Best choux pastry recipes

Create showstopping desserts and afternoon tea treats using this delicate pastry, from chocolate éclairs to profiterole stacks and perfect patisserie

Best choux pastry recipes

Rose and almond choux buns

Bite-sized rosewater cream buns, designed to impress. A new way to use choux pastry, these crumble-topped treats are a doddle once you’ve mastered the choux.

Take your éclairs to the next level with step-by-step help from the olive test kitchen. Craquelin is similar to a crumble mix, and when baked on top of the choux buns, gives a crackly, crisp top, typical in classic patisserie.

Black forest profiteroles

With chocolate, double cream, black cherries and a splash of brandy, make and freeze these black forest cake inspired choux buns ahead of time to create a delicious, sophisticated dessert in minutes.

French crullers

With a little help from Edd Kimber, you too can create these crispy on the outside, light on the inside choux pastry donuts (glazed two ways).

Chocolate and hazelnut profiteroles stack

Profiterole Tower with Chocolate and Hazelnuts

Strawberry éclairs

These light and airy strawberry éclairs are a fantastic summery twist on the classic chocolate. They’re a little effort, but look stunning – they’ll be a hit with adults and kids alike. You can get strawberries all year round now, but they’re at their best from June until August, so make the most of them. Check out our strawberry recipes here for more inspiration.

Salted caramel profiteroles

Profiteroles are easier to make than they look. Especially using this simple recipe. Salted caramel adds a touch of luxury to the choux buns for a dinner-party dessert. Recipe from NAC restaurant in London. Try our other caramel recipes for baking here.

Parmesan and smoked garlic gougères

Check out these soft choux buns packed with nutty parmesan and smoked garlic cream. These impressive buns come from East London restaurant, Sapling. Use regular garlic if you can’t find smoked.

Caramel choux puffs

There are a couple of techniques involved here: for the choux pastry and caramel, but they aren’t really that tricky and you’ll end up with a seriously impressive pud. The empty, cooked choux buns can be frozen for a few months – defrost them and give them a blast in a warm oven to re-crisp before using.