Chouquettes

Chouquettes are one of my favorite patisseries, probably because I remember buying some from a french bakery that would come to school every Friday when I was in primary. They were so airy and delectable, the paper bag was empty in no time .

Today I recreated them and they were perfect. A soft sweetness that's not too over-powering, the little tough of saltiness and and the crunchy sugar pearls on the top.

I only use water in this recipe for pâte à choux for chouquettes (whereas in my usual recipe for pâte a choux I use milk), because it helps the chouquettes rise more in the oven and makes a crispy ball. For éclairs and profiteroles, you don't need such a crispy base, but a more flexible one.

Having these just with the sugar pearls on the top is really delicious, but if you're looking to get a bit fancy, you could dip this into a silky chocolate ganache. But be careful with chouquettes, they are so addictive so once you have eaten 1, it's hard to stop.

The sugar pearls are really easy to make even though they don't look exactly like the shop-bought kind. You can easily find them on Amazon or on Ikea if you want to buy them. Along with adding them, I also add a little brown sugar for a small caramel flavor and a sea salt flake for a hint of saltiness.

A little time consuming but very easy and fun to make, here is the recipe:

(Makes 40 chouquettes)

Ingredients:

For the pâte à choux:

• 250 ml water

• 100 grams of unsalted butter

• 1 teaspoon of salt

• 30 grams of sugar

• 160 grams of plain flour

• 3 eggs

For the sugar pearls:

• 100 grams of granulated sugar

• 1 tablespoon of water

On top:

• sea salt flakes

• brown sugar

• 1 egg, beaten

Instructions:

1. If you are making the sugar pearls, start by making those: combine the sugar + water in a saucepan and mix thoroughly and continuously with a spatula until the sugar crystalizes.

2. Once this happens, scrap it out and leave to cool on a sheet. Once completely cold and solid, bash up with a pestle or even a rolling pin to get pieces of sugar in the size of sugar pearls.

3. Now for the pâte à choux: Pre-heat the oven to 200°C and grease + line 2 baking trays.

4. Place the butter + salt + water in a saucepan and cook until the butter has completely melted and take off the heat.

5. Add in the sugar + flour and mix continuously until the batter has formed a ball.

6. Place back on the heat for 30 seconds and keep working the dough.

7. Place your dough into the bowl of a stand mixer and mix until nearly no more steam is coming out of the top of the stand mixer.

8. Add in your eggs, 1 by 1 and waiting until the last egg was fully incorporated before adding in the next.

9. Once all your eggs are incorporated, your batter should be elastic and shiny.

10. Place your batter into a piping bag fitted with the simple round nozzle.

11. Pipe your chouquettes onto the prepared baking trays. Make sure to space them out and don't make them too big because they will rise and expand in the oven.

12. Brush on with a pastry brush your beaten egg and then place on top your sugar pearls + a sprinkle of brown sugar + 2 small sea salt flakes per ball.

13. Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes, diminishing the heat to 180°C after 15 minutes. (Make sure to not open the oven door often or else they won't rise).

14. Once golden and well risen, take them out of the oven and let cool on a rack.

And there you have it, delicious chouquettes!