I’ve wanted to make gougères for a long time but was afraid that my limited baking skills would falter when it came to choux pastry. I wrote about Cornish Gouda with Honey and Clover a couple of weeks ago and, on tasting it, I could imagine what a great cheese it would be to cook with: sweet but with interesting savoury notes. So, it seemed like the opportune time to get to grips with gougères. I used this Guardian recipe as my basis.
And what a delight they turned out to be – fluffy, cheesy and perfectly mouth-sized. Definitely best served warm and don’t let them hang around long enough to get stale.
Ingredients
115g Cornish Gouda, grated
115g salted butter
½ teaspoon salt
140g plain flour
4 medium eggs, beaten in separate cups
Heat the oven to 220C/200 fan-assisted/gas mark 7. Put the butter and salt into a pan with 250ml of water. Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and gradually add the flour.
Stir rapidly and continuously with a wooden spoon as the mixture comes together. Cook for up to three minutes, until the mixture forms a smooth ball.
Take the pan off the heat and allow it to cool for a few minutes. Add the beaten eggs to the warm dough one at a time, beating thoroughly to incorporate. Mix in the grated cheese.
Using a piping bag, pipe small rounds of the mixture on to a baking tray lined with baking paper, leaving room between each spoonful for the pastry to puff up.
Bake for 10 minutes, then turn the heat down to 180C/160C fan-assisted/gas mark 4 and cook for a further 15 minutes, until they are cooked through and golden.
Fromage Homage 
Ooh, hello, missus! Those look wonderful – I do love a good cheesy gougere. Just the thing to cheer you up on a day like today, all cold and rainy. Yum.
Thanks, I’m glad I finally gave it a go. Glad I had a piping bag too. Although they looked a big like dog-doos going into the oven, I dread to think what they would have looked like if I’d attempted it with a spoon!
Your piping skills are considerably more advanced than mine. 🙂
You did an amazing job! These look and sound so good!
Thank you, they were cheesily good 🙂
These look amazing! Kudos to you–gougères can be tricky but you nailed it on the first try.
Thank you. I think it was the piping bag that made all the difference!
I adore Gougeres and yours look fabulous! Love this post x
Thank you! 🙂
My mouth is watering!
Ha! Sorry, all gone 😦
Oh yum! Little pillows of loveliness!!
Thank you. I made way too many so had to gorge on them constantly! They don’t keep well but are great fresh and warm.
You just HAD to gorge on them??? 😉
They look gorgeous!