pastry, and I was worried that I woudln't be able to do it correctly. It ended... up being a breeze. The directions were very thorough, and easy to understand. This is an extremely easy and delicious recipe!Read more