And what to do when you are in holiday and cannot travel?
Well, this is simple: bake!
Bignè are made with Choux pastry and are very versatile. Can be filled or simply garnish on the surface, can be used for the creation of profiteroles, eclairs and croquembouche, they are an easy dessert or appetiser to prepare and, despite their simplicity, full of taste.
It only takes about 15 minutes to prepare and the options for filling are endless.
What is choux pastry or in French pâte à choux? Choux pastry is a French pastry dough, pronounced shoe pastry.
“Choux” means cabbage and pâte means paste. So, in other words, cabbage paste. Why is it called “cabbage paste”? The name comes from the resemblance to little cabbages.
Choux pastry has the reputation for being difficult, but it’s surprisingly simple.
And if I managed to do it, you’ll definitely be able to do it too.
This is my second time I make Choux pastry and I’ll admit that I’m very pleased with the result (This is just me being modest 😉)
Now let’s go to the step-by-step recipe for the Choux pastry.
Ingredients for the Choux pastry (around 40 pieces):
- 125 ml Milk
- 125 ml Water
- 100 g Butter
- 1/2 tsp Fine Salt
- 1 teaspoon Granulated Sugar
- 150 g Flour
- 4 Eggs
Directions:
To prepare the choux pastry, put the milk, water and butter in a pan, add salt and sugar and melt.
Stir, then off the heat add the flour, mix thoroughly and put back on the low heat, until the dough is compact and comes off from the walls of the pan.
Remove from heat and add the eggs, one at a time, and add the next one only when the previous one is completely incorporated.
You will need to get a smooth dough that runs smoothly and slowly, with a pipeable consistency. Wait a few minutes for it to cool down and in the meantime heat the oven to 180 degrees C.
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With a piping bag fitted with a piping tip, form 2-3 cm diameter mounds, well spaced, on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the dough is puffy and golden.
Do not open the oven as the pastries cook, as cool air will prevent them from properly puffing up. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack.
Allow to cool completely before filling.
Split open pastries and fill with pastry cream, vanilla or lemon curd, whipped cream, jam, a combination of these, or your favorite filling or even serve them as they are with just a little bit of sprinkled icing sugar on top. Or you can also poke a hole in the pastries and pipe the filling inside.
For a savoury version I’ve filled them with ham & ricotta cheese mousse and green olives.
For a sweet version I’ve filled them with pastry vanilla cream, using my recipe of Super Easy home-made vanilla cream below:
The centers of these pastries are soft, light, and airy and the exterior is golden and crisp. What a beautiful marriage of textures!!
The secret for a perfect choux is to respect the exact quantity of the ingredients. For this recipe I use eggs of 57 g each.
Humidity, the exact size of egg, or an accidental extra 1/2 teaspoon of flour creates inconsistencies. If the eggs are too big, you can get some nice flat pancakes instead of pastries.
Only add as much as you need to create a shiny, thick, and smooth dough with a pipeable consistency.
Choux Pastry
Ingredients
- 125 ml milk
- 125 ml water
- 100 g butter
- ½ tsp fine salt
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 150 g flour
- 4 eggs
Instructions
- To prepare the choux pastry, put the milk, water and butter in a pan, add salt and sugar and melt.
- Stir, then off the heat add the flour, mix thoroughly and put back on the low heat, until the dough is compact and comes off from the walls of the pan.
- Remove from heat and add the eggs, one at a time, and add the next one only when the previous one is completely incorporated.
- You will need to get a smooth dough that runs smoothly and slowly, with a pipeable consistency. Wait a few minutes for it to cool down and in the meantime heat the oven to 180 degrees C.
- With a piping bag fitted with a piping tip, form 2-3 cm diameter mounds, well spaced, on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the dough is puffy and golden.
- Do not open the oven as the pastries cook, as cool air will prevent them from properly puffing up. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack.Allow to cool completely before filling.
Notes
See? I’ve told you are easy!
Now your turn to have some fun in the kitchen 😉
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