Choux dough
2 min read
Choux dough
The invention of hot dough
Choux, chouquette, profiterole, eclair, Paris-Brest, croquembouche, Saint-Honore - the invention of this distinctive, favorite French dessert dough, the so-called hot dough, is attributed to someone named Popelini, an Italian chef who was in service of Catherine de Medicis. The technology of cooked dough has been refined over the centuries and has become a source of inspiration for many pastry chefs. Thus, lots of interesting desserts were created using this choux dough.
Choux means cabbage in French. Round, roasted dough balls really look like little cabbages. Choux is getting puffed when it is baked, the skin remains crispy and there remains a lot of free space in the center to fill it with the confectionery cream. Vanilla, chocolate or coffee cream is a classic Choux filling.
Choux, chouquette, profiterole, eclair, Paris-Brest, croquembouche, Saint-Honore - the invention of this distinctive, favorite French dessert dough, the so-called hot dough, is attributed to someone named Popelini, an Italian chef who was in service of Catherine de Medicis. The technology of cooked dough has been refined over the centuries and has become a source of inspiration for many pastry chefs. Thus, lots of interesting desserts were created using this choux dough.
Choux means cabbage in French. Round, roasted dough balls really look like little cabbages. Choux is getting puffed when it is baked, the skin remains crispy and there remains a lot of free space in the center to fill it with the confectionery cream. Vanilla, chocolate or coffee cream is a classic Choux filling.
Chouquette
Chouquette are the same as Choux without he cream, they are sprinkled with non-melted sugar granules before baking. There exist both white and cocoa chouquettes.
Profiterole is the creation of one of the most prominent innovators in French confectionery -Antoine Carême. His name is also associated with the invention of croquembouche and eclair. Profiterole is Choux filled with cream, enrobed in chocolate ganache. Croquembouche, the most festive dessert is a conical structure assembled with cream-filled Choux pastries. The Choux pastries are stuck together with caramel.
Eclair, a symbol of French confectionery, first appears in historical sources in 1850. A classic eclair is filled with vanilla, chocolate or coffee cream. A glossy, mirrored enamel gives this dessert a distinctive, Parisian touch.
Paris-Brest is a wheel-shaped baked Choux dough filled with praline cream, decorated with almond flakes and powdered sugar. Its name is associated with Paris-Brest-Paris bicycle race, on the route of which there was a confectionery “Maisons Laffitte”. It was here, in 1891, that the pastry chef Boge created the dessert Paris-Brest. Its shape definitely reminds you of a bicycle wheel.
Saint-Honoré is another distinctive dessert of French gastronomy created in 1850 in the most famous Parisian confectionery of that era by Auguste Julien, the young pastry chef. The original version was based on a crumbly dough, the present Saint-Honoré with puff paste bottom is made with Choux pastries and caramel. You will find a detailed recipe of this dessert on our website.
author:
Nino Megrelidze