Choux Pastry Recipe

How to Choux Pastry

1. Sift the flour, and cocoa (if making the cocoa version), onto a piece of baking parchment or into a small bowl. Put the water, milk, salt, sugar and butter in a saucepan, place over a low heat until the butter is melted, then increase the heat and bring to a rolling boil. Add the flour, and cocoa, if using, all at once, stirring vigorously with a spatula to form a dough. Continue to stir on the heat for 1–2 minutes or until a thin film has formed on the bottom of the pan. If using a non-stick pan, this film may not develop but what actually matters is that the temperature of the dough is raised. 
2. Tip the dough into a bowl and beat for a few minutes to cool slightly. Add the eggs, a little at a time, beating until fully combined before adding more. You want to add enough egg so that the finished dough is smooth, a little glossy and, when lifted from the bowl, falls from the spatula in a V-shaped ribbon. If too little is added the choux won’t rise, if too much is added it will rise but then collapse. Scrape the pastry into a piping bag fitted with a piping tip and use as per your recipe. 
3. Choux pastry can be made up to 24 hours in advance, stored in the refrigerator until needed. Make sure it is covered well with a layer of cling film (plastic wrap) so that it doesn’t develop a skin. If you find piping tricky, chilling the pastry also thickens it up slightly, making it a little easier to handle.