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

Team Strawberry

Continuing with my Team Apple VS Team Strawberry, here is my recipe for Strawberry turnovers :

 For 16 turnovers you will need :

1 punnet of strawberries chopped into chunks
4-5 tbsp strawberry jam
2 tbs corn flour 
2 tbsp water
1 egg whisked
1 tbsp caster sugar 
320ml double cream 
1 tsp vanilla paste / seeds from vanilla pod
icing sugar to dust

• Preheat your oven to 180c, place the strawberries, sugar and the jam in a saucepan. Mix together the cornflour and 2 tablespoons of water to make a smooth paste and add to the saucepan Cook the strawberries on a medium heat, till they've slightly softened and the jam has thickened a little - it should take about 10-12 minutes. 
• Line a large rectangle baking tray with baking paper, and open out the pastry sheet. Cut the sheet of pastry into 16 equal rectangles*
• Brush each of the rectangles with the beaten egg and place the pastry in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the each of the sheets has risen and are golden brown on top. Leave to cool completely then cut each rectangle in half, straight through the middle- so you'll end up with 16 top halves and 16 bottom halves
• Whip the double cream with the vanilla paste till you get semi stiff peaks - when you pick it up with a tablespoon it shouldn't drip off and should just hold its shape.
• On each of the bottom halves of pastry, place about 2 tablespoons of the whipped cream, then put about a tablespoon full of the strawberry mixture on top of each slice. Then place the top halves of pastry back on to each slice, and finish off with a good dusting of icing sugar and they're ready to serve 

* if you don't want to make as many as 16 .. use just half the sheet instead of the whole sheet and cut into 8 rectangles .. and save the other half by wrapping up and placing in the freezer as i used my pastry as soon s i'd bought it and it wasn't already frozen

Team Strawberry or Team Apple ?

So are you team strawberry or team apple when it comes to the turnover variety ? I have to say I cant choose between them so to trial a recipe I cast a vote on Facebook and the winner by just one vote was Apple... So off I went on a virtual hunt to get inspiration for my own take on apple turnovers and this recipe is what i came up with.. You can find the Strawberry recipe here



To make 16 turnovers you will need:

3 Granny Smith / Bramley apples - peeled, cored & chopped
2 tbsp butter
300g soft brown sugar
1 -1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp water
160 ml double cream
1 egg - whisked
1 ready rolled puff pastry sheet* 
icing sugar to dust 

• Preheat your oven to 180c and start making the apple filling. Peel, core and chop the apples into chunks. Put the apples, brown sugar, cinnamon and butter in a saucepan. 
• Mix together the cornflour and 2 tablespoons of water to make a smooth paste and add to the saucepan 
• Cook the apples on a medium heat, till they've softened, but don't let them mush and you have a thick sauce formed from the butter and sugar** - I found it took about 20 minutes. Set the mixture aside and leave to cool completely 
• Line a large rectangle baking tray with baking paper, and open out the pastry sheet. Cut the sheet of pastry into 16 equal rectangles***
• Brush each of the rectangles with the beaten egg and place the pastry in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the each of the sheets has risen and are golden brown on top. Leave to cool completely then cut each rectangle in half, straight through the middle- so you'll end up with 16 top halves and 16 bottom halves
• Whip the double cream till you get semi stiff peaks - when you pick it up with a tablespoon it shouldn't drip off and should just hold its shape.
• On each of the bottom halves of pastry, place about 2 tablespoons of the whipped cream, then put about a tablespoon full of the apple mixture on top of each slice. Then place the top halves of pastry back on to each slice, and finish off with a good dusting of icing sugar and they're ready to serve 

* I use the Jus Rol ready rolled out sheets

** it should be about the consistency of apple pie filling

** if you don't want to make as many as 16 .. use just half the sheet instead of the whole sheet and cut into 8 rectangles .. and save the other half by wrapping up and placing in the freezer as i used my pastry as soon s i'd bought it and it wasn't already frozen