Choux pastry

Choux pastry is something that I always thought was super difficult and for the first few times I made it, I could never get if right when using it for eclairs or profiteroles.

My pastry would either sink every time and I would end up with flattened choux pancakes or they would rise only the tiniest bit and end up rock hard.

But those that know me will tell you I'm not a quitter so as I wasnt having luck with just reading recipes from books, I turned to YouTube to watch the process and I've succeeded after watching a few of the basic  "do not  break rules" I think it's safe to say I've cracked the basic  choux pastry and can now share it on here with you.

 The "do not break rules" are listed at the bottom of the page after the recipe

For this batch of choux I made up some creme diplomat filled profiteroles topped with milk chocolate ganache and I got almost 30 profiteroles, or you can use this same recipe for my classic eclairs.

To make 25-30 profiteroles you will need :

225ml water
150g plain flour
115g unsalted butter at room temp and cut into cubes
4 medium eggs at room temp
1 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp fine sea salt

• Start by preheating your oven to 180c fan. Line 2 large baking sheets with greaseproof paper and set aside.
Place the butter, salt, sugar and water in a pan. On a low heat melt the butter, stirring frequently, once it has melted turn up the heat very slightly.

• As soon as the water comes to boiling point  ( don't actually let it boil) take the pan off the heat, add in all the flour and stir together vigorously with a wooden spoon. It will look all clumpy and may not look like it will combine but keep going and you'll end up with a sticky and wet dough.

•  Place the pan back on to a low heat, and continue stirring until the wet dough starts to clump together and comes away from the sides of the pan and is all glossy and smooth

• Take the pan off the heat and transfer to another bowl, and leave to cool for a few minutes. Whilst the dough is cooling, crack the eggs into a separate bowl and whisk together well

• When the dough has slightly cooled, take the eggs and beat them into the dough a little at a time. Each time you add a little of the egg ensure it's all incorporated and the dough turns to a smooth batter.

• To check that the batter is the right consistency, hold up your wooden spoon with a little of the batter, if it's really stiff and clumpy then you need to continue adding the egg. Once the batter droops and forms a "V" shape and doesn't fall off the spoon and holds its shape that is the perfect consistency.

• Mix together one final time for a minute to ensure you have a smooth glossy batter

• Transfer the batter into a piping bag and pipe round blobs onto the trays. I managed to get 28 blobs. Dampen the tip of you finger with a little water and gently press down on any bits of the batter that are sticking up on the top

• Bake the profiteroles for 20 minutes at 180c, then turn down the heat to 160 and bake for a further 5  minutes till crisp and golden.

• Remove from the oven and leave them to cool completely before filling them with your choice of fillings. You can also freeze them if you wish to have them made up ahead of time, just pop them in the oven to crisp back up and fill once they've cooled

Below are my " do not break rules " and honestly as long as you follow them, you'll ace choux pastry. 


1  As with all baking ensure that your eggs and butter are at room temperature as this just helps ensure they mix easily and efficiently 

2 cutting the butter into cubes means that the butter should all melt at the same speed so that when  the water reaches boiling point you shouldn't have odd clumps of butter floating around

3 When waiting for the water to reach boiling point, you don't want to let it boil as this means the water will begin to evaporate which means less steam once choux is in the oven and it's the steam that helps them puff up and rise 

4 Whisking the eggs beforehand means you can control how little or much egg you add in as well the egg whites and yolk being combined fully as I've found that just adding  whole eggs straight in means clumps of egg in the batter and also it can result in over mixing the batter which will result in tough choux pastry

5 However tempted you are, do not open your oven door as all the heat and steam will escape and your lovely choux will collapse

Coconut Macaroons

My recipe post for these came about purely out of  finding myself very bored one evening as the kids were fast asleep in bed and the husband was working. So there i was riding my cupboards thinking what to make and found quite a bit of packed dessicated coconut tucked away so coconut macaroons came to mind and my GBBO Book came to the rescue.

This recipe uses cream patisserie and before you think, ' no way can i make creme pat '  honestly its a very little amount so its very quick and easy - a great way to practice for any recipes that require larger amounts of cream patisserie. 

To make about 20 macaroons you will need 

For the cream patisserie :
5 tbsp milk
3 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp cornflour
1 medium egg yolk

For the coconut mixture:
3 medium egg whites
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
100g caster sugar 
200g desiccated coconut

For the chocolate glaze (optional)
100g good quality dark chocolate
2 tbsp sunflower / vegetable oil 

• Start by making the creme patisserie, heat the milk in a small pan until it just comes to boil and remove from the heat. In a bowl, beat together the caster sugar, egg yolk and cornflour until pale and fluffy. 
• Gradually stir in the milk and whisk together. Pour the mixture back into the pan, and over a low-medium heat, whisk together until it boils and begins to thicken. You should end up with a smooth paste- it shouldn't be thick and lumpy. Scrape the mixture out into a small plate or bowl, press and seal it with a piece of cling film directly on to it - this stops a skin forming whilst it cools.
• Whilst the creme pat is cooling, Preheat your oven to 170c/gas mark 3. Add your egg whites to a bowl with the vanilla extract and beat till the egg whites become frothy. Add in the caster sugar and whisk together till the sugar has dissolved.
• Stir in the coconut until completely coated in mixture, then add in the creme pat and again stirring through till all the coconut is evenly coated and there are no lumps 
• Line a large baking sheet with greaseproof paper and using a teaspoon, scoop up the coconut mixture, making sure it's packed up tightly and place on to the baking tray and shape into a mound with your hands if you wish to. Repeat this with the rest of the mixture and you should end up with 20 macaroons.
• Bake in the oven for 20 minutes and they should be golden in colour with slightly darker edges.
• One they have completely cooled, melt the chocolate with the oil in a small heatproof bowl/plate in the microwave in 30 second bursts or in a bowl over a pan of hot water. Taking one macaroon at a time , dip the base into the chocolate, evenly coating it with the chocolate slightly coming up the sides. Place the coated macaroons on a clean sheet of baking paper and leave to set completely before serving.*

*alternatively you can drizzle the chocolate over the top of the macaroons using a teaspoon or leave them as they are without any chocolate at all.