List of choux pastry dishes facts for kids

Choux pastry, also known as pâte à choux, is a special kind of light dough. It's made with just a few simple ingredients: butter, water, flour, and eggs. What makes it unique is how it cooks! The dough has a lot of moisture, and when it bakes, this moisture turns into steam. This steam then puffs up the pastry, making it hollow and airy inside. It's like magic how it transforms into delicious treats!

Amazing Choux Pastry Creations

Choux pastry is super versatile and used to make all sorts of yummy dishes, both sweet and savory. Here are some of the most popular ones:

Sweet Choux Delights

Beignets: French Fried Treats

Beignets are often served with powdered sugar.

Imagine a fluffy, deep-fried pastry that's often sprinkled with powdered sugar – that's a Beignet! These tasty treats come from France and are perfect for a sweet snack.

Bossche Bol: A Dutch Chocolate Dream

A Bossche bol is a large, chocolate-covered cream puff.

From the Netherlands comes the Bossche bol, or reuzenbol. It's like a giant Profiterole! This big choux pastry ball is filled to the brim with whipped cream and then completely covered in a thick layer of chocolate. It's a truly indulgent dessert.

Chouquettes: Little Sugar Puffs

Chouquettes are small choux pastry puffs with pearl sugar.

Chouquettes are small, bite-sized pieces of choux pastry. They are usually sprinkled with pearl sugar, which gives them a lovely crunch. Sometimes, they are even filled with creamy custard or light mousse. You might also find them dipped in chocolate or covered in chocolate chips!

Chouxnuts: A Doughnut Twist

Have you ever heard of a chouxnut? It's a cool mix of choux pastry and a doughnut! These treats are shaped like doughnuts and can be filled with custard. They are often topped with sweet icing or a shiny glaze.

Croquembouche: A Tower of Pastry

A Croquembouche is a cone of choux pastry balls.

The Croquembouche is a show-stopping French dessert. It's made by piling many choux pastry balls into a tall cone shape. These balls are then held together with delicate threads of caramel, making it look like a beautiful, edible tower. It's often seen at special celebrations!

Éclairs: Long and Creamy Pastries

Éclairs are oblong pastries filled with cream and topped with icing.

An Éclair is a famous French pastry. It's an oblong (long and narrow) piece of choux pastry, usually filled with a rich cream. The top is then covered with a smooth, sweet icing. They come in many flavors, but chocolate and coffee are very popular.

Karpatka: The Carpathian Mountain Cake

Karpatka cake has a wavy top layer resembling mountains.

From Poland, we have Karpatka, a unique cake named after the Carpathian Mountains. Why? Because its top layer of choux pastry looks like the rough peaks and valleys of those mountains! This cake usually has a layer of short pastry on the bottom and choux pastry on top, with a creamy custard or buttercream filling in between. It's often served with fruit or ice cream.

Moorkop: Another Dutch Treat

Moorkoppen are similar to profiteroles.

The Moorkop is another type of Dutch profiterole, similar to the Bossche bol but often smaller and sometimes decorated differently. It's a delicious choux pastry puff, usually filled with cream and topped with chocolate.

Paris-Brest: A Bicycle Wheel Pastry

The Paris-Brest pastry is shaped like a wheel.

The Paris-Brest is a French pastry with a cool story! It's made of choux pastry shaped into a large circle, like a bicycle wheel. This shape honors a famous bicycle race between Paris and Brest. It's filled with a delicious praline-flavored cream, which is a sweet, nutty cream.

Profiteroles: The Classic Cream Puff

Profiteroles are often called cream puffs in the U.S.

Profiteroles are probably the most famous choux pastry creation! These are small, round choux pastry balls. They are usually filled with whipped cream, pastry cream, or custard. In the U.S., they are often called "cream puffs." Sometimes, they're even filled with ice cream! Did you know the profiterole is the national food of Gibraltar?

Religieuse: The Nun's Pastry

Religieuses are made of two choux pastry cases.

The Religieuse is a charming French pastry that looks like a nun! It's made of two choux pastry cases, one larger than the other, stacked on top. Both are filled with crème pâtissière (pastry cream), usually chocolate or mocha flavored, and decorated to resemble a nun's habit.

St. Honoré Cake: A Pastry Masterpiece

The St. Honoré cake is a beautiful dessert.

The St. Honoré cake is a truly fancy French dessert. It starts with a base of puff pastry. Around the edge, a ring of choux pastry is piped. The center is traditionally filled with a special cream called crème chiboust, and the whole cake is finished with beautiful swirls of whipped cream. It's named after the patron saint of bakers!

Savory Choux Delights

Gougères: Cheesy Puffs

Gougères are savory choux pastry mixed with cheese.

Not all choux pastry is sweet! Gougères are a savory treat from France. They are baked puffs made by mixing choux dough with delicious cheese, like Gruyère. They make a fantastic snack or appetizer.

Pommes Dauphine: Crispy Potato Puffs

Pommes Dauphine are crispy potato and choux pastry puffs.

Pommes dauphine are a fun French side dish. They are crispy potato puffs made by mixing mashed potatoes with savory choux pastry. This mixture is then shaped into little dumplings and deep-fried until golden and delicious.

See also

• List of baked goods

Images for kids

• Lady's navel.jpg

  Lady's navel, a Turkish choux pastry soaked in syrup.

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  Nun's puffs, a French choux pastry that is pan-fried before baking.