Basic Pâte à Choux Recipe
I’m sharing all my tips for making light as air pâte à choux. This delicate pastry makes airy pastry perfect for filling with sweet and savory stuffings. Learn everything you need to know about choux pastry from how to make, pipe, store, and fix some of the most common issues.
The Background
If you are not familiar with choux pastry, it’s a light and airy dough used to make desserts ranging from eclairs to churros and more. This unique dough is twice-baked, first on the stove, to create a silky smooth finish. Then it bakes to golden perfection in the oven.
Made with water, eggs, flour, and butter the pastry has a high moisture content which causes the pastry to rise and leave space for delicious fillings to be stuffed with pastry cream or other fun fillings. Once you’ve mastered making choux pastry, the delicious treats you can make are endless including:
- Eclairs: Pastry cream is piped into long logs and then filled with pastry cream and topped with chocolate.
- Profiteroles: Also known as cream puffs, profiteroles are filled with pastry cream or ice cream. They often come served with a silky chocolate topping.
- Croquembouches: A cone-shaped tower made from choux pastry puffs baked and dipped in caramel binding the tower together.
- Gougeres: A savory appetizer made with choux pastry.
- Beignets: The dough is fried instead of baked into a type of fritter.
- Churros: Piped from a star-shaped nozzle and fried into a crispy treat.
Ingredients
The beautiful thing about this dough is that it uses just a handful of pantry staple ingredients that you probably already have on hand.
- Milk: You can also use water or a combination of both water and milk. Depending on the final pastry you are making with the dough, one or the other may be called for in the recipe.
- Butter: During the baking process, this allows the pastry to rise.
- Salt: Gives a little flavor to the choux.
- Flour: Gives structure to the pastry.
- Eggs: Helps give the pastry structure and makes a crisp outer shell.
Step-by-Step Directions
- Boil milk, butter, and salt: Place the water or milk, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan. Place over high heat and bring to a full rolling boil.
- Add the flour: Remove from the heat and add the flour all at once. Using a wooden spoon or a stiff silicone spatula, stir until the flour is thoroughly mixed in and no clumps remain, pressing and smashing the dough against the sides of the pan.
- Stir the dough together: Return the pot to medium-high heat and cook, stirring frequently until the dough comes together in one mass and there is a dry film on the bottom and sides of the pan.
- Check the temperature: If you have an instant-read thermometer the temperature of the dough should register at 175°F.
- Beat in a mixer: Transfer the dough to a mixing bowl and beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes to cool the dough down. Check the temperature again, it should read about 145°F.
- Mix in eggs: Add the eggs one at a time, ensuring each one is fully incorporated before adding the next. Once all of the eggs have been added scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl and mix again to ensure everything is fully incorporated for an additional 5 to 10 seconds.
Piping the Dough
Once you’ve made the dough, you will then need to determine what shape pastry you plan to make. I’ll give you directions for piping some of the most common choux pastry shapes.
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Round (for puffs)– Use a round 1/2-inch piping tip. Make sure the tip always touches the dough to prevent ripples. Hold the bag upright as you pipe the dough to ensure the pastry will rise upwards.
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Elongated (for eclairs)– Use a round or French star tip pipe the dough out at a 45° angle and keep consistent pressure while you pipe.
After piping the rounds and eclairs, be sure to dip your finger in water and flatten any points that might have been made with the pastry tip to prevent spots from burning.
Baking
After piping your pastry onto parchment paper, you are ready to bake these beauties!
Depending on the different pastry you plan to make your baking instructions will change.
Filling Options
Now, this is where you can really get creative with choux pastry. Since the dough is rather bland in flavor, you can really dress it up by stuffing it with many different fillings. Some of my favorite ways to fill baked pâte à choux include:
- Pastry cream
- Lemon curd
- Ice cream
- Homemade whipped cream
FAQ and Troubleshooting
Some of the most common issues surrounding choux pastry include runny dough and collapsed pastries. Let’s talk a little bit about why these issues occur, how you can prevent them, and ways to fix the issue if they happen.
Collapsed Pastry
There are two main reasons your pastry will collapse. The first is that the oven was opened before the choux cooked through. This happens when you open the oven to check on them before the cooking time is complete. I would suggest keeping the door closed the first 20 minutes of baking before peeking for a doneness check.
By opening the oven you allow the steam to escape preventing the exterior of the pastry from crisping up.
Choux pastry also collapses when you do not prick the baked pastry shells to vent the hot air from inside. If un-vented, the hot air adds moisture inside the pastry and causes it to collapse while cooling.
Making in Advance
- Store unfilled baked pastry shells in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Reheat them in the oven to crisp up and fill.
- Freeze baked pastry shells in an airtight container for up to 3 months, thaw, and bake to crisp up before filling.
What to Make with Pâte à Choux
JOIN THE BEB BAKE-ALONG!
To tackle pâte à choux and bake along with me this month, simply do the following:
- Make a batch of choux pastry and turn them into whatever pastry you’d like! Gougeres and churros are linked above, and stay tuned this week for recipes for pastry cream, cream puffs, eclairs, and profiteroles. You’ll have many options!
- Snap a picture and either share it on social media (#BEBbakealong on Instagram or Twitter), upload it to the BEB Facebook group, or email it to me.
- Check-in on Instagram and Facebook throughout the month to see everyone’s pastries and cheer each other on!
- You can view all past bake-along recipes here.
Take on the art of making choux pastry at home with this in-depth guide. From making the dough to troubleshooting the biggest issues, this guide has you covered for all your pâte à choux needs!
If you make this recipe and love it, remember to stop back and give it a 5-star rating – it helps others find the recipe! ❤️️
Pate a Choux Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240 ml) milk or water, or combination
- 6 tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) kosher salt
- 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour, sifted
- 4 eggs
Instructions
- Place the water or milk, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan. Place over high heat and bring to a full rolling boil.
- Remove from the heat and add the flour all at once. Using a wooden spoon or stiff silicone spatula and stir until the flour is thoroughly mixed in and no lumps remain, pressing and smashing the dough against the sides of the pan.
- Return the pot to medium-high heat and cook, stirring frequently, until the dough comes together into one mass and there is a dry film on the bottom and sides of the pan. If you have an instant-read thermometer, it should register 175 degrees F.
- Transfer the dough to a mixing bowl and beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes to cool the dough down. It should register 145 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.
- Add the eggs one at a time, ensuring each one is fully incorporated before adding the next. Once all of the eggs have been added, scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl and mix again to ensure everything is fully incorporated, an additional 5 to 10 seconds.
- Use immediately or keep at room temperature for up to 2 hours in a piping bag or with a piece of plastic wrap pressed against the surface.
Notes
- Make the Dough By Hand: You do not need a mixer to make this dough; I often make it by hand. Cool it down by stirring it frequently with a spoon or spatula, then beat in each egg one at a time by hand.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Photography by Dee Frances
This is a very helpful post for me. I’m very grateful that you shared this with me and everyone else quordle game
I just wanted to say thank you for your detailed recipe. I knew how to make them, but I was always missing the extra tips and tricks to know the dough would turn out right. Your recipe was great for that!
Am I missing the baking instructions? Thanks.
Hi Genola, For cream puffs, follow this recipe: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/homemade-cream-puffs/
For eclairs, follow this recipe: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/eclairs-and-cream-puffs/
Yummy. Excellent.
Nice detail, and great pics. Thanks for sharing!
Oh.My.Gosh…these are amazing! Thank you for the step by step directions! My daughter was having a French party at school and asked me to make something “French”. These profiteroles were perfect. I followed your directions and they came out perfect. I can’t wait for her to come home and tell me how they tasted! Thanks again for the tutorial!
At what temperature does the oven needs to be set and how long to bake the eclairs?
Very helpful and delicious looking. I will try this out over the weekend.
Keep up the good work
Thank you
Wow…great demonstration and awesome tips. I think if i put my mind to it, even I could do it!
Hello Michelle!
I was wondering if you can make a pate a choux, using only egg yolks!
Hi Louise, There might be other recipes that only use egg yolks, I’m not sure.
It is national chocolate eclair day tomorrow (June 22nd), and I’m using your fabulous recipes! Do you have a recipe for the chocolate glaze to use? Thanks!
I tried your recipe today and it was a total success!!! im so happy! the first time i made Pate a Choux, turned into baked churros. THANK YOU soo much!
It’s nearly midnight and I’ve now wasted 5,524 eggs trying to make eclairs for my dad’s birthday. Your advice just may have saved me. Thanks!
For the puffs, should I just pump the dough straight or should I make a round movement while piping it on the plaque, as if to form a nest – sort of?
Pipe the dough straight, not a nest.
I just tried this recipe today and the pastry cream came out PERFECT!!! I was so nervous because I just started baking in general and I’m young and inexperienced, but I’m aspiring to become a great baker:) Thank you so much for this tutorial, it was really handy and detailed. BTW: I Love this site!!!
This is a question. Can pate a chouz be made a day ahead?
Thank you.
Alexa
Hi Alexa, It really should be made the same day. At the most, you can keep it at room temperature for a couple of hours (as indicated in the directions). You can freeze baked cream puffs though.
This was a great recipe. I made this today, side by side with another recipe (http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/projects/weekend-project-introduction-to-pte-choux-080889) which called for 4 eqgg yolks and 1 cup water. Your recipe was much better – sweeter and lighter, whereas the other was distinctly eggy. Just FYI in case anyone else is comparing recipes – this is a great one to try.
Awesome! I have made the pastry cream and the pate a choux. I just used up my cream and chocolate when my girls wanted to make chocolate ice cream, so I’ve got to head back to the store.
I just purchased some chocolate dipped cream puffs from the store because they reminded me of the Italian type I love and can’t seem to find now. *Wishing I could also find Terimisu*
But since I’ve eaten these, they taste a bit different from the Italian type, but I love them the same. Therefore, I researched on how to make them, and I’m thankful for having found your tutorial(s). (I add the ‘s’ because I intend to use you as a major reference to most, if not all, my cooking now.)
I’m excited about trying these steps. I’ve never made such things before, and so I’m a little nervous. But I love to cook, so it should be good. Thank you for sharing your procedure(s) with us. :)
thanks for the tutorial! I am attempting quite a feat for christmas: a croquembouche! I have made pastry cream one (and failed!) and have never made puffs/profiteroles either! I think your tutorial will really help! thanks!
Yum
I LOVE your pictures and detailed instructions. I need to get around to trying to make these! I’m a little intimidated but you are making it a little easier for me. :)
This is definitely in my to-try list, love cream puffs!
very educational and well explained, i want to go to my kitchen and start baking them now…i will try your way…thanks,
pity
I really like your idea of a tutorial on your blog….like an “on line cooking school”. When I first made cream puffs years ago, they were very intimidating until I tried them. Your followers will see just how easy they are. The only draw back is making them on a hot humid day, like the past three days!!!
Really good job on the tutorial. These are perfect!
Thank you soo much for this!! :)
you make it look so easy!!!
These are so cute! Your pictures are really nice. Thanks so much for the step-by-step visuals. I’m not a very experienced baker, but the pictures just might inspire me to try something. I LOVE choux cremes!
Great tutorial!
dear helen..for a baker that is trying to elevate her skills this is just the best!
thank you…thank you!
WoW! Fantastic presentation of this tutorial. A must try for sure!
Beautiful!! I might just have to give it a try.
Great tutorial! They looks so luscious! :)
wow…great demonstration and awesome tips. I think if i put my mind to it, even I could do it!
Gorgeous! I only made eclairs once and getting them to stay puffed was impossible. Even made them twice, so it must’ve been the recipe.
I love how yours turned out!
Rose levy Beranbaum suggests the cuisinart technique in her book. Pie and Pastry Bible