French Cooking Academy

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GOUGÈRES

Delicious cheese choux puffs enjoyed as an appetiser.

A gougère is a delicious cheese choux puff best enjoyed as an appetizer with your favourite people. Making choux pastry is actually more simple than you think. It will work every time if you use the proper technique and the respect cooking temperature.

INGREDIENTS

  • 250 ml (1 cup) water

  • 80 g (2.8 oz) plain butter

  • 3 whole medium size eggs or 4 eggs if you use small ones

  • 125 g (4.4 oz) all purpose flour (sifted)

  • Pinch of salt and pepper

  • Grating of nutmeg

  • 100 g (3.5 oz) grated cheese (comte, gruyere or cheddar cheese) plus some for the topping

  • Egg wash (one egg beaten with a tablespoon of water)

  • 50 g ( 1.8 oz) cheese grated or in small cubes

Notes

  • This recipe can be improved by replacing the water with milk and by brushing the choux puffs with egg wash before adding the cheese on top.

  • Do not pipe the choux puffs too small. The right size is about a tablespoon of choux pastry.

  • The amount of eggs can vary slightly so always have an extra egg beaten at the ready in case you need some extra egg to get the right consistency for the choux pastry.

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven (fan forced) to 200˚C (400 ˚F).

  2. Place the water, butter, salt and pepper into a saucepan on low heat. Bring to a simmer and then turn off the heat.

  3. Add the flour and mix in with a wooden spoon until a ball of dough (known as ‘panade’) is formed, and then, over a low heat, continually roll the panade around the pan to remove excess moisture.

  4. Transfer the panade to a large bowl and allow to cool down. Break the eggs into a dish and beat them. Grate the cheese.

  5. Tip half of the beaten egg into the bowl and mix into the panade, then slowly add the remaining egg and continue to mix in. The dough will form ribbons when dropped from the mixing spoon.

  6. Mix in the cheese and when well integrated, mix in the nutmeg. You can refrigerate the dough for about an hour, though this is not essential.

  7. Put the dough into the piping bag and pipe individual dollops onto a baking tray lined with baking paper, or onto a silicone mat. Brush each dollop with egg wash and top with a little grated cheese. Put the tray into the oven for 20-25 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 150˚C (302 ˚F) and cook for a further 15 minutes. Important note, DON’T OPEN THE OVEN DOOR DURING BAKING.