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–+ servings
pile of gougeres on white plate, some cut open to show airy texture

French Cheese Puffs (Gougéres)

Robyn
These light cheese gougéres (French cheese puffs), balls of savoury choux pastry, make a delicious canapé, nibble, or side to soup.
5 from 2 votes
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Prep Time 8 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 33 minutes
Course Appetizer, canape, Side Dish
Cuisine French
Servings 12 gougeres
Calories 87 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 125 ml water
  • 40 g unsalted butter
  • pinch salt
  • 75g (½ c) plain flour
  • pinch ground nutmeg
  • pinch ground black pepper
  • 2 eggs
  • 75 g cheese grated. Cheddar, gruyere or another hard cheese.
  • 15 g cheese grated. Cheddar or parmesan

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 230˚C/ 210˚C fan/ 446˚F / 410˚F.
  • Line a baking sheet with baking paper/baking parchment.
  • In a medium saucepan, place the water, butter and salt and bring to the boil.
  • When the butter has melted, take off the heat, add flour and mix to a paste.
  • Return the pan to the heat and cook for 1 minute, mixing until dough forms a film on the bottom of the pan and is smooth.
  • Take the pan off the heat and leave to cool for 1-2 minutes.
  • Add 1 egg to the dough and beat with a spoon. It will look very curdled - but don’t worry. Keep beating and it will come together.
  • Add the other egg and beat, it will look curdled again, but keep beating the mixture and it will come together to form a smooth dough.
  • Stir in 75g grated cheese.
  • 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.
  • Use a wet finger to tidy the cheese puffs up, smoothing any stray bits as these can catch and burn.
  • Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and place into the oven.
  • 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.
  • Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
  • Best served warm. If you need to crisp them up, reheat in a preheated oven at 180˚C/ 356 ˚F for 5-8 minutes.

Notes

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 – I use size large eggs.
Cheese – Gruyere is the classic cheese used to make gougeres, however you can use Comté or another hard cheese like Emmental. I often make these cheese choux buns with cheddar cheese or tasty cheese and they turn out just as well. Use 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.
Piping gougéres: if you prefer to pipe the cheese puffs then do, or use two spoons to get the round shape.
Make ahead: Make them up to 2 days ahead and reheat in the oven at 180˚C/356˚F for 5-8 minutes before serving.
Freeze: Cool cooked cheese puffs completely then freeze on a tray until frozen solid before transferring to a container/bag. They will freeze for up to 2 months. Cook from frozen at 180˚C/356˚F  for 10-12 minutes, until warmed through. 

Nutrition

Calories: 87kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 3gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 42mgSodium: 81mgPotassium: 23mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 198IUCalcium: 59mgIron: 1mg
Keyword cheese choux, cheese puff, gougeres, savoury choux

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