Pâte à Choux 101: One dough, many tasty treats
The story of pâte à choux (pat-a-shoe) begins in France during the Renaissance, in the kitchen of Catherine de’ Medici—created to please French nobility. The term translates to “cabbage pastry,” a nod to its ability to puff up into shapes resembling small cabbages when baked.
Since then the dough has gone through some transformation to be what it is today.
In the 18th century, pastry chef Avice perfected the choux’s light and puffy texture. Then it was Chef Marie-Antoine Carême, who refined the recipe and popularized pâte à choux and all its uses!
Pâte à choux is a true chameleon, some of your favorite treats probably have their roots in the choux dough! Éclairs, Cream Puffs, Gougères, Churros, Funnel Cakes, Beignet, Crab Puffs, Paris-Brest… the list goes on and on!
Despite its fancy history, name, and limitless uses the pâte à choux is surprisingly simple to make.
Make it yourself:
½ cup unsalted butter
1 cup water (or milk)
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. Salt
4 large eggs
vanilla bean paste (optional)
The key to its light, airy texture lies in the cooking process, where the dough is first cooked on the stove to develop its structure, and then baked until it puffs up and becomes golden.
For full instructions check out RecipeKick’s Pastry Chef Katie Rosenhouse’s class on perfecting and using the pâte à choux!
Whether you’re aiming to impress guests at your next dinner party or simply looking to try your hand at French pastry, pâte à choux is the perfect starting point, with limitless possibilities.
