Chouquettes (French Cream Puffs) (2024)

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Recipe with step-by-step photos for Chouquettes, which are French cream puffs (or pastry puffs) sprinkled with pearl sugar or chocolate chips. They are a delicious bite-sized snack made from choux pastry.

Chouquettes

Something which I love to bake throughout the year arethese little French cream puffs called chouquettes.

I have previously shared a recipe forChocolate Chip Chouquettesby the wonderful and wittyDavid Lebovitz.

But after seeing Rachel Khoo make her lovely chouquettes fromThe Little Paris Kitchen, I was inspired to try her take on a classic cream puff recipe.

French Cream Puffs

Chouquettes are made from choux pastry, which is the same pastry used to make éclairs and profiteroles.

If you are from the US, you might be more familiar with the term “cream puffs”which are also made from choux pastry. Cream puffs are typically filled with whipped cream or pastry cream, the latter known as crème pâtissière or a thickened custard.

In French, cream puffs are called choux à la crème. Whenever we are in Paris (we are lucky to go quite often), I always like to visit La Maison du Chou for the most perfect little cream puffs which are filled to order with either fromage blanc, coffee pastry cream or chocolate pastry cream.

Choux Pastry Recipes

Cream puffs are similar to profiteroles, except that the French go one step further by serving the filled cream puffs with a drizzle of chocolate sauce.

Éclairs are pretty much the same as profiteroles, except that éclairs are thin and long, whereas profiteroles are small and round.

What are Chouquettes?

Chouquettes are a simple affair as they are not filled with anything, but they are typically sprinkled with pearl sugar for a bit of sweetness. In America, I think they are sometimes described as “French pastry puffs”.

Chouquettes Recipe

The chouquettes recipe below is one which I have adapted from my recipe for Profiteroles with Chocolate Sauce. I love that Rachel Khoo uses chocolate chips to decorate the chouquettes, which I think is a lovely alternative to thepearl sugar which is more commonly sold by the French bakeries.

Pearl sugar is a popular ingredient used in many baking recipes in Europe, especially in the Scandinavian countries. What is special about pearl sugar is that the sugar pieces retain their shape upon baking, and therefore add a lovely sweet crunch.

When using chocolate chips, I recommend using proper chocolate chips, rather than chopping up a large block of chocolate. This is because chocolate chips contain less cocoa butter to help them retain their shape during baking at hot temperatures, whereas most normal bars of chocolate would simply melt in the oven.

How to Make Choux Pastry

Choux pastry can be very easy to make, once you get the hang of it.

You start by melting the butter, water and salt together in a saucepan. Then you add the flour to turn the mixture into a dough, before adding the eggs one at a time.

For the latter step, I prefer to use an electric stand mixer, mostly because beating in the eggs requires quite a bit of muscle power, and if you have an appliance which you can help you on that front, you may as well use it!

The goal with choux pastry is to end up with a pastry which is thick and smooth, and which can hold its shape when you pipe it.

How to Make Chouquettes

To turn the choux pastry into chouquettes, simply pipe small rounds of choux pastry onto a baking tray, and sprinkle with pearl sugar and/or chocolate chips (or both!).

Once you have tried making chouquettes, you will find that it is a relatively quick and easy way to make a simple dessert which can feed a crowd, plus it is made using very basic and economical ingredients.

My children love these chouquettes so much that it is hard to make them stop! But given that the sugar content is relatively low, I don’t mind too much.

More Choux Pastry Recipes

If you are looking for choux pastry recipes, you might also enjoy:

Chocolate Chip Chouquettes

Chocolate Éclairs

Profiteroles with Chocolate Sauce

Chouquettes (French Cream Puffs)

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5 from 2 reviews

Author: Thanh | Eat, Little Bird
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 40 chouquettes
Category: Desserts
Method: Oven
Cuisine: French

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Ingredients

350 ml (1 ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon) water
150 g (1 ⅓ stick) unsalted butter, diced
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon caster sugar (super-fine sugar)
200 g (1 ⅓ cup) plain flour (all-purpose flour)
4 large eggs
pearl sugar
chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).
Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
Place the water, butter, salt and sugar in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until the butter has melted and the water just begins to boil. Do not let the water boil, though, because you do not want any liquid to evaporate.
Take the pan off the heat.
Add the flour.
Beat everything together with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes together in a dough and comes away from the sides of the pan.
Tip the dough into the bowl of an electric stand mixer.
Using the flat paddle attachment, beat the mixture for a few seconds to knock out the air and to cool the dough a little.
Add one egg and beat until the egg is fully incorporated.
Repeat with the remaining eggs. The mixture might look like it is separating or curdling after you have added an egg, but keep beating until the mixture comes together into a thick and smooth dough.
The consistency of the choux pastry should be thick and smooth, such that it is able to hold its shape once piped.
Fit a 2 cm (1 inch) plain nozzle into a piping bag and pipe little rounds onto the baking tray about 5 cm (2 inches) apart.
Fill a small cup with water to use to wet your fingertips and press down any pointy tips on the rounds of dough, and also to lightly wet each piece of dough. This will help the pearl sugar or chocolate chips to stick to the dough.
Sprinkle generously with pearl sugar and/or chocolate chips.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes until golden and crisp.
Remove the chouquettes to a cooling rack and let them cool slightly before serving.

Kitchen Notes

USING PEARL SUGAR
Pearl sugar is commonly used in breads and pastries in Europe and is generally widely available in continental Europe. For all other countries, check your local specialty stores. Some Ikea stores also stock pearl sugar. If you can’t find pearl sugar, crushed white sugar cubes will create a similar effect.

STORAGE TIPS
These chouquettes are best eaten on the same day they are made when they are still crispy. If you have some leftover chouquettes, you can warm them up in the oven for a few minutes to become crispy again.

OVEN TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this website state temperatures for a regular oven (i.e. a conventional oven without fan). If you have a convection oven with a fan, please consult the manufacturer’s handbook on how to adjust the temperature and baking time accordingly.