Basic Pate A Choux

* Exported from MasterCook *

Basic Pate A Choux

Recipe By : TOO HOT TAMALES SHOW #TH6299
Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 Cup water or milk
1/2 Cup butter (4 tablespoons)
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon sugar if making a sweet pastry
1 Cup flour
4 eggs (1 cup)

Place liquid, butter, salt and sugar, if using, in a medium saucepan and
bring slowly to a simmer. Turn off heat and add the flour all at once. Stir
vigorously with a wooden spoon until it forms a ball. Return to medium heat
to dry the paste so it will have the maximum puffing ability: turn the ball
around in the pan, pressing it against the sides and flipping it over, until
butter starts oozing out and the paste no longer sticks to your fingers.
Remove from heat and let cool a bit. Turn the paste into a medium bowl or
the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle and beat in the eggs, one
at a time, with a wooden spoon or the paddle. Each time you add an egg, the
mixture will become slippery and messy but will then come together, at which
point you can add the next egg.
Load mixture into pastry bag with a round tip (1/2 or 1-inch depending on
size puff desired) and pipe out as required. It will give the fullest puff
if used right away but can be held for several hours.
Basic proportions for Pate a Choux are 1:1:1:1/2, or 1 cup liquid, 1 cup
flour:1 cup egg:1/2 cup butter. Water makes choux more crisp, milk makes
them more tender,
Puffs expand when cooked as water in batter turns to steam and explodes the
dough.
Pate a choux is an extremely versatile pastry that can be the base of many
sweet and savory dishes. It can take many forms: be poached as gnocchi,
baked to form hollow puffy balls that can be filled with various things, or
fried as fritters and sprinkled with sugar. It is neutral in flavor so is
adaptable to any cuisine.
10/23/96 SHOW


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