Pâte à Choux (Choux pastry dough)

I’ve always wanted to bake cupcakes. They always look so pretty and delicate. I did try to make some red velvet cupcakes half a year ago but sadly they were not velvety at all. They were actually rock hard and dry. Big failure. I didn’t even continue to make the icing obviously and slinked away discouraged. I have not tried another cupcake recipe since! A bit dramatic I know, but true.

Perhaps in an attempt to slowly work my way up to the elusive cupcake, I thought to try my hand at cream puffs. It’s like the simpler cousin of the cupcake, in my mind. Numerous YouTube videos and cooking blogs later, I found this recipe for Pâte à Choux from Eugenie’s Kitchen. She made it look so simple in the video. I realised if I mastered this recipe, eclairs (one of my favourites) would also be very possible! I also felt compelled to try this because it would be my first foray into French cooking. In my mind, it was as if French cooking would make up for (my lack of) French lessons.

This time, I’m happy the final result is neither rock hard nor dry. En fait, it’s pretty damn délicieux! Slightly crispy on the outside and cooked dry yet still moist on the inside! It was my first time with the piping bag as well, as you can probably tell by some of the wierd-looking puffs. All in all, it was a simple recipe with common ingredients and a very high gratification factor. I urge anyone who needs a bit of a baking-boost to try this out. Bon Appétit!