Le Choux (The Cabbage) / The Puff

Ahhhhh..... Choux!  ;)

Water, flour, eggs, butter and a little bit of salt. These are all you need to make Cream Puffs. Any baker can make them, yes, but how do you make a Puff that can be as perfect as this?

Practice! 

This specimen looks like a bun with streusel, but that is, Le Choux! And it is relatively easy to achieve.

The general guidelines of perfecting the choux is making sure that, of course, it puffs up nicely and the cavity inside is almost hallow and soft. The exterior is crisp and the streusel is almost evenly spread covering the surface of the choux. 

The Streusel on top of the Choux.

Thank the french for the innovation. The choux is no longer looking like a cabbage as it was originally named after. 

The streusel cookie rolled thin and cut into a disk is placed on top of the molded choux paste before baking. As the choux bakes and puffs the streusel melts and breaks up covering the surface of the choux and prevents the creases and bumps from developing and thus help form a well rounded top. 

Even surface. Streusel evenly distributed. Perfect. 

The choux paste must be mixed properly. No lumps. No air bubbles. Smooth. So review how you work on the paste from boiling the water, dumping the flour, making the paste, cooling it and the mixing of the eggs.

You can achieve the perfect choux following these few tips -

1. The right tools are important. A heavy sauce pot appropriate for the volume of the mixture you're making translate to better mixing for the choux paste. Whether you use a wooden ladle or a silicon spatula, doesn't matter as long as it is strong enough when you work on the mixture. And of course, mix the paste as you should, properly and a little vigorous. No "thats-good-enough" attitude. 

2. Mix it well. Here is the tricky part. Mixing the choux by hand is a challenge. Can be done right if you do these steps - 

Break up the eggs. You can strain it but do not beat the eggs to incorporate air or create bubbles. Mix it but not beating it . Since you are mixing something fluid (eggs) to your paste that is a huge lumpy dough, you have to do this slowly. It is like tempering the mixture. With a stand mixer it is easier because the machine does the job for you but keeping a low speed so that a homogenous mixture is achieved is the goal. Scrape the sides of the bowl from time to time. If you're mixing by hand make sure you're incorporating it well before the next addition of eggs.  Do not rush. keep in mind uou are making a paste, not an aerated batter. 

3. The mixing process is really the one thing you have to take note of. After all the eggs have been added to the paste and you thought, you should stop because it's done.. Don't. 

Examine your paste. Let the machine run for a minute or so to make sure that you have a homogenous mixture that is smooth, no bubbles, holds it shape and it is glossy. You can pipe it easily and not oozing out of your piping bag. The strength of the paste takes a bit of time to develop that is why you have to let it go further mixing in the machine and thus create a puff that will hold its shape properly and does not explode. Any trapped air bubble in the paste will cause the surface of the choux to break. That is what we want to avoid as well.

More tips? just ask.

The end. 

One happy batch of well-made choux.