These easy and delicious chouquettes are small French pastries made with airy Choux pastry, and coated with crunchy pearl sugar.
Chouquettes are delicious French pastries that are light, airy, and sprinkled with pearl sugar.
These small puffs of dough are perfect for a sweet treat or a light snack. Chouquettes are often enjoyed with a cup of coffee or tea, making them a popular choice for breakfast, snack, or dessert.
Their simplicity and subtle sweetness make them a favorite among pastry lovers looking for a delicate indulgence.
They can be filled with various fillings like pastry cream, and chocolate ganache, the options are endless when it comes to filling these delicious pastries.
For more French desserts, check out my creme brulee cheesecake, mini fruit tarts, and lemon tiramisu.
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Why this recipe works
- Texture- the puffs feature a light and airy texture with a crisp outer shell. The dough, made from choux pastry, puffs up beautifully in the oven to create a hollow interior perfect for filling with cream or enjoying on its own.
- Flavor- these have a buttery and slightly sweet flavor and can be filled with different variations of flavors like vanilla filling, chocolate filling, and a fruity flavored filling.
- Light- these puffs are a light and airy snack that is perfect when you are craving a slightly sweet and light dessert or snack! They are originally are made without filling which make them super light on the stomach.
- Versatile- you can fill these pastries with various fillings like pastry cream, diplomat cream, whipped cream, chocolate pastry cream, whipped chocolate ganache, etc. The options are endless!
What is choux pastry?
Choux pastry is a light and airy type of pastry dough that is used to make various delicious treats like eclairs, profiteroles, and cream puffs.
It is known for its high moisture content, which creates steam during baking, leading to the characteristic hollow interior perfect for filling with creams or custards.
Ingredients
Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
Milk- I like using milk for chouquettes along with water, but you can also use water and make these dairy-free.
Butter- for this recipe, use unsalted butter only. Margarine and coconut oil are not suitable replacements, as margarine can alter the flavor of the puffs with its peculiar taste.
Flour– we used all-purpose flour for this recipe. You can also use cake flour for this.
Granulated sugar– we like to use granulated sugar, also the most common sugar used in baking. Caster sugar will work great as well.
Eggs- you will need about 4 large eggs for this recipe. Make sure that your eggs are at room temperature.
Vanilla extract- vanilla extract adds extra flavor. For extra vanilla flavor, use vanilla bean extract or an actual vanilla bean!
Kosher salt- you will need about ½ teaspoon of kosher salt for this recipe.
Pearl sugar- you can purchase pearl sugar at specialty baking stores, gourmet food shops, or online retailers that specialize in baking ingredients.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180c (350f) and prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a saucepan, add the milk, sugar, water, salt, and butter, and mix with a wooden spoon to ensure the butter melts evenly. Let the mixture come to a boil, and then turn off the heat.
Add the flour to the mixture and quickly mix the flour with a wooden spoon until a smooth dough forms. Turn on the heat to medium and cook the dough for 1-3 minutes.
You will know when the dough is ready when a thin skin forms at the bottom of the pan and you can hear the sizzling sound of the butter in the dough.
Transfer the dough into a large mixing bowl and use an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer with the guitar attachment, mix the dough on medium speed to cool it for 1-2 minutes.
Whisk the eggs in a small mixing bowl, and gradually add them to the dough, a little bit at a time. You may not need to add all the eggs, it depends on how much moisture is left in the dough you cooked.
Keep adding the eggs until you get a glossy and pipeable consistency. You can test the dough by running your finger in the middle of the bowl with the dough and it should take 3 seconds for the dough to close down.
How to pipe chouquettes?
To pipe chouquettes correctly, use a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip.
Hold the bag perpendicular to the baking sheet and pipe small mounds of dough about 1 inch in diameter, leaving some space between each one to allow for expansion during baking.
Sprinkle the chouquettes generously with the pearl sugar.
Bake them in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 25 minutes (in the center of the oven) or until the puffs have puffed up and have a golden brown color. Do not open the oven door before 25 minutes pass.
Lower the temperature to 160c (320f) and bake for another 15-20 minutes to make sure you dry out the puffs as much as possible to prevent them from deflating.
Note: the exact baking time may vary depending on how strong your oven is.
Remove the puffs from the oven allow them to cool completely and serve immediately when they are fresh and crispy. You can also fill them with your favorite filling like pastry cream, whipped chocolate ganache, whipped cream, etc.
Troubleshooting
- My chouquettes did not rise in the oven: the dough wasn’t dry enough in the cooking process. This also may happen if you used too many eggs or too little eggs, or if the oven was not hot enough.
- The chouquettes deflated after baking: this usually happens if you didn’t bake them for long enough, if your oven was not preheated, or if your dough has too much moisture.
- The puffs got soggy after a while: this is normal and happens after a day or two after making chouquettes. This is why its best eating these at the same day or the next day. You can keep them fresh for up to 3 days by storing them in an airtight container in a dry place.
- The chouquettes did not hold their shape after piping: this means there is too much moisture in the dough. Make sure you cook your dough properly and you add the eggs gradually until you get the right pipeable and glossy texture. You may not need to add all the eggs in this recipe, it all depends on how much moisture you have in your cooked dough.
- The dough is too hard to pipe: this means there is not enough liquid in the dough. If you added all the eggs in the recipe and your dough is still too hard to pipe, add small sips of whole milk to the dough and mix until you get the right consistency.
- What is the right consistency of the dough? To assess the readiness of your dough, you can perform a simple test. Run your finger through the center of the dough in the bowl. If it takes approximately three seconds for the indentation to disappear, then your dough is ready for use.
Expert Tips
- Make sure you pipe the puffs to be the same size to make them bake evenly.
- When you are adding the flour to the dough, add it in one setting to prevent lumps from forming in the dough.
- After you cook the dough, cool it until it's not too warm by mixing the dough with an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer to prevent the eggs from cooking. Do not overmix the dough so the oil doesn’t separate from the dough.
- Bake them for longer than you think!
- When you are adding the eggs to the mixture, mix them with a fork and add them gradually until you get the right consistency. You don’t want to get a runny dough, so this step is important.
- If your dough turns out too runny, don’t throw it away! Make ½ of the dough batter without adding the eggs and gently mix it with the runny dough until you get the right consistency.
- If you added all the eggs and your dough is still too tough, add small sips of milk until you get the right texture.
- Let these cool completely before you add the filling so the filling will not melt.
- Avoid opening the oven door when baking them, and make sure that your oven is properly reheated. The heat makes these rise and puffs nicely.
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cookies and not dense and dry cookies.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
Faq's
Chouquettes are small, round pastries from France made of choux pastry dough sprinkled with pearl sugar. These delightful treats are light, airy, and slightly sweet.
Chouquettes stand for 'small pieces of choux'. These treats are made from choux pastry dough, topped with pearl sugar, and baked to perfection.
Chouquettes originated in France in the 19th century.
If your chouquettes are turning out flat, it could be due to several reasons such as overmixing the dough, or not allowing the choux pastry to rise properly. Follow the tips and instructions to avoid flat chouquettes.
Swedish pearl sugar, also known as nib sugar or hail sugar, is a unique type of sugar commonly used in Scandinavian baking.
These small, round grains of sugar are made by compressing granulated sugar into larger pearls that do not dissolve easily when baked.
Storing
Store these at room temperature for up to 3 days in an airtight container so they won’t dry out.
Freezing
Freezing the uncooked dough- To freeze uncooked choux pastry, simply pipe or shape the pastry onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Place the baking sheet in the freezer until the pastry is firm, then transfer the frozen pastry to an airtight container or freezer bag. Freeze for up to a month.
When you're ready to bake, simply remove the frozen choux pastry from the freezer and bake it according to your recipe's instructions.
Freezing the baked chouquettes- Allow the chouquettes to cool completely after baking. Once cooled, place them in an airtight container or freezer bag, making sure to remove as much air as possible.
Label the container with the date and store it in the freezer for up to 1 month. When ready to enjoy, simply thaw the pastries at room temperature or reheat in a preheated oven for a few minutes until crispy and warm.
Make it ahead of time
You can make these ahead of time by baking the chouquettes a day ahead of time and storing them in an airtight container to prevent them from getting soggy from the moisture.
Or, you can freeze the baked or unbaked chouquettes as written in the freezing instructions.
Substitutions
Salted butter- if you dont have unsalted butter, you can use salted butter, but skip the salt in the recipe.
Dairy-free- to make these dairy-free, swap the milk with water, and use high-quality dairy-free butter.
Gluten-free - if you want to make this recipe gluten-free, simply replace the flour with gluten-free flour and use gluten free Oreos.
Variations
Vanilla bean- add the seeds of a whole vanilla bean into the dough for extra delicious and delicate vanilla flavor.
Serving Tips
Usually, chouquettes are served plain as a light snack, but they can be filled with several fillings:
- Whipped cream- you can make fresh whipped cream and make it into different flavors like chocolate whipped cream, cream cheese whipped cream, etc.
- Vanilla pastry cream- use the vanilla pastry cream from my mini fruit tarts recipe.
- Mascarpone whipped cream- if you want a lighter filling for your tarts, use my mascarpone whipped cream.
- Chocolate ganache- another delicious filling for tarts is classic chocolate ganache. You can use the recipe from my mini chocolate tarts recipe.
- Chocolate pastry cream
- Diplomat cream
- Chantilly Cream
Equipment
- Mixing bowls- best glass mixing bowls.
- Electric hand mixer
- Rubber spatula
- Saucepan
- Pastry bag
- Wooden spoon
- Round piping tip
- Pearl sugar
More French desserts
Cream Puffs- These cream puffs are a classy french dessert made with choux pastry that is baked until golden brown, filled with whipped cream or pastry cream, and dipped in chocolate.
Crepe Cake- This crepe cake recipe is made by layering French crepes with whipped cream and topped with a delicious chocolate ganache.
French Hot Chocolate- This French hot chocolate is easy to make, silky, and rich in chocolate flavor. You will only need 10 minutes to make this Parisian style hot chocolate and a few simple ingredients.
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If you liked this recipe
📖 Recipe
Best Easy Chouquettes (French Sugar Puffs)
Ingredients
- 4.23 oz Milk
- 4.23 oz Water
- ½ cup Butter unsalted
- 1 tablespoon Granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 8.4 oz Eggs
- 5.07 oz Flour
- 1 cup Pearl sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180c (350f) and prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a saucepan, add the milk, sugar, water, salt, and butter, and mix with a wooden spoon to ensure the butter melts evenly. Let the mixture come to a boil, and then turn off the heat.
- Add the flour to the mixture and quickly mix the flour with a wooden spoon until a smooth dough forms. Turn on the heat to medium and cook the dough for 1-3 minutes.
- You will know when the dough is ready when a thin skin forms at the bottom of the pan and you can hear the sizzling sound of the butter in the dough.
- Transfer the dough into a large mixing bowl and use an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer with the guitar attachment, mix the dough on medium speed to cool it for 1-2 minutes.
- Whisk the eggs in a small mixing bowl, and gradually add them to the dough, a little bit at a time. You may not need to add all the eggs, it depends on how much moisture is left in the dough you cooked.
- Keep adding the eggs until you get a glossy and pipeable consistency. You can test the dough by running your finger in the middle of the bowl with the dough and it should take 3 seconds for the dough to close down.
How to pipe chouquettes?
- To pipe chouquettes correctly, use a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip.
- Hold the bag perpendicular to the baking sheet and pipe small mounds of dough about 1 inch in diameter, leaving some space between each one to allow for expansion during baking.
- Sprinkle the chouquettes generously with the pearl sugar.
- Bake them in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 25 minutes (in the center of the oven) or until the puffs have puffed up and have a golden brown color. Do not open the oven door before 25 minutes pass.
- Lower the temperature to 160c (320f) and bake for another 15-20 minutes to make sure you dry out the puffs as much as possible to prevent them from deflating.
- Note: the exact baking time may vary depending on how strong your oven is.
- Remove the puffs from the oven allow them to cool completely and serve immediately when they are fresh and crispy. You can also fill them with your favorite filling like pastry cream, whipped chocolate ganache, whipped cream, etc.
Notes
- Make sure you pipe the puffs to be the same size to make them bake evenly.
- When you are adding the flour to the dough, add it in one setting to prevent lumps from forming in the dough.
- After you cook the dough, cool it until it's not too warm by mixing the dough with an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer to prevent the eggs from cooking. Do not overmix the dough so the oil doesn’t separate from the dough.
- Bake them for longer than you think!
- When you are adding the eggs to the mixture, mix them with a fork and add them gradually until you get the right consistency. You don’t want to get a runny dough, so this step is important.
- If your dough turns out too runny, don’t throw it away! Make ½ of the dough batter without adding the eggs and gently mix it with the runny dough until you get the right consistency.
- If you added all the eggs and your dough is still too tough, add small sips of milk until you get the right texture.
- Let these cool completely before you add the filling so the filling will not melt.
- Avoid opening the oven door when baking them, and make sure that your oven is properly reheated. The heat makes these rise and puffs nicely.
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cookies and not dense and dry cookies.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
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