Chouquettes (シューケット, Shūketto)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Digital scale
• •Heavy saucepan
• •Wooden spoon or stiff silicone spatula
• •Piping bag with plain round tip, or a sturdy zip-top bag with one corner cut
• •Two parchment-lined baking sheets
• •Cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat the oven

   Heat the oven to 220C, or 425F, with a rack in the middle. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Choux needs a hot first blast so the shell sets before the steam escapes, which is what gives the puff its lift instead of a sad little pancake.

2. 2

   Boil the liquid

   Put the water, milk, butter, sugar, and salt in a heavy saucepan and bring it to a full boil over medium heat. The butter must be fully melted before the flour goes in, because unmelted butter leaves streaks in the paste and the dough will not take the eggs evenly.

3. 3

   Cook the flour

   Take the pan off the heat, add the flour all at once, and stir hard until no dry flour remains. Return the pan to medium heat and cook, pressing and turning the paste for 2 to 3 minutes, until it gathers into a smooth ball and a thin film forms on the bottom of the pan.

   This drying step is the first secret. It cooks the flour and drives off excess water, so the paste can absorb enough egg to become elastic without turning loose.
4. 4

   Cool the paste

   Scrape the paste into a mixing bowl and beat it for 1 minute, until it is warm rather than hot. If the eggs meet a scorching paste, they cook in bits instead of joining the dough. Warm is good. Hot is showing off.

5. 5

   Work in eggs

   Add the beaten eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Stop when the dough is glossy, thick, and pipeable, and when a lifted spoon leaves a soft V-shaped ribbon that folds back slowly. You may not need every drop of egg. The dough tells you when it is ready, not the number on the shell.

   Too little egg gives a tight puff that cannot expand. Too much makes the dough spread flat. The ribbon is the sign to trust.
6. 6

   Pipe and sugar

   Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a plain round tip, or use a sturdy bag with one corner cut. Pipe small mounds, about 3cm across, leaving space between them. Smooth any sharp points with a damp fingertip, brush lightly with the egg yolk wash, and press pearl sugar over the tops and sides. Even size means even baking, and the sugar needs contact or it will roll away like it has other appointments.

7. 7

   Bake until dry

   Bake for 10 minutes at 220C, or 425F, then reduce the oven to 190C, or 375F, and bake 12 to 15 minutes more, until the chouquettes are deep golden, firm, and light when lifted. Do not open the oven during the first 18 minutes. The walls are still setting then, and a rush of cool air can collapse the hollow you are trying to make.

8. 8

   Cool and serve

   Turn off the oven, crack the door, and leave the chouquettes inside for 5 minutes to dry their shells. Move them to a rack and cool before serving. For chouquettes, that cooling keeps the outside crisp. For cream-filled shūkurīmu, it matters even more: cream belongs in a cold shell, or it melts and softens the pastry from within.

Chef Tips

• •Use real pearl sugar if you can find it. Coarse sanding sugar is a sensible stand-in, but it will not give the same hard little bite against the crisp shell.
• •Room-temperature eggs join the paste more smoothly than cold ones. Add them slowly. Choux is less interested in obedience than in texture.
• •Bake the shells until they are a shade darker than feels polite. Pale choux often means damp choux, and damp choux sinks as it cools.
• •Eat chouquettes the day they're baked. If they soften, warm them in a 160C, or 325F, oven for 5 minutes, then let them cool again on a rack.

Advance Preparation

• •Pipe the dough onto parchment and freeze until firm, then store the frozen mounds in an airtight container for up to 1 month. Brush with egg wash, add pearl sugar, and bake from frozen, adding 3 to 5 minutes.
• •Finished chouquettes are best within a few hours. Store leftovers loosely covered at room temperature for 1 day and re-crisp briefly in a low oven.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 17g)