Choux is French for “cabbages,” and these little dollops of puff paste indeed expand in the oven to resemble tiny cabbage heads. Choux paste can be formed into a variety of shapes and filled with an even greater variety of fillings and creams. It is the basis for cream puffs and éclairs. Cream puffs filled with ice cream and cloaked in chocolate sauce are called profiteroles. Unsweetened choux paste is baked and filled with savory fillings, or mixed with cheese and baked to make simple or fancy hors d’oeuvres such as gougères.
Like other pastry doughs, choux paste consists of flour, butter, and water. Unlike others, it is cooked on top of the stove before it is shaped and baked, with milk added for color and richness, and it is leavened primarily with eggs. (Choux paste to be used with savory fillings is often made with chicken stock or a mixture of chicken stock and water as the liquid.) The cooked flour paste must be allowed to cool slightly before the eggs are added to prevent the eggs from cooking prematurely, but if the paste is too cold when the eggs are added, they will not blend in smoothly. The finished paste should be shiny, smooth, and very thick but not stiff.
Choux paste can be made by hand or with an electric mixer. Bake small puffs, profiteroles, and éclairs on ungreased baking sheets. Larger puffs or large éclairs are easier to remove when baked on greased and floured sheets. After piping the choux paste onto the sheets, lightly glaze with an egg wash, taking care to keep the egg from touching the baking sheet (which would inhibit rising). The paste is baked in a hot oven for the first few minutes to cause quick expansion; the temperature is then reduced to finish the baking and dry out the hollow shells.
If you wish to further dry out the shells and allow more room for the filling, turn off the oven and let the puffs dry for about 10 minutes. For small puffs and éclairs, pop them off the sheets, poke a small hole in the bottoms (or ends for éclairs) with a skewer or the tip of a small, sharp knife, and turn them upside down on the sheets for drying. For larger shapes and rings, slide a spatula under the shapes to loosen them and poke them in a few places on the sides. Or slice off the tops horizontally, place the tops upside down on the baking sheet, remove any soft dough inside, and let the puffs dry and crisp. Let the puffs cool on racks.
To fill the puffs, use the hole that you have poked and fill the cooled puffs with pastry cream or whipped cream. If using pastry cream, fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch tip or spoon the cream into open puffs. If using whipped cream, pipe it into open puffs with a huge star tip for an attractive presentation or spoon it in. Whipped cream does not retain its texture when piped through a small tip.
Once baked and filled, choux pastries should be served immediately or refrigerated and served within a few hours. However, unfilled baked shells can be frozen for up to 1 week in an airtight container.
