Today I’m teaching you how to make choux pastry (pâte à choux) with about 100 pictures to show you how it’s done. If you’re not digging all the step-by-step photos, video tutorial, and explanations, scroll down to the recipe to get started. 🙂
By popular request, we’re tackling a French pastry dough: choux pastry, pronounced shoe pastry. Or, in French, pâte à choux. I learned how to make choux pastry in the French baking class I took earlier this summer. We spent an afternoon diving deep into this versatile classic and I’m sharing everything I learned with you today.
“Choux” means cabbage. So, in other words, cabbage pastry. Why is it called “cabbage” you ask? The name comes from the resemblance the pastry has to tiny cabbages. When baked, the pastry puffs up with little crinkles and ruffles—pictured above. Little cabbages! But instead of cabbage pastry, let’s simply call it choux pastry.
Like other French pastries such as croissants or even croissant bread, choux has the reputation for being difficult, but—as I witnessed with several other bakers in our French pastry class—it’s surprisingly simple. Master this easy recipe and you can make many pastries most bakers are scared to try. Pipe logs and fill with pastry cream for eclairs, pipe dollops and sandwich with whipped cream or ice cream for cream puffs and profiteroles, mix it with cheese and herbs for savory gougères, deep fry it for churros, French cruller donuts, choux beignets, the list goes on.
Choux pastry is a wonderful recipe to master because if you stick to the 1 basic recipe below, the door to DOZENS of other pastries is wide open.
Today I’m showing you how to make sweet cream puffs and profiteroles. Later this week, I’ll show you how to make eclairs. (Update: here is the eclairs recipe!) Feel free to use this basic choux dough in any of the pastries listed above!
TWO SIMPLE RULES FOR CHOUX PASTRY
- Stick to the ingredients and measurements
- Don’t open the oven while it bakes
The 7 ingredients are staples that you likely have in the kitchen right now: butter, water, milk, sugar, salt, flour, and eggs. Some recipes use all water instead of milk + water, but I find the combination yields a slightly softer and richer pastry. Not many choux pastry recipes call for sugar, but only 2 teaspoons provide a little flavor. The bulk of the pastry dough is eggs. Eggs provide some leavening, allowing the pastries to puff up when baked. The centers are soft, light, and airy. The exterior is golden and crisp. A beautiful marriage of textures!!
Choux pastry comes together in about 10-15 minutes. Most of the ingredients are cooked together on the stove; this initial cooking causes the starch in the flour to gelatinize, which will help the pastry hold onto steam and puff up. The Spruce Eats has an interesting article explaining the science of choux pastry if you’re into that!
After the choux pastry dough is gently cooked on the stove, transfer to a mixing bowl and add AROUND 4 beaten eggs. That’s the finicky part—the number of eggs in choux pastry isn’t really consistent between batches. Humidity, the exact size of egg, or an accidental extra 1/2 teaspoon of flour creates inconsistencies. 4 beaten eggs is an ideal starting point, though. Only add as much as you need to create a shiny, thick, and smooth dough with a pipeable consistency. I usually leave a few teaspoons of beaten egg behind, which can be used with the egg wash.
The yolks in the eggs bring most of the flavor and color to choux pastry:
At this point, our choux pastry dough is complete! Yes, that’s really all you need to do before shaping/baking it. Cook 6 ingredients on the stove, then beat in the eggs.
Now let’s make our cream puffs or profiteroles.
CREAM PUFFS
Filled with flavored whipped creams. Today I’m using homemade vanilla whipped cream, aka Crème Chantilly. Top with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar or a spoonful of chocolate ganache.
PROFITEROLES
Filled with ice cream and frozen. Topped with chocolate ganache. Profiteroles were my FAVORITE!!! We used butter pecan ice cream and coffee ice cream.
Choux Pastry Video Tutorial
Watch me make the choux pastry and shape/bake into cream puffs and profiteroles:
Do you have a better understanding of the process after watching the video tutorial? Not too scary at all, right? You totally got this!
ONE TRICK I LEARNED
And it makes a huge difference in (1) how much the pastry puffs up and (2) how delicious the pastry tastes. Bake the pastries on parchment paper, the BEST nonstick surface for this choux pastry dough. But before you pipe the dough onto the parchment paper, moisten it with water. You can see me doing this in the video tutorial above.
Why? Think of cheesecake. We bake cheesecakes in a water bath, right? Cheesecake, like choux pastry, is egg-heavy. Eggs need a moist and humid environment in the oven to (1) properly rise and (2) avoid drying out and burning.
Water moistened parchment paper = perfectly puffed up pastries with a deliciously light center and crisp exterior. Pastry perfection.
For cream puffs and profiteroles, use Wilton 1A piping tip. Pipe 2-inch mounds about 3 inches apart. (Watch the video above for a good visual.) You could also use a zipped-top bag and cut off the corner for easy piping. Using a water moistened finger, smooth down the peaks and lightly brush each mound with egg wash.
↑ These mounds bake into this golden puffy pastry! ↓
Split open the baked and cooled pastries, then fill with homemade whipped cream, lemon curd, jam, pastry cream, a combination of these, or your favorite filling!! You can also poke a hole in the pastries and pipe the filling inside.
Check out these beautiful hollow pastries, thanks to the steam created from the moisture inside and outside the baking dough!
And for profiteroles, ice cream with a generous shower of chocolate ganache. I teach you how to make these pictured cream puffs and profiteroles in the recipe notes below.
See Your Choux Pastry!
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge! Feel free to email or share your recipe photos with us on social media. 🙂
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How to Make Choux Pastry (Pâte à Choux)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Yield: 16 puffs
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Description
Choux Pastry can be used in anything from cream puffs, profiteroles, and eclairs to churros, croquembouche, French cruller donuts, choux beignets, and gougères! It only takes about 10 minutes to prepare and the options for filling and shaping are endless.
Ingredients
Choux Pastry
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
- 1/2 cup (120ml) water
- 1/2 cup (120ml) 2% or whole milk
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 4 large eggs, beaten
- egg wash: 1 egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon milk or water
Instructions
- Watch the video in the blog post above; it will help guide you through the next few steps.
- Make the choux pastry dough: Combine the butter, water, milk, salt, and granulated sugar together in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the butter has melted. Bring mixture to a simmer. Once simmering, reduce heat to low and add the flour all at once. Stir until the flour is completely incorporated and a thick dough clumps into a ball. Mash the dough ball against the bottom and sides of the pan for 1 minute, which gently cooks the flour. Remove from heat and transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or, if using a handheld mixer, a large mixing bowl. Allow to cool down for a few minutes before adding the eggs in the next step.
- Read this step in full before starting. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the eggs in 3-4 separate additions mixing for 30 seconds between each. The mixture will look curdled at first, but will begin to come together as the mixer runs. Pour in the final addition of beaten eggs very slowly. Stop adding when the choux pastry has reached the desired texture: shiny, thick, and smooth with a pipeable consistency. I usually leave a few teaspoons of beaten egg behind, which can be used with the egg wash.
- Your choux pastry dough is complete! You can use it immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. There’s no need to bring it to room temperature after refrigerating. In fact, you can store it in a piping bag (see step 6) in the refrigerator and then pipe/bake right away. If it’s too stiff to pipe, though, let it warm to room temperature a bit as the oven preheats.
- For cream puff and profiterole shells: Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly brush the parchment with water, which creates a humid environment for the pastry shells allowing them to puff up without drying out or burning.
- Transfer choux pastry dough to a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1A piping tip. Pipe 2-inch mounds about 3 inches apart. Watch the video in the blog post above for a visual. You can also use a zipped-top bag and cut off the corner for easy piping. Using a water moistened finger, smooth down the peaks and lightly brush each with egg wash.
- Bake for 20 minutes then, keeping the pastries in the oven, reduce oven to 350°F (177°C) and continue to bake for 10-15 more minutes until golden brown. Do not open the oven as the pastries cook, as cool air will prevent them from properly puffing up. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before filling.
- Split open pastries and fill with homemade whipped cream, lemon curd, pastry cream, jam, a combination of these, or your favorite filling. You can also poke a hole in the pastries and pipe the filling inside. For my pictured cream puffs and profiteroles, see recipe notes.
- Cover and store leftover filled pastries in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Cover and store unfilled pastries at room temperature for 1 day, in the refrigerator for 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before filling and serving.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Prepare choux pastry dough through step 3. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before shaping and baking.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Saucepan | Wooden Spoon | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Parchment Paper | Pastry Brush | Piping Bag (Reusable or Disposable) | Wilton 1A Piping Tip
- Cream Puffs (pictured): Crack open each cooled pastry shell and generously spoon homemade whipped cream (it’s vanilla flavored, so it’s called Crème Chantilly) inside each. Top with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar or drizzle of chocolate ganache (ganache instructions below).
- Profiteroles (pictured): Crack open each cooled pastry shell and fill with a scoop of your favorite ice cream. Freeze for 1 hour or up to 1 day. Top with chocolate ganache. For the chocolate ganache, finely chop two 4-ounce semi-sweet chocolate bars and place in a medium bowl. Heat 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream in a small saucepan until it begins to gently simmer. (Do not let it come to a rapid boil– that’s too hot!) Pour over chocolate and let it sit for 2-3 minutes to gently soften the chocolate. Slowly stir until completely combined and chocolate has melted. Allow to cool for 3 minutes before pouring over pastries.
Adapted from Baltimore Chef Shop, where I took my pastry class 🙂
Reader Comments and Reviews
I followed the recipe exactly. They came out ok but the dough was too runny. I will add flour next time. Thank you for the very helpful hints and ideas.
My mixture was really runny following these steps, i nearly had to add another half cup of flour so it wasn’t just soup
This dough was so easy to make and came out delicious! I made cream puffs with it since I had leftover pastry cream. Dusted them with powdered sugar – thank you for the great recipes!
Delicious! I loved the video that came along with this recipe.
Hi
I made everything the same except mine didn’t rise like I wanted to. I also didn’t have whole milk so I just heavy cream cut it with water to substitute for whole milk.
Hi Fiona, Thank you for trying this recipe. Could they have been underbaked? Also be sure that you don’t open your oven door while they are baking so that you don’t let the steam escape – steam is what causes the pastry to rise. Hope these tips help for your next batch!
I tried this recipe twice now and both times the outside was baked (second time the bottoms burned a little though) but the inside was undercooked. My oven generally runs a little lower and I have to bring it back up to temp about every 10 min, so not sure what is happening. I have no problem with any other recipes on this site, this one is stumping me!
Hi Gina! It sounds like your oven was just too hot this time. Do you use an in-oven thermometer so you know exactly what temperature your oven is?
My husband has asked me to make him cream puffs and eclairs, so I’m looking for a good choux recipe. Problem is, I only have whole milk in my house. Can I use that in the full 120ml or do I need to reduce it because of the milk fat? Every recipe I’ve tried from this site has been terrific and has gotten compliments! I’ve even had some people ask for the recipe, lol!
Hi Lisa, whole milk works just fine here! Same amount.
Thank you so much for the amazing recipe and fast response!
So everything went quite well, except the choux was browned quite a bit. They were actually partially brown after the first 20 min at 400…normally I would have put foil over them, but I didn’t want them to deflate when I opened the oven. For the next time I try these, would you suggest my bumping my oven temp down? I’m guessing my oven runs a bit higher than others…
Hi Christin, it does sound like your oven may run a bit hot, so you can certainly try reducing the temperature a bit for your next batch. Thank you for giving these a try!
Hi can you let us know how cool or warm we should let the mixture get before we add the eggs?
Hi Jaymie, we don’t have an exact temperature here. Just let the mixture cool for a few minutes before adding the eggs.
My mom made cream puffs all the time and she also taught me. Problem was she didn’t always follow the rules. And she probably didn’t know there were any. Thank you Sally for a thorough description and video for successful choux pastry. They came out perfect.
Love this recipe but do you have instructions for high altitude?
Hi Erica, I wish we could help, but have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
Can you use alternative milks such as coconut?
Hi Ruth, we haven’t tested it, but other readers have reported success using non-dairy milk. Let us know if you give it a try!
I love this recipe! We watched the video and followed the recipe exactly. They turned out just like the photos! Very light and delicious.
Can I use half & half instead of the 2% or whole milk?
Hi Megan, half and half would be too thick for this dough. Best to stick with milk here!
Just made these today. They came out perfect.
I had never made choux pastry before and thought it was really complicated to get right but this recipe was a breeze. It took no time to make them and they turned out amazing! I filled them with leftover raspberry mousse cake filling and they were to die for!
Hi Sally. Thanks for this recipe. I used gluten free flour and xylitol instead of sugar it came out well. Your recipe doesn’t state the starting temp so I went with 200c. Then reduced to 170c. Thanks again. Dave Chandler Qld,Australia
I can’t wait to try this recipe for Christmas to share with family. I’m trying to schedule my baking. How many days ahead can the pastry be made and filled? I was planning on making them on Friday 12/22 to serve on Sunday 12/24. I would be putting them in the refridgerator once they’re filled. Thanks, Melissa
?
Hi Melissa, you can cover and store leftover filled pastries in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, so that should work well for your timeline. Or, see recipe Notes for another make ahead option. Hope they’re a hit!
These came out amazing! Shockingly easy to make. I halved the recipe and weighed all of my ingredients and there were no problems with the dough. I made them into eclairs filled with pastry cream and topped with dark chocolate ganache.
Can I double recipe
Hi Jennifer, for the best results, we recommend making 2 separate batches. Don’t want the texture to be ruined from working with too much batter!
My Mum made these, which we called cream puffs, we filled with ice cream and ate while they were still warm, such and treat and such great memories.
Would the peanut butter mousse filling from the eclair recipe work for these?
Absolutely!
It’s been years since I’ve made choux paste! Happy memories while making it! Solid recipe.
easy & perfect!
love the recipe but what if i used custard instead of whipped cream?
Hi Ella, custard is a great filling for Choux pastry.
What if I used custard instead of whipped cream
Hi Ella! Custard is a great filling for Choux pastry.
awsome
Thank you for this recipe and video. I love it! If I want to make really BIG cream puffs, can you advise how to adjust? Do I use the same piping tip and just keep piping until the mound is very big? If so, how to adjust the cooking time? Do I adjust the first 20 minutes (@ 400-deg) or the last 10 minutes (@ 350-deg)? Thank you!
Hi Janice, I’m just seeing your question now. I’d say, if you’d like to make bigger cream puffs, to pipe larger mounds. I would use the same tip, or you can use one that’s slightly larger. It’s hard to determine the best bake time without trying it myself, but I would say the bake time would be quite similar. I would keep the 1st at 20 minutes, and then when you lower the oven temperature, extend that to another 15-20 minutes. Again, this is hard to say without testing it myself and, of course, depends on the exact size of the puffs.
How many eclairs will this make?
Hi Mallory, here’s our eclair recipe using the same pastry dough. It makes 16 eclairs. Hope you enjoy it!
Tried this recipe the butter separated during the addition of the egg yolks. Not sure what not Not sure what happened. Even used a gram scale to measure butter. Sifted flour
Whole eggs rather than egg yolk?
Did you keep mixing? It will look lumpy at first but should come together.
Came out absolutely perfectly! Made about 60 small profiteroles, which I filled with the cream and topped with chocolate ganache as suggested!
This looks wonderful. I saw something similar but they were fried instead of baked. Can I do that with this recipe?