Pâte à Choux or Cream Puff Pastry

Appears in
Pastry Perfection
Pastry Perfection

By Nick Malgieri

Published 2014

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The only pastry dough that’s actually cooked before it’s baked, pâte à choux is not only versatile but also quite easy to prepare. Simple puffs, large or small, can be shaped by popping the dough onto a tin from a spoon, but more tailored shapes such as éclairs require piping. I’ve provided detailed instructions and photos on the techniques for piping, so with a little practise, the shapes should be easy to master.

Most desserts made from pâte à choux are filled with pastry cream. As you read through these recipes, you’ll notice that the pastry cream fillings are similar but not exactly alike. Except for the Crème Chiboust filling in the Gâteau Saint-Honoré, you can pretty much use the fillings interchangeably, according to your taste. Further flavour variations for pastry cream are listed after the recipe for Petits Choux au Café.