Gougères (Cheese Puffs)

Light, airy gougères (cheese puffs) with a crisp shell and a savoury heart of molten Comté cheese. Warm, buttery, and irresistible. The classic French cheese puff of Burgundy, and the best thing to hand round at apéro!

Prep20

Cook30

Total50

Servings gougères

DifficultyMedium

Ingredients

Choux pastry

62 ml whole milk
62 ml water
50 gr unsalted butter
75 gr plain flour sifted
125 gr eggs beaten
1.5 gr salt

Gougères

150 gr Comté cheese
1 pinch nutmeg
black pepper
1 egg beaten, for glazing

Equipment

Instructions

Weigh the eggs and heat the liquid

Beat the eggs and weigh exactly 125g into a jug. Set aside. Put the milk, water and butter into a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a rolling boil, making sure the butter melts fully before the liquid boils.

Add the flour

Take the pan off the heat. Tip in the sifted flour and salt all at once. Stir hard with a heat-resistant spatula until it comes together into a smooth ball with no lumps. This is the panade.

Dry out the panade

Return the pan to medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for 4 to 5 minutes, until the paste dries out, pulls cleanly from the sides, and leaves a thin film on the base of the pan.

Cool the panade

Transfer to a bowl or stand mixer. Beat with a spatula or the paddle for 2 to 3 minutes to cool it. It must stop steaming before the eggs go in.

Add the eggs gradually

Add the beaten egg a little at a time, beating well between each addition. Stop when the paste is smooth, shiny, and falls from the spatula in a pointed V. You may not need all 125g.

Beat in the cheese

While the choux pastry is still warm, beat in the grated Comté, a pinch of nutmeg and a good grind of black pepper, until the cheese is evenly worked through. Go easy on salt, since the cheese is already salty.

Pipe

Heat the oven to 180°C fan (200°C conventional) and line a tray. Pipe rounds about 3–4cm across in staggered rows, spaced well apart. Dip a finger in the beaten egg and press down any peaks so they don't burn.

Glaze and top

Brush the tops lightly with beaten egg and scatter over a little extra grated Comté, which gives a golden, cheesy crust.

Bake

Bake for 25–30 minutes without opening the door at any point, until deep golden all over and firm. Cool a few minutes on the tray, then move to a rack.

Notes

Beat the cheese in while the choux paste is still warm, so it works through evenly.
Never open the oven door while baking, or the gougères collapse and won't recover.
Bake them properly deep gold. Pale gougères are damp inside and sink as they cool.
Best eaten warm, within an hour. Reheat in a hot oven for a few minutes to crisp them up.

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