RECIPE: Dairy free chouquettes aka mini choux pastry aka the popcorn chicken of pastry
My quest to convert my favorite pastry recipes to be dairy-free and/or vegan (while still meeting my high quality bar for deliciousness) continues with what I kick off many of my pastry classes with: pate a choux. I will admit that making these dairy-free ended up being a cinch with swaps of Oatly and Earth Balance for my tried-and-true Straus and Clover dairy counterparts, but that going full vegan for choux would be trickier due to the big role eggs play in the flavor, texture, and bake of this pastry. That’s another project for another day, but for now, I’m going to revel and constantly snack on these bite-sized wonders.
I recommend these as part of a line-up of bite sized desserts or mignardises, or they’d be lovely bagged up as a party favor or hostess gift given their sturdiness, size, and shelf life.
RECIPE: Dairy-free chouquettes aka mini choux pastry
By: Kathleen Hayes, adapted from San Francisco Cooking School
Yield: 64 mini choux, using an Ateco 802 round piping tip
MISE IT
To start
60 grams oat or nut milk (1/4 cup)*
60 grams water (1/4 cup)
42 grams vegan butter like Earth Balance, cut into pieces (3 tablespoons)*
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Dry ingredients
68 grams all purpose flour (~1/2 cup)
Egg mix-in
2 large eggs (~100 grams)
Finishing touches
Pearl sugar, to desired effect (~a couple tablespoons)
Egg wash
*If you don’t have dairy restrictions, you can use whole cow’s milk and butter instead of dairy-free alternatives.
MAKE IT
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
In a small or medium saucepan, combine milk, water, vegan butter, and salt and bring to a simmer, making sure the vegan butter has melted.
Take pan off heat, add in flour, and begin mixing vigorously with a spatula or wooden spoon. Once you don’t see any patches of dry flour, bring pan back over medium heat and continue stirring vigorously until you see a thin film of dough form on the bottom of the pan. (If this doesn’t occur, mix for an additional 1-2 minutes to ensure the flour is cooked off a bit.)
Transfer batter into bowl of a stand mixer and mix on medium speed until all the steam has dissipated, about a minute. (The bottom of the bowl will be HOT!)
With the mixer speed on low, add in each egg one at a time. The batter will look like things have gone horribly wrong by separating, but give it time to come back together again before adding the next egg.
Transfer batter to a piping bag fitted with an Ateco 802 round tip (or similar small piping tip). On a parchment-lined baking sheet, begin piping small (1”) circles until all batter is used up. Use additional baking sheets if needed.
Brush on egg wash and sprinkle each chouquette with pearl sugar. The choux will spread in the oven, so sprinkle on more than you think is needed.
Bake at 425 F for 10-15 minutes, until the choux have expanded and begun to brown slightly. Then lower oven to 350 and continue to bake until the choux have dried out, an additional 7-20 minutes depending on your oven. The way to check for doneness: carefully pick up a choux, raise it 1-2 inches above your pan, and drop it. If it sounds hollow/like a rock, then it’s done; if it’s soft and doesn’t make a noise when dropped onto the pan, bake for longer.
Remove pans from oven, let choux cool on pans for 1-2 minutes before transferring to cooling racks to cool completely.
Serve immediately or in the next 1-3 days, or freeze for later use. To freshen up days after making or from freezer, bake for 5-10 minutes at 350 degrees until re-crisped. These freeze beautifully and are easy to transport as well!
TWEAK IT
These are made to be unfilled, but there’s no stopping you from filling these with dairy-free pastry cream or curd (passionfruit curd would be absolutely lovely!).
Cut choux in half and fill with whipped coconut cream and strawberries for a take on strawberry shortcake.
Add a craquelin top instead of or in addition to the pearl sugar for additional texture.
