Traditional French Dishes
How to make Amuse-gueule, a traditional recipe from France
French gougères of choux pastry with Comté: golden, light and crunchy bites, with a soft and aromatic interior. An elegant option for appetizers and special gatherings.
These small appetizer pieces, associated with French tradition and especially with Burgundy, are prepared with a salty choux pastry enriched with cheese. Serve them warm to better enjoy their texture.
01
Ingredients
Have everything ready before you begin.
- ✓125 ml of water
- ✓125 ml of whole milk
- ✓100 g of unsalted butter
- ✓1/2 teaspoon of salt
- ✓1 pinch of black pepper
- ✓150 g of common wheat flour
- ✓4 large eggs, incorporated gradually
- ✓120 g of grated Comté cheese
- ✓1 additional tablespoon of grated Comté cheese for sprinkling
02
Step-by-step method
- 01
Preheat and prepare
Preheat the oven to 200 °C, with heat up and down. Line two trays with baking paper, grate the cheese and lightly beat the eggs.
- 02
Heat the liquid base
Put the water, milk, butter, salt and pepper in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Heat until the butter melts and the mixture reaches a gentle boil.
- 03
Incorporate the flour
Remove the saucepan from the heat, add all the flour at once and stir vigorously until you get a thick and uniform dough.
- 04
Dry the dough
Return the saucepan to medium-low heat and cook the dough for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until it comes away from the walls and leaves a thin film on the bottom.
- 05
Cool the dough slightly
Transfer the dough to a large bowl and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes, until it cools down a bit without getting cold.
- 06
Incorporate the eggs
Add the eggs one by one, mixing well after each addition. Add the fourth egg gradually and stop if the dough is already shiny, thick and falls slowly from the spatula forming a soft point.
- 07
Add the cheese
Incorporate the 120 g of grated Comté and mix until it is evenly distributed. You can substitute it with Gruyère in the same amount.
- 08
Form the portions
Transfer the dough to a pastry bag or use two spoons. Form portions of about 4 cm on the trays, leaving space between them. Flatten the peaks with a lightly moistened finger and sprinkle with the reserved cheese.
- 09
Bake the gougères
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until they are puffed and deeply golden. Do not open the oven during the first 15 minutes. After that, turn off the oven, open the door a few centimeters and let them inside for 5 minutes more.
- 10
Cool and serve
Remove the gougères to a rack and wait a few minutes before serving them warm, with a thin and crunchy crust and a light interior.
- 11
Store and reheat
If you prepare them in advance, store the baked pieces and reheat them for 5 minutes at 180 °C. You can also freeze the raw portions once they are firm and bake them directly frozen, increasing the cooking time by a few minutes.
- 12
Present the appetizer
Serve the gougères in a basket or simple dish, accompanied by a refreshing drink. They are suitable for eating by hand.
- Cook the dough in the saucepan until it comes away from the walls.
- Incorporate the eggs gradually; you may not need to use the fourth egg completely.
- Do not open the oven during the first 15 minutes.
- The golden color indicates that the cooking is advanced; if they remain pale, they need a few more minutes.
- Insufficient cooking or opening the oven too soon can cause them to deflate.
- To recover the crunchy texture, reheat the gougères for a few minutes before serving.
- You can substitute Comté with Gruyère in the same amount.