Cheese gougeres (French Cheese Puffs)

These light and crispy cheese gougéres (French cheese puffs) are made from savoury choux pastry flavoured with cheese. They are a delicious canapé, nibble, or accompaniment to soup or stews that can be made ahead.

What are gougeres?

Gougeres are French cheese puffs that are crunchy on the outside, and light and airy on the inside. Essentially they are savoury profiteroles, however unlike profiteroles you don’t need to fill them or top them with anything, they are delicious on their own. They may sound fancy, but these French canapes are in fact very simple to make and with very simple (and budget friendly) ingredients. Choux pastry with cheese added – what’s not to love?!

Jump to:

• What are gougeres?
• Why we love this recipe
• Ingredients notes and substitutions
• How to make these savoury choux buns
• FAQ
• My recipe tips
• Cheddar / Tasty Cheese
• Serving Ideas
• Variations
• More savoury finger food recipes
• French Cheese Puffs (Gougéres)

Why we love this recipe

• Cheese gougeres are one of my favourite make ahead Christmas nibbles. You can reheat them in the oven or they can even be frozen.
• These cheese profiteroles are a favourite toddler snack.
• They take under 10 minutes to prepare and can be enjoyed warm or cold.

Ingredients notes and substitutions

• Plain flour – all purpose flour.
• Butter – unsalted butter. Depending on the cheese you use, they can be salty so best to use unsalted butter.
• Eggs – large eggs.
• Cheese – Gruyere is the classic cheese, however you can use Cheddar, gruyere or another hard cheese to make the cheese choux buns and Cheddar cheese or parmesan to sprinkle over the top. Use freshly grated cheese rather than pre-grated.
• Nutmeg – this is optional but adds lovely background flavour to the gougéres.

How to make these savoury choux buns

1. Preheat the oven to 230˚C/ 210˚C fan / 446˚F / 410˚F.
2. Line a baking sheet with baking paper/baking parchment.
3. In a medium size saucepan, add the water, butter and salt and bring to the boil.
4. When the butter has melted, take the pan off the heat and add flour. Mix to form a paste.
5. Return the pan to the heat and cook for 1 minute, stirring until dough forms a film on the bottom of the pan and is smooth.
6. Take the pan off the heat and leave to cool for 1-2 minutes.
7. Add 1 egg to the dough and beat with a spoon. It will look curdled – but don’t worry. Keep beating and it will come together.
8. Add the other egg and beat, but keep beating the mixture and it will come together to form a smooth dough.
9. Stir in 75g (2.5 oz) grated cheese.
10. Place tablespoons of the mixture onto the prepared tray, using two spoons to create a round ball, leaving space in between each gougére as they will expand slightly in the oven.
11. Smooth any stray bits with a wet finger, as these can catch and burn.
12. Sprinkle the puffs with the remaining cheese and place into the preheated oven.
13. Cook for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 210˚C/ 190˚C fan / 374˚F and cook for 15 minutes until the cheese gougeres are golden brown and puffed up. When you tap one on the bottom it should sound hollow.
14. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

FAQ

My recipe tips

• Let the mixture cool for a few minutes before adding the beaten egg, to ? the risk of the egg scrambling.
• They soften as they cool down so are best made just before serving, or reheat them in the oven before serving.
• What cheese to use: Commonly made with Gruyere, comte or Emmentaler; I use a hard cheese such as cheddar in my cheese puffs. You still get that cheesey flavour, but they are more budget friendly.
• You can top them with grated cheddar or parmesan. I have tried both and there really isn’t much difference.
• Oven temperature: the hot oven helps prevent the cheese puffs from collapsing, as the high temperatures get rid of some of the water. Turning the oven down after 10 minutes stops the outsides of the cheese gougeres from burning before the middle is cooked.

Serving Ideas

• If you are entertaining, they make a delicious canape to serve with drinks, together with this easy smoked salmon pate, or samosa pinwheels.
• They are also a delicious side for soup or stew.

Variations

• Add a touch of spice: add a pinch of paprika to the flour.
• Mustard – add ¼ teaspoon powdered mustard to the flour – don’t add prepared mustard as this can make the cheese puffs soggy.
• You can top them with grated cheddar or parmesan. I have tried both and there really isn’t much difference.

More savoury finger food recipes