Gougères - Cheese Puff

They have so much success when I have guests... and they are so easy to make !

Classic french appetizer, suits champagne perfectly

(I might try with some bacon in it)

Follow the recipe of the pâte à choux,

I precise in it the moment where your choux will become gougères

You have your bowl, full of warm dough, your eggs have been well mixed in it,

your dough is soft and light, 

Add 1tsp of nutmeg, another dash of salt, and a handful of shredded cheese 

- I add the shredded parmeggiano from Trader's Joe -

Mix it well !

Then you can go back to the pâte à choux recipe, you make nut-shaped puff with the dough, 

and before putting the tray in the oven, add some more cheese on the top of them so they will have a really nice aspect and color.

Cooking time is the same as in the pâte à choux recipe, remove them carefully from the wax paper and you can enjoy them while they are still warm.

I always have some in the freezer, put them in ziplocs, well closed and when you want to use them, 

take them out in a dish, for a half an hour, then 5 minutes in the oven at low temperature

 to warm them up, they will be ready to eat in no time.

Bon appetit :p 

Pâte à choux - Cream puff dough

Little puff, a lot of little puffs ! That you can fill of cream, jam, chocolate, ice cream... 

you can make desserts, salted apetizer and many more things ! One of the basic recipes in France.

Here is the main recipe for  more or less twenty little puffs

3,3 fl oz. of milk (10cL)

2 fl oz of water (6cL)

1/4 cup of butter (2oz / 60gr)

1/2 + cup of flour (2.65oz / 75gr) 

3 eggs

a hint of salt

Put in a pan the milk, the water, the butter in pieces and the salt

- for a dessert use, add 1sp. of white sugar, and drops of vanilla  -

Stay close, as soon as the boiling starts,

remove the pan from the heat, and put the flour all at once.

Start mixing with a wooden spoon with energy, 

and put in pack on the heat, at medium/high temperature

The flour must be in really quickly, 

and keep mixing for a few minutes, do not stop, you have to make the dough "work"

When the dough is ready, she will be slightly yellow, and it doesn't stick at all in the pan

You can then put it in a bowl, and add the eggs one by one.

They may seem hard to mix in the dough, but keep mixing after each one, 

you will have a really soft dough.

- This is where the Gougère recipe intervenes -

Turn on the oven at 450°F

On a cooking tray, put some was paper, and make small peaks of a nut size with the dough,

use two teaspoon to do it, space them of ~1.6 inch

Help the sides of the peaks so they stay round, not flat

Put in the oven 5 minutes,

then lower the temperature at 400°F for ten more 10 minutes

Finally, turn the oven off and let it 2/3 opened ten more minutes 

Total : 25 minutes in the oven, just to get prepared for the second row !

- Here they are, ready to be filled or eaten :p -