A childhood memory, the sweet and soft chouquettes that the baker packs in a white paper bag for a snack. The sugar grains that crunch, the soft and dense dough that delights the taste buds.
The chouquette is the simplest version of choux and allows you to easily make your first successful choux.
Simple sugar grain chouquettes or filled with whipped cream or diplomat cream, they are easy and quick to make.
I give you here my favorite recipe, based on water because I find that milk brings too much softness and a greasy sensation that I like less.
Preparation time: 20 mn
Cooking time: 35 to 45 mn
Ingredients for 45 chouquettes:
• Water: 250 grams (or 125 grams of semi-skimmed milk + 125 grams of water) (1 cup + 1 tablespoon)
• Salt: 5 grams (1/2 teaspoon)
• Butter: 100 grams (1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons)
• T55 Flour: 150 grams (1 1/4 cups)
• Eggs: 250 grams (4 to 5 eggs) + 1 egg for the glaze
• Grain sugar: 50 grams (1/4 cup) and if you wish, 100 grams of chocolate chips (2/3 cups)
Equipment:
• 1 baking sheet 60 x 40 cm (18" x 26") covered with baking paper
• 1 large bowl, a saucepan, 1 spatula
• 1 large piping bag and a plain nozzle of 10 or 12 mm (US dimensions: 804 or 805)
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) fan heat
Step 1: the panade
Pour the water, salt and butter cut into pieces into the saucepan and cook over medium heat until a slight boil is obtained. It is imperative that the butter is completely melted before the mixture boils. Mix.
Off the heat, pour the flour all at once onto the liquid mixture and stir immediately with the spatula.
Put the saucepan back on medium heat and mix between 20 seconds and a minute until the panade detaches well from the saucepan. Pour into a large salad bowl and stir to remove the steam and cool the dough.
Step 2: the choux pastry
Whisk the eggs roughly in a bowl and add them one by one to the panade. Mix the dough between each egg with your spatula to uniformize the dough. The choux pastry is ready when you get a breaking ribbon and the dough is smooth and shiny. It is possible that you do not use the 250 grams of eggs and that 200 grams are enough. You will use the remaining eggs for the glaze.
Step 3: the piping
Pipe the choux on a baking sheet covered with baking paper, spacing them sufficiently. The diameter of the chouquettes is about 3 cm, it seems small but the choux swell during cooking. To help you, you can draw your templates on the back of your baking paper with a pencil.
You will be able to pipe about 25 chouquettes per sheet. If you have a second sheet, pipe all the choux, otherwise you will have to bake your choux in 2 times.
Step 4: the glaze
Whisk a whole egg and glaze your choux with a brush.
Step 5: the finish
Cover your chouquettes with grain sugar. For even more gourmet chouquettes, add chocolate chips!
Step 6: the cooking
Bake at 180 degrees fan heat for about 40 mn. Do not open the door of your oven under any pretext, this would have the effect of immediately deflating your choux!
Admire your chouquettes and enjoy! They are delicious the same day and a little softer the next day.
