As I’ve said before in a recent post, one of my strategies for hosting a successful cocktail hour (without ruining your day) is to keep the food simple and serve the classic bar trinity of potato chips, nuts and olives and “One More Thing”. Well, Gougeres are probably my favorite One More Thing.
Gougeres are pastry puffs that carry the rich flavor of good cheese (my favorite is an aged Gruyere), and yet they weigh nothing. You can whip them up in a few minutes, and yet their elegance suggests a private pastry chef stashed in the spare room. One suggestion, though: if you want your guests to circulate, place two or three baskets of these treats around the room to avoid excessive crowding at the serving table.
The one drawback of Gougeres is that you really can’t make them advance. They will keep for about a day and taste good reheated, but they’re far better fresh out of the oven. They come together quickly, though, so assembling and measuring the ingredients in advance will cut down the active cooking time to about 10 minutes. And the last-minute baking has an upside: the delicious aroma puts everyone in a good (and hungry) mood.
Recipe
(For about 20 gougeres. Adapted from Choux City by Sarah Dickerman, published in the New York Times Magazine, June 29, 2008.)
Ingredients
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup milk
4 large eggs
5 ounces of coarsely grated Gruyere cheese
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Line two baking sheets with bakers’ parchment.
3. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, salt, nutmeg and cayenne.
4. In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the butter, milk and 1/4 cup water to a full boil.
5. Turn off the heat and add the dry ingredients. Mix with a wooden spoon for about a minute. The mixture will form a soft ball.
6. Transfer the dough to an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix at low speed just until the dough stops steaming. Then add 1 egg and increase the speed to medium.
7. The mixture will break apart at first, but don’t worry. When it comes back together, add the second egg and continue mixing until it’s incorporated, then stop the mixer.
8. Lightly beat the third egg in a small bowl. Test the batter. If you scoop out a spoonful, the batter should fall back into the bowl in a soft bending peak. If it doesn’t, add some of the beaten egg, mix and test again. In my experience, you’ll need to add some to all of the third egg to get this texture.
9. Fold in about 3/4 of the grated cheese and then scoop or pipe the batter onto the baking sheets in about 1 tablespoon globs, or slightly larger.
10. Lightly beat the fourth egg in a small bowl and, using a pastry brush, lightly coat each blob with the egg wash, using the brush to smooth their surfaces, if necessary. (A high level of precision is not necessary.) Top each with a few pieces of the remaining grated cheese.
11. Bake for 15-18 minutes until risen and golden brown, rotating the sheets once about 9 minutes into the baking time. Then cool for at least 10 minutes in the oven with the door ajar. Don’t rush this last step or your little puffs may flatten under the shock of your (relatively) cold kitchen.
Serve warm or at room temperature. To serve leftover gougeres, reheat them first for about five minutes in a 350F oven.
