*  Exported from  MasterCook  *

                            Basic Pate A Choux

Recipe By     : Too Hot Tamales Show #TH6299, Oct 23, 1996
Serving Size  : 1    Preparation Time :0:00
Categories    : Pastries

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
   1      c             Water or milk
     1/2  c             Butter
     1/2  ts            Salt
   1      tb            Sugar -- if making sweet pastry
   1      c             Flour
   4                    Eggs (1 c)

Place liquid, butter, salt, and sugar, if using, in a medium saucepan
and bring slowly to a simmer. Turn off heat and add the flour all at
once. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until it forms a ball.
Return to medium heat to dry the paste so it will have the maximum
puffing ability: turn the ball around in the pan, pressing it against
the sides and flipping it over, until butter starts oozing out and
the paste no longer sticks to your fingers.

Remove from heat and let cool a bit. Turn the paste into a medium
bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle and beat
in the eggs, one at a time, with a wooden spoon or the paddle. Each
time you add an egg, the mixture will become slippery and messy but
will then come together, at which point you can add the next egg.

Load mixture into pastry bag with a round tip (1/2 or 1" depending on
size puff desired) and pipe out as required. It will give the fullest
puff if used right away but can be held for several hours.

Basic proportions for Pate a Choux are 1:1:1:1/2, or 1 cup liquid,
1 cup flour:1 cup egg:1/2 cup butter. Water makes choux more crisp,
milk makes them more tender. Puffs expand when cooked as water in
batter turns to steam and explodes the dough.

Pate a choux is an extremely versatile pastry that can be the base of
many sweet and savory dishes. It can take many forms: be poached as
gnocchi, baked to form hollow puffy balls that can be filled with
various things, or fried as fritters and sprinkled with sugar. It is
neutral in flavor so is adaptable to any cuisine.


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