Choux pastry
A cooked dough of water or milk, butter, flour and eggs that puffs into hollow, crisp shells in the oven.
- Doughs, batters and pastry foundations
- French
Also called: pâte à choux
Liquid and butter are brought to a boil, the flour is stirred in all at once and cooked briefly into a smooth paste, then eggs are beaten in one at a time until the dough is glossy and falls from the spoon in a thick ribbon. Piped and baked in a hot oven, the water in the dough turns to steam and puffs each piece, leaving a hollow inside that sets as it dries.
Choux makes éclairs, cream puffs, profiteroles and Paris-Brest, and savory gougères. Opening the oven too early can make the shells collapse.
Bake it at VanillaGoods
Tools for this
KitchenAid Artisan 5-Qt Stand MixerDoes the beating and kneading for you, hands-free.See it on Amazon
Piping Bags & Tips SetFill and pipe neatly, no ziplock-bag mess.See it on Amazon
Silicone Baking MatNothing sticks, bottoms bake evenly, and no parchment to buy.See it on Amazon
As an Amazon Associate, VanillaGoods earns from qualifying purchases. We only suggest tools that help with this technique.
Related entries
Sources
Written by VanillaGoods in our own words from these sources. Last reviewed October 15, 2026.
- Project: Cream Puff Science, Purdue University Extension (Indiana 4-H)
- Science of Cooking: The Amazing Multi-Tasking Egg, Exploratorium (San Francisco science museum)
- Choux pastry (Q898344), Wikidata