With Labor Day giving me extra free time, I spent the weekend baking and decided to tackle pâte à choux for the Daring Bakers challenge. Pâte à choux is the light pastry dough used for cream puffs and éclairs. I followed Alton Brown’s recipe exactly and was pleased with the results. Using a pastry bag fitted with a round tip, I piped the dough onto parchment paper and baked as directed. The shells held their shape, puffed up, and developed hollow centers perfect for filling.
For the filling I used a classic pastry cream adapted from a friend’s copy of Baking at Home with The Culinary Institute of America. Once the shells cooled, I filled them with the pastry cream and finished the éclairs and cream puffs by drizzling thin ribbons of melted bittersweet chocolate on top. Despite expecting the process to be long and difficult, the method was straightforward and well worth the effort — the finished pastries were rich, delicate, and absolutely delicious.
If you want to try the same pâte à choux I used, Alton Brown’s recipe is available on the Food Network site.
I’ve also started contributing to Just Baking, part of the Well Fed Network, where I’ll be sharing more recipes and baking tips.
Enjoy!
