Les Chouquettes de la Boulangerie
(lay shoo-ket duh lah boo-lahn-zhuh-ree)
Le Goûter: The Sacred French 4 PM Transition
At four in the afternoon past the school gates, kids with heavy backpacks crowd the bakeries for le goûter, the chaotic snack time built on butter and sugar. At the center of it all is the chouquette: a hollow puff of dough, unburdened by pastry cream or shiny glazes, studded with coarse pearl sugar. Making pâte à choux at home demands nothing more than a saucepan, a wooden spoon, and a little elbow grease, dropping sticky mounds onto a sheet of parchment paper where the dough puffs and cracks. Scrape the toasted sugar off the warm baking sheet and eat them standing up in the kitchen.
Before you start
Measure everything before you turn on the stove.
Pâte à choux requires quick, decisive movements. Having your flour pre-sifted and your eggs already cracked and beaten is non-negotiable.
Ingredients
- whole milk1/2 cup
- water1/2 cup
- unsalted butter7 tbsp
- granulated white sugar1 tbsp
- fine sea salt3/4 tsp
- all-purpose flour1 1/4 cup
- eggs4 large
- Swedish pearl sugar1/2 cup
Method
- 01
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Dab a tiny bit of raw dough under the four corners of the parchment to glue it down so it won't fly up if you have a convection fan.
- 02
Bring the liquids and fat to a rolling boil.
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, combine the water, milk, butter, sugar, and salt. Watch closely to ensure the butter is entirely melted before the liquid boils, otherwise you will evaporate essential moisture.
- 03
Dump in the flour and vigorously stir.
Remove the pan from the heat immediately, add all the sifted flour at once, and beat with a stiff wooden spoon until it forms a smooth, thick ball of dough.
- 04
Dry out the dough over the heat.
Return the pan to medium-low heat and stir continuously for 1 to 2 minutes, smearing the dough against the sides of the pan to evaporate excess moisture. It is ready when it pulls away entirely and leaves a thin, slightly translucent film on the bottom.
- 05
Cool slightly and incorporate the eggs in stages.
Off the heat, let the dough sit for 3 to 5 minutes so it doesn't scramble the eggs. Vigorously beat in the eggs a quarter at a time; the dough will look slimy and ruined at first, but sheer force will bring it back to a smooth, glossy paste that falls heavily from the spoon in a V-shape.
- 06
Portion the puffs.
Use two teaspoons to scoop and drop rustic, walnut-sized mounds onto the baking sheets about two inches apart, patting down any pointy tips with a wet finger so they do not burn.
- 07
Crown with the pearl sugar.
Sprinkle the pearl sugar generously over each mound, gently tilting the pan so the crystals stick to the sides.
- 08
Bake without opening the door.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Do not open the oven door for any reason during the first 20 minutes, or the steam will escape and the chouquettes will instantly deflate into sad pancakes.
- 09
Pierce to release steam and cool.
Remove from the oven when deeply puffed and golden brown, poke a tiny hole in the side of each with a toothpick to let steam escape, and cool on a wire rack.
Notes
The Secret to American Pearl Sugar.
If you cannot find Swedish pearl sugar, do not use the Belgian kind—it is too heavy and crushes the delicate puffs. Instead, put standard white sugar cubes in a ziplock bag, lightly tap them with a rolling pin into small pebbles, and sift out the dust.
The Egg Dilemma.
Add the final bit of egg slowly. If the dough reaches the 'bird's beak' consistency early, stop. Too much egg makes a runny liquid that cannot be saved by adding raw flour.
From Cook French in America.