Cheese puffs are really good, filled or just by themselves. They are a bit of work to make, but definitely worth it. It’s really nice how ‘light’ they are. I’ve made a double batch twice now for parties, and in both cases they were devoured in a few minutes by my friends. I got this recipe from Stéphane Gabart’s blog My French Heaven. From his blog it seems that Stéphane is as crazy about food as I am, and I really like that his blog is bilingual as it allows me to practice my French. Stéphane uses French Comté, but any finely grated good cheese (i.e. cheese with real flavor) that melts well will work. If you like cheese I promise you will like this. Merci beuacoup pour la recette, Stéphane!
Ingredients
For 25-30 puffs
150 grams grated Comté or other good cheese that melts well (5.3 oz, about 1 1/3 cup)
150 grams flour (5.3 oz, about 1 cup minus 1 Tbsp)
80 grams butter (2.8 oz, about 6 Tbsp)
4 eggs
1 tsp salt
250 ml water (about 1 cup)
freshly ground white pepper (to taste)
freshly grated nutmeg (to taste)
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 200C/390F.
Combine 80 grams butter with 250 ml water in a saucepan.
Bring to a boil and stir to mix.
As soon as it boils, add 1 tsp salt and take off the heat. Add 150 grams flour all at once.
Stir to mix.
Keep stirring until it’s homogeneous and detaches from the pan. Use low heat if needed to make it detach (not needed in my case).
Let it cool slightly (to avoid cooking the eggs). Add the eggs one by one, and stir to incorporate. Wait until it is fully incorporated before adding the next egg.
The mixture should now be smooth and glossy.
Add 150 grams grated cheese, freshly ground white pepper and freshly grated nutmeg to taste.
Stir until homogeneous.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use two spoons to put little heaps of the dough on the sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes at 200C/390F until golden. Allow to cool to room temperature.
The puffs will be hollow inside. You can serve them as is, or fill them.
Good job! They look absolutely perfect! They are a bit of work aren’t they:)
Yes, especially stirring in the eggs is quite a workout as the dough is quite heavy.
Thanks for confirming that they look right
Nicely done! Those look very tasty.
Hi Sean, thanks for stopping by and leaving such a nice comment. Hope to see you more often around here
if you have a mixer, it’s much easier to put the dough in the mixer once you have cooked the butter, water and flour. Let it it cool a bit then add the eggs and mix it that way. Also a pastry bag with a medium to large tip will make the tedious work of spooning much faster (you also get a more uniform look). Can you tell I make them all the time???
I’ve only just unpacked my first stand mixer and it hasn’t been christened yet, but that definitely sounds like a good idea because stirring in the eggs really is a workout that I could do without
I don’t use pastry bags often, but I probably should. I should probably get some disposable ones, as the reusable one I have is a pain in the beep to clean.
Thanks for the tips!
Aren’t these called gougeres? I haven’t made them in years! I think I always used gruyere… Beautiful!
Yup, that’s what they are called in French. Gruyere is a good choice.
We love gougeres…so tasty!
These look fantastic, Stefan! You sure did make quite a few of them. Did you fill any of them or just enjoy them all as-is? Either way, a good cheese puff is a delicious treat.
Thanks, John. They were great and we enjoyed them as-is. I will fill some next time for sure. I had over 40 guests at the party, so a single batch just wouldn’t do.
I’ll be trying these, they look gorgeous. So how is it you are only unpacking you first stand mixer and you have a sous-vide machine? I pictured your kitchen having all sorts of gadgets including the basics!
I already had two food processors and used my breadmaker to make bread dough. This is why sous-vide was a higher priority for me than a stand mixer. I’m also cooking and baking more now that I have the blog. Talking about basics: I still don’t have a pressure cooker. That’s definitely on my list though…
I’ve been wondering if a pressure cooker should be higher on my list. On the few times it may be required I’ve found work arounds.
I’ve heard it does wonders for making stock and risotto, and also for braising meat. All of those can indeed be made without a pressure cooker, which is why it hasn’t been higher on my list either.
Oh didn’t think of risotto. That would be interesting.
A treat in store for me for when I get the time. Too many nice recipes not enough time….
I know what you mean…
I love cheese puffs (Gougeres). Absolutely one of my favorites!! I can’t believe you are just now unpacking your stand mixer. You can live without a pressure cooker but a stand mixer???? I had my KitchenAid mixer for 10 years before I bought a food processor because between the mixer, the blender and my knife skills I didn’t need a food processor. Ultimately, I bought the food processor because it was so convenient and time was very precious but that was 20 years ago and my kids were toddlers!!!!! Glad you unpacked it.
It wasn’t like I already had it and not unpacked — I unpacked it right after I got it
It’s just that a stand mixer is more expensive than a food processor. A decent stand mixer is about 4 times the pirce of a food processor. Since I could make bread dough in my bread maker, and my food processor can do most other things a stand mixer can do (like beating egg whites), I postponed getting one.
Now because of the blog there are things I want to try that really require a stand mixer, like making my own puff pastry from scratch…