Nestled among golden croissantsand glazed sweet breads are where you’ll spot darling chouquettes. These sugar-topped pastry puffs will delight you and captivate you like most French pastries do.
Chouquettes
Translated to English, chouquettes mean “little bits of (choux) pastry,” which is exactly what they are. The dough used to make these pastry puffs is the same dough that’s used to make eclairs and profiteroles.
Prior to working with this kind of dough (pate a choux), I imagined that pastries like chouquettes and cream puffs would be difficult to make. I had heard stories about cream puffs that never rose, or those that instantly deflated.
And while those results can certainly happen if you’re hastry or you don’t use a good recipe, I’m here to tell you that if you usethisrecipe shared here today, you should have no such problems.
An Afternoon Treat
Chouquettes are not as sweet as other pastries. They’re rich with the flavor of a butter and egg-based dough, but they’re only made slightly sweet from the sugar on top.
They’re not the kind of pastry I’d serve as dessert. Instead, they’re a perfect pick-me-up in the afternoon. When you find yourself getting hungry for dinner, a couple chouquettes and a coffee are a delightful snack.
When I’m in Paris, I’ll often pop into a boulangerie in the afternoon to pick up some chouquettes. I’m not used to eating dinner at 8 like most Parisians do, so the 4pm chouquette fix is a life-saver.
Pearl Sugar and More
Chouquettes are traditionally topped with pearl sugar, which are essentially small chunks of sugar. You can either buy the pearl sugar from the store, or if you have sugar cubes on hand, you can crush those yourself and use that.
Other popular toppings for chouquettes include chocolate chips. They almost taste a bit like pain au chocolat when they’re topped this way because of the pastry-chocolate combination.
Sometimes chouquettes are even filled with custard, which would make them more akin to a type of profiterole, or a pastry like the Paris-Brest. I imagine that a chocolate-hazelnut spread would also be a delicious filling.
But for those of us who are traditionalists at heart, classic chouquettes will do just fine!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup water, (117.5 ml)
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, (57 grams)
- 1/2 tsp sugar, (2 grams)
- 1/4 tsp salt, (1 gram)
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, (62.5 grams)
- 2 eggs
- pearl sugar, for the top
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). To a small saucepan, add the water, sugar, salt, and butter. Place the pan over medium heat and warm until the butter has melted. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
- Add in the flour, then stir with a wooden spoon until the flour is mixed in. Move the saucepan back over to the heat over medium-low, and stir to create a dough. The pastry dough is ready when it easily pulls away from the pan and doesn't stick to the bottom or sides of the pan - about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Take the saucepan off the heat. Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once the eggs have been thoroughly incorporated, scoop the dough into a pastry bag, either fitted with a round tip or no tip at all.
- On a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper, pipe out 1.5" mounds (3.5 cm), spaced slightly apart from each other. Top each of the mounds with about 1/2 a teaspoon of pearl sugar.
- Bake the pastry puffs for 10 minutes at 425°F (220°C), then WITHOUT opening the oven door, reduce the heat to 350°F (175°F) for another 20 to 25 minutes, until they're a deep golden brown.
Notes
Pearl sugar can be substituted with crushed sugar cubes.
Other topping ideas include chocolate chips.
A macaron-specific silicone mat can be helpful for creating equal size pastry puffs.
If you don't have a pastry bag, you can substitute with a large ziplock bag. Makea 1/2" wide cut in one of the ziplock bag corners and use it as a DIY pastry bag.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 25Serving Size: 25 Servings
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 38
FAQs
Molly Wilkinson | “Chouquette,” in French, means little choux or small choux pastries…
What is chouquette made of? ›
The seven ingredients in chouquettes include water, milk, butter, granulated sugar, kosher salt, eggs, and pearl sugar. The Swedish pearl sugar, not to be confused with Belgian pearl sugar, is small, crisp, and sweet. This makes ordinary choux puffs especially good, and no other embellishments are needed.
What is a choquette? ›
February 22, 2022. K. “Chouquettes” are ubiquitous afternoon snacks in France. These bite sized choux pastry puffs topped with crisp pearl sugar, can be found in virtually every bakery at any time of the day, and are handed to you by the dozen in paper bags. Chouquettes are also a fun treat to make at home.
How to know when choux has enough eggs? ›
When enough egg has been added the mixture will be glossy and thin enough that a large spoonful will fall heavily from the spoon in one lump (without shaking or tapping the spoon on the side of the saucepan), but thick enough that it doesn't slide off easily.
What do the French call puff pastry? ›
So where does puff pastry come from. Well it comes from France, where it is called pâte feuilletée. It was invented in 1645 by Claudius Gele, a pastry cook apprentice.
What does choux pastry mean in French? ›
Choux (pronounced like “shoe”) means cabbages in French; the baked puffs resemble small cabbages. The dough is made from basic ingredients: flour, water, butter, salt, and eggs.
What is French sugar? ›
Sucre Cristallise/Sucre Cristal
This is what you would refer to as plain white sugar or granulated sugar. Nonetheless, in many parts of the world, white sugar is made from cane sugar. In France, though, you are more likely to find sugar crystals made from beet sugar .
Can I use sugar cubes instead of pearl sugar? ›
For authentic tasting Liege waffles and European-style baked goods, there simply is no substitute for Belgian pearl sugar. Claims suggesting crushed sugar cubes or granulated sugar heated into clumps are interchangeable with Belgian pearl sugar are deceptive.
Why is it called rough puff pastry? ›
Rough puff pastry, on the other hand, is not made with a single layer of folded butter, instead very cold diced or grated butter is used, a non-continuous layer of butter means that those great sheets of crispy pastry are not made, hence rough puff, or flaky, pastry.
Who invented chouquette? ›
Simply made of choux pastry made of water (or milk), butter, wheat flour, eggs and salt, the chouquette, short for cabbage with the suffix "ette", was created in the 16th century by the Italian pastry chef Popelini who, while working at the court of Queen Catherine de Medici, imported it to France.
If the puffs collapse it means there was too much moisture in them. So either you did not dry the dough enough, or they were not cooked enough. To avoid this I recommend drying the dough really well (see below) and cracking the door of the oven open when the choux are baked.
What does Choquette mean in French? ›
Choquette Name Meaning
Americanized form of French Choquet: Picard form of Old French soquet, which was the term for a tax on wines and foodstuffs, hence a metonymic occupational name for a collector of such taxes.
What is the secret to choux pastry? ›
The foolproof tips below will help you to make crisp and puffy choux pastry!
- Use unsalted butter. ...
- Your choice of flour matters. ...
- Give the flour a vigorous stir. ...
- Cool down the flour mixture immediately. ...
- Add eggs in several additions. ...
- Test your dough's consistency. ...
- Use the right piping tip, and space them apart.
Light brown sugar imbues the craquelin top with caramel flavor. Poking holes in the baked choux au craquelin allows steam to escape and creates an opening for easy filling. Returning the baked choux to a turned-off oven helps keep them crisp.
What does chouquette mean in slang? ›
Means “cute”. Chou is masculine, choute is feminine, and chouquette is neutral (no plural). Vous etes trop chouquette! You guys are so cute!
What does choquette mean in French? ›
Choquette Name Meaning
Americanized form of French Choquet: Picard form of Old French soquet, which was the term for a tax on wines and foodstuffs, hence a metonymic occupational name for a collector of such taxes.
What does Croquembouche mean in French slang? ›
Croquembouche, meaning “crunch in the mouth,” has a rich history steeped in French culinary tradition.
