Chouquettes (Petits Choux)

Easy chouquettes are French sugar puffs made with classic choux pastry topped with pearl sugar. Crisp, golden, light and airy!

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Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 35

Total Time: 50

Servings: -70 chouquettes

Calories: 33kcal

Equipment

Medium heavy-based saucepan
Wooden spoon / rubber spatula
Piping bag
2 Baking sheets
Silicone baking mats (best option) or baking paper

For best results, weigh ingredients with a kitchen scale.

Ingredients

½ cup water (125ml)
½ cup whole milk (125ml)
115 g unsalted butter (4oz / 1 stick)
2 teaspoons white granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
130 g plain flour (all purpose flour) (1 cup, spooned and levelled/~4 ½oz)
200-230 g eggs (7-8oz / 4-5 large eggs, see notes)
½ cup Swedish pearl sugar (nib sugar / hail sugar)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 190C / 375F. Line 2 large baking sheets with silpats (recommended) or baking paper/parchment paper.
Combine the water, milk, butter, sugar and salt in saucepan and heat over medium stirring to melt the butter, then allow it to start to bubble.
Once you see the first bubbles, turn the heat off. Add the flour and stir in with the spatula until fully combined.
Place the pan over low heat and cook for 2 minutes, moving constantly. Fold it over itself then press it out across the pan and repeat for 2 minutes.
By hand: Press the dough out flat over the base of the pan and leave it to cool for 5-10 minutes until it’s no longer hot (warm is fine).
By stand mixer: Transfer the dough to a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and beat on low for 2 minutes.
Lightly beat 4 eggs together in a jug (or shake them up in a jam jar).
Add a quarter of the eggs to the panade/dough with one of these 3 methods;
- In the stand mixer with paddle attachment and mix on low.
- Beat by hand, directly in the saucepan with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon.
- Use a handheld mixer on low.
Continue by adding another quarter of the eggs, beating until fully incorporated. Repeat with the third quarter of eggs.
With the last quarter of the eggs, add them just a little at a time until you have a dough that is smooth and shiny. It should reluctantly fall from the spoon leaving a “V” shape hanging from it.
Once the dough is the right consistency, transfer it to a piping bag with a 1cm/~½inch round piping tip.
Pipe small mounds of dough about 2 ½cm / 1 inch wide, and 2cm / ¾ inch high. With a wet finger, gently tap down the points on top.
Scatter the pearl sugar all over the chouquette dough, don't worry if it falls all over the tray. Once they have a good coating, lift the tray and gently tilt both ways, so the excess sugar rolls along and sticks to the sides of the dough.
Bake the chouquettes for 27-30 minutes until deep golden brown. When they come out of the oven, use a toothpick to prick them on top or underneath (as soon as you can handle them) to allow excess steam to escape.
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Notes

How many eggs? With choux pastry, the texture is best judged by eye, not by quantity of eggs. Add the eggs until the dough is at the right texture. For me it's between 3 ½ and 4 large eggs but the amount you require will be determined by many variables - egg size, amount of moisture cooked out of panade, protein content of flour and even humidity in the air.
Store baked chouuquettes in an airtight container in a cool place, like the pantry for 2 days or fridge for 3-4 days. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months in an airtight container.
They are only crispy on the day of baking and will begin to gradually soften. You can re-crisp them before serving them in an oven preheated to 180C/350F for 7-10 minutes.
Chouquettes are not typically filled but certainly can be. A simple pastry cream would be lovely. If you are filling them, do it close to serving time as the filling will soften the pastry.

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