Choux pastry
Choux Pastry
Choux pastry (pronounced: shoo, IPA: /ʃuː/), also known as pâte à choux (pronounced: pat a shoo, IPA: /pat a ʃuː/), is a light pastry dough used in many pastries. It contains only butter, water, flour, and eggs. Instead of a raising agent, it employs high moisture content to create steam during cooking to puff the pastry.
Etymology
The name of the pastry, choux, is French for cabbage, owing to its rough cabbage-like shape after being cooked. Pâte à choux translates as "cabbage paste".
Preparation
The dough is made by heating water, butter, and salt or sugar (for sweet fillings) in a saucepan until it melts. Flour is added and the mixture is stirred until it forms a dough. Eggs are then added one at a time while stirring, until the dough becomes smooth and shiny.
Uses
Choux pastry is used in a variety of dishes, both sweet and savory. These include profiteroles, croquembouches, éclairs, French crullers, and gougères. It is also used to make Paris-Brest, a French dessert shaped like a wheel, in honor of the Paris–Brest bicycle race.
Related Terms
- Profiteroles: Small, round pastries made with choux pastry, filled with cream and often topped with chocolate sauce.
- Croquembouches: A high pyramid/cone made of profiteroles bound with threads of caramel, traditionally served at weddings in France.
- Éclairs: An oblong pastry made with choux dough filled with cream and topped with icing.
- French crullers: A fluted, ring-shaped doughnut made from choux pastry with a light airy texture.
- Gougères: A savory choux pastry cheese puff.
- Paris-Brest: A large round choux pastry filled with praline-flavored cream, designed to resemble a bicycle wheel.
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