Pâte à Choux, part II – Divine Chouquettes
Pâte à Choux, 2ème partie – Divines Chouquettes
After gougères, I thought to continue with pâte à choux and make something special for the sweet tooth crowd: Des Chouquettes! It’s basically the sweet version of gougères with a sweet dough and sprinkled with pearl sugar. Chouqettes in France are as famous as the Eiffel Tower. They had a contest last year in Paris about which bakery would make the best chouquettes. So if you’re in Paris and decide to try the best chouquettes in the city, check this article. Sorry it’s in French but they give you the address! I added some orange blossom water for a little twist, but traditional chouquettes are plain, with no flavoring. I recommend trying the traditional ones the first time you make them, then you can play around with the flavors.
You have to get a specific texture, inside and outside, right color, etc…so making great chouquettes is not always that easy. Every boulangerie in France sells them, by the 100 g, but of course, hard to leave with only a 100 grams!
I can assure you that those are always a crowd pleaser…bring them at any party or dinner, you will be the star of the evening. Besides what’s a cuter name than chouquette???
Ingredients for about 24 chouquettes
- 4.20 fl oz (or 125 ml) water
- 4.4 oz (or 125 g) white flour
- 1 tbs orange blossom water (optional)
- 2.4 oz (or 70 g) butter
- one pinch salt
- 1.9 oz (or 55 g) sugar
- 4 eggs (+1 one for brushing)
- pearl sugar
Preparation
Place water, sugar, butter and orange blossom water in a pot. Bring to a boil and remove from stove. Add flour gradually and whisk well to obtain a smooth dough. At this point the dough will thicken. Put the pot back on the stove and keep stirring until the dough detaches from the sides of the pot and dies out a bit. Remove from stove. Let it cool for a few minutes.
Add eggs one at a time and incorporate into the dough, to obtain a smooth dough/batter.
Place dough in a piping bag, and on a cookie tray, form small balls the size of a walnut. Brush the top with a yolk, and decorate with pearl sugar.
Cook in a pre-heated oven at 380F for about 20-25 minutes.
J’adore les chouquettes. J’en ai mangé pour la première fois il y a quelque temps seulement. C’est vrai que le nom est à craquer!