Chouquettes are probably one of my favorite desserts. I love watching these little pastry balls puff up inside the oven and get to enjoy them before I can even take a bite of a warm, chewy chouquette. But I know that for many people, making chouquettes is a difficult pastry to master. That's why I'm sharing all my tips for making perfect chouquettes pastry!
Chouquettes are probably one of my favorite desserts. I love watching these little sugar-dusted pastry balls puff up inside the oven and get to enjoy them before I can even take a bite of a warm, chewy chouquette. But I know that for many people, achieving perfect chouquettes remains a challenge. I'm sharing all my tips for making perfect chouquettes pastry!
In this complete article, you'll discover step-by-step how to get chouquettes that are puffed up, fluffy, and perfectly rounded. You'll see that mastering the professional chouquette recipe isn't as complicated as you think. In fact, once you've mastered this technique, you can also make the heads and bodies of your religieuses!
By the way : I've already detailed in other articles how to make the perfect puff pastry and how to make a Paris-Brest pastry or an chocolate éclair!
- Secrets of baking chouquettes that never fall
- Chouquettes
- With water: your choux pastry balls will be crispy
- With milk: they will be more tender
- Compromise: you can opt for a recipe with half water-half milk (our choice in this recipe !)
The professional technique for successful choux pastry
How to hold a douille bag ?
Before approaching the poaching itself, let's focus on an element that may seem trivial but is essential for achieving perfect choux pastry. Holding your douille bag correctly will allow you to master the technique and achieve a regular poach.
Key technical points :
- One of your hands (left if you're right-handed) will handle the bag movement
- The other hand (right) will apply pressure and flow rate
- To catch the bag, place your guiding hand in a C shape and position it a few centimeters from the opening
- The second hand will close the bag, just above the contents, to prevent it from spilling
Choosing the right douille for perfect choux pastry ?
To poach your choux pastry correctly, I recommend using a
Mais pas de panique, it's very easy to correct.
Getting Perfectly Round and Regular Chouquettes
To have perfectly baked chouquettes, they need to be flat and regular before baking. You'll simply need a ruler and a bowl of water.
Professional Technique :
- Dip the ruler in the water
- Make a grid: one way, then the other
- Your chouquettes will be perfectly flat and ready for baking
What Type of Sugar to Use for Chouquettes?
For traditional chouquettes, you need to use granulated sugar called "pearled sugar" or "casson sugar". It's easily found in pastry shops and some supermarkets.
Pastry Tip : It's the same sugar used in tropéziennes or on viennoiseries.
How to Put Sugar on Chouquettes?
It's simple:
- Sprinkle generously with sugar in grain
- With the water that was just deposited during the grid, the sugar will stick on its own
- Remove excess sugar before or after baking
Secrets of baking perfect chouquettes that don't collapse
When to take chouquettes out of the oven ?
The baking of chouquettes is a crucial aspect of the recipe. In fact, even if you have perfectly executed the piping until now, if your chouquettes collapse after baking, it's a failure !
Perfect baking indicators :
- Approximate time : around 30-40 minutes at 180°C in static heat
- Check that there are no water droplets on the surface
- Make sure the perforations are no longer shiny
It's at this exact moment that you can take your chouquettes out of the oven. If you follow these two rules, your chouquettes will be perfect: round and nicely puffed !
How to rescue chouquettes that are collapsed ?
Little trick if your chouquettes are not cooked enough and collapse after being taken out of the oven: prepare a pastry cream and garnish your choux like you would for chocolate éclairs. Your chouquettes will regain their round shape and become even more delicious !
Instructions
- 1
Melt the butter, water, milk, and salt in a thick-bottomed pan
- 2
Heat over high heat and stop at the first bubbles
- 3
Remove from heat, add flour all at once and mix vigorously
- 4
Continue adding the eggs gradually until the dough is well hydrated (you probably won't need to add all of it)
- 5
Keep adding the eggs until the dough is well hydrated (you probably won't need to add all of it).
- 6
The dough is ready when it forms a "bird's beak" shape when it collapses
- 7
Pipe the dough into a piping bag and pipe the choux pastry balls in a zigzag pattern.
- 8
Place the chouquettes in the oven at 180°C for 30 minutes in static heat. The chouquettes are cooked when the indentations in the choux pastry are colored.
