Chouquettes

At Choukette, a French pastry located in Brunswick, Melbourne, Nans Wojtczak and his team work hard to create traditional bread and pastries. You can enjoy French baguette, quiches, cakes and croissants. In this podcast, Nans Wojtczak shares one of his specialties – chouquettes.

file:2214_kc-choukette.jpg

• makes

  40–50

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 250 ml water
• 100 g butter
• pinch of salt
• 150 g plain flour
• 4 eggs
• hail sugar, to decorate

Instructions

Heat the water, butter and salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to the boil. Remove from heat and add the flour. Return to the heat for a further 10–15 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the eggs, one at a time.

Preheat an oven to 220°C.

Using a nozzle number 10, pipe the choux mixture onto a tray lined with baking paper to make a small ball. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Sprinkle with the hail sugar.

Reduce oven heat to 200°C. Bake the choux for about 10 to 15 minutes or until puffed and golden.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.