Choux Pastry- Eclair

Choux pastry is known for its almost neutral taste that, in addition to the large cavities on the inside, lends itself to being filled with both sweet and savory fillings. The choux pastry is unique in its production: from the “cooking/toasting” and subsequent baking, the dough is cooked twice. 

Butter, milk, and water are mixed and boiled for the base dough. Then with constant mixing, flour is added. Now comes the “cooking/toasting” of the mixture: the dough is stirred in the pot under heat until it forms a ball, loosens from the bottom of the pan and forms a white coating on the bottom of the pot. (temperature of about 80°C).

Before you mix in the eggs and salt in the next step, the choux dough must cool down (if the temperature is too high, the eggs will clot!) Gradually work in the eggs and make sure that the mixture doesn’t get too soft. The finished choux dough should be smooth and shiny on the surface.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180-210°C with light steam.

Peculiarities when baking:

The relatively large amount of liquid evaporates during baking. The eggs in the mass ensure that the gas bubbles escape only slowly and the mass rises very well. Milk sugar gives the baked goods an appetizing browning. The steaming means that the surface remains moist and elastic for a long time.

Ingredients in choux pastry:

  • Milk or water: Water or milk can be used as the bulk liquid. Milk has the advantage of giving better color to the pastry when baked.
  • Butter: Butter can be replaced with margarine
  • Flour: Cake flour is the best (Austrian Type 480 or 700)
  • Egg: Whole eggs are always used when making
  • Salt: Dosage – 25g to 1l of liquid

Production method:

  1. As soon as the butter-milk-water mixture boils, remove the pot from the stove, add all the flour and stir it in.
  2. Return the pot to the stove and stir until a ball forms and the bottom of the pot is coated. 
  3. Set the cooked dough to the side and let it cool down. 
  4. Now stir in the eggs one after the other until the mixture has completely combined.
  5. Make sure that the mixture does not become too soft. The finished mass should be smooth and shiny.
  6. Pipe with a star nozzle and bake at 210 ° C with light steam until golden brown.

Important tips:

  • Use a clean pot
  • Let the mixture cool down a little before stirring in the eggs
  • Add salt with the eggs
  • Dilute to the correct firmness (if the egg content is too high, the mixture will be too soft, will spread out during baking and possibly collapse after baking. Too little egg content prevents optimal volume formation).
  • Adjust the oven temperature to the consistency: soft doughs 210-220 ° C and solid doughs 180-190 ° C
  • Bake with steam
  • Do not open the oven door for the first 15 minutes of baking time !!!

Baking temperatures

Influence of the baking temperature for different consistencies:

  • Soft consistency: 230°C / light steam
  • Normal consistency: 210°C / moderate steam
  • Stiff consistency: 180°C / a lot of steam

Recipe

For 616g choux dough:

  • 100g Water
  •   50g Milk
  • 125g Butter
  • 130g Wheat flour Type 480
  • 200g Whole egg (4)
  •      3g Salt

Instructions:

  • Bring the water, milk, and butter to a boil
  • Stirring constantly, add the flour and cook until the dough forms into a ball.
  • Let it cool down briefly
  • Add the salt and eggs after another (The amount of eggs depends on the progressive binding of the dough and must be stopped when a tough, sticky mass has formed).
  • Then pipe with a round or star tip. 
  • Bake with some steam until golden brown.

Vanilla Cream

1. Pudding

  • 250g Milk
  •   40g Granulated sugar
  •   20g Vanilla cream pudding powder
  •   20g Egg yolk

Heat ¾ of the milk with the sugar, mix the rest with the pudding powder and egg yolk. Stirring constantly add the pudding mixture to the heated milk and heat through. Pour into a flat container and cover with cling film. 

2. Vanilla Cream 

  • 500g Whipped cream
  • 330g Prepared pudding
  •   25g Water
  •     7g Leaf gelatin
  •    20g Rum
  •    15g Powdered sugar

Mix leaf gelatin with water and dissolve in a water bath. Mix with the pudding, rum and powdered sugar until smooth and fold into the whipped cream.

Divide the choux pastry in the middle and fill them with the vanilla cream and, if desired, add a little powdered sugar.