Chouquettes

Method

1. 1. Place the milk, butter and salt in a medium sized saucepan and place over a high heat. Leave to come to the boil and when the butter has melted and the liquid is at a fierce, rolling boil, remove from the heat and quickly add the flour. Using a wooden spoon, beat the flour into the liquid ingredients until no lumps remain. The dough will begin to come away from the side of the pan as you beat - this is your panade.
2. 2. Transfer the panade to a plate and spread out, allowing it to cool for 10 minutes. When still warm to the touch but no longer boiling hot, place the panade into a clean bowl. Add the eggs 1 at a time, stirring well between each addition to make sure each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next.
3. 3. Place the dough into a large piping bag fitted with a large, round nozzle.
4. 4. Preheat the oven to 210°C/190°C fan/410°F/Gas Mark 6. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper and pipe a small amount of the dough under each corner of parchment paper to keep the paper from moving.
5. 5. Pipe 1-inch wide circles across the baking tray, making sure to keep them about 1 inch apart, so they don’t stick together when baking. You should get about 24 choux. Use your finger dipped into cold water to gently pat down any peaks or bumps from piping.
6. 6. Gently brush egg wash on each choux and sprinkle each with some pearl sugar.
7. 7. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the chouquettes are puffed up and feel hollow when lifted, then turn off the oven, open the door slightly ajar and leave the chouquettes to stand for 30 minutes to dry out further.
8. 8. To fill the chouquettes, place the cream, mascarpone, vanilla and icing sugar into a large bowl and, using an electric hand whisk, beat until soft peaks form.
9. 9. Slice the chouquettes in half and spoon the cream onto the bottom half of each chouquette. Replace the lid, dust with a little icing sugar and serve immediately.

• Chouquettes
• choux pastry puffs

Ingredients

• US
• METRIC

You'll Need