Gougères

Perfectly puffed up choux next to my gougères FAIL

By Cookbad

Gougères are profiteroles cheesy cousin.

You can stuff them the same way you would any choux pastry, but I cannot seem to get mine to puff up as they should.

I used to make these by just adding some grated cheddar or gruyère cheese to a simple choux recipe. They never puffed up and reminded me more of tiny little souffle that anything choux.

I've made this recipe that I am posting 4 times now and they have never ever puffed up the way cream puffs do, and they should. . .they are on the cover of the book they come from looking all golden, puffy and self satisfied. . . mocking me. . .

smug gougères

See what I mean?

They are from this terrific book called Bite Sized by François Payard that is about just one it sounds like. Great stuff, much of it pretty expensive to make.

Anyway. . . .

Why do I continue to make a recipe that fails? Because they taste really really good. They go so fast that I don't think I have ever actually tasted a cold one.

Here is the dubious recipe in question.
Gougères
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
3 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, sifted
pinch of salt
pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
5 large eggs
5 ounces (1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) heavy cream, slightly heated so it is warm to the touch
3 1/2 cups grated Gruyère cheese, plus more for garnish if desired

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Place 1 cup water and the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and add the flour, salt, cayenne, and nutmeg. Cook the mixture fro 15 to 20 minutes, stirring constantly, until it turns into a thick paste and no longer sticks to the sides of the pan.

3. Transfer the batter to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix at low speed, incorporating the eggs one at a time. Do not add an egg until the previous one is completely incorporated.

4. Add the cream to the batter while the mixer is running. Then stop the mixer and gently stir in the grated Gruyère with a spatula, making sure not to deflate the dough.

5. Fit a pastry bag with a #5 or 1/2 inch star tip, and fill it with the dough. Pipe 1-inch rounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Wet your finger and smooth out the top of the gougères. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.

6. Remove from the oven and sprinkle grated Gruyère on top if desired. Arrange on a platter and serve warm.

FIRST, I think using a paddle to mix is silly silly madness and maybe a translation error, but this guy speaks perfectly good english, so I don't know what he is thinking. And, I'm also no sure at one point during the paddling the dough turns into any condition in which you would have to worry about deflating it while adding cheese.

SECOND: 10-15 minutes doens't come close. I think half an hour is more like it

Last change for this one. I'm moving on.