Chouquettes

By Karen

 Chouquettes, fresh out of my oven

One of the highlights of the trip to Paris that James and I went on this summer was discovering and tasting chouquettes for the first time (and then many times again thereafter).  Chouqettes were, like many of the best things in life, a sweet surprise (which later inspired the name of this blog).

Our hotel was located in a residential neighborhood near the Eiffel Tower, and after a day or two, we quickly made it a habit to stop by the local patisserie for croissants and espresso.  In addition to to wonderfully flakey croissants, this bakery had a number of other breads, pastries, and curious looking treats.  One treat in particular caught my eye - chouquettes.  They were small, round, and golden brown with mysterious white flecks - I knew I had to try them.

While my high-school-level French was sufficient to ask "Qu'est-ce que c'est?" ("What it this?"), it was far too deficient to understand the answer.  (Honestly, I'm not sure why I even bothered to ask.)  After a flurry of incomprehensible French, I remained undeterred and ordered two of them  (my grasp of French was also too poor to understand that the chouquettes are generally only sold in bags of ten).

It was love at first bite. The chouquettes were, surprisingly, hollow on the inside, and consisted of a light, eggy dough studded with crunchy chunks of pearl sugar.  In a word - delicious.  James and I devoured our chouquettes, and quickly ordered a (proper) bag of ten to take with us.  

During the rest of our trip, chouquettes became a constant.  After our morning espresso and croissants, we would toss a bag of chouquettes in my purse and snack on them throughout the day.  We munched on them while waiting in line at the Notre Dame, snuck bites underground while waiting for the Metro, and took chouquette breaks to recharge us on our long walks around the city. 

When I returned home to Seattle, my stomach suffered withdrawals from the regular chouquette doses it received in Paris, and there were sadly none to be found in any of the bakeries in the city.  Luckily, one of the books I happened read in anticipation of going to Paris was The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz, a well-known American pastry chef and author who loves in Paris.  This book is a collection of short essays with recipes that relate to each story, and was a fantastic read for its insight into finding the best pastries in Paris (and for its insight into Parisian life). 

Imagine my surprise (and joy!) upon coming home and discovering that the Sweet life in Paris had a recipe for chouquettes all along!  I have attempted David Lebovitiz's recipe several times now, and they are (surprisingly) easy to make and have turned out beautiful each time.  While the are not the same as those from the Patisserie in Paris, they still manage to hit the spot when a chouquette craving comes up.

Recipe for Chouquettes (adapted from The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
• 1 cup flour
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup pearl sugar

Instructions:

1. Position oven rack in the middle of the oven; preheat oven to 425 degrees, and line baking sheet with parchment paper
2. In a medium sized pot, heat water, salt, sugar, and butter, stirring until butter is melted and water begins to boil
3. Remove pot from heat and dump in all flour at once, stirring rapidly until the mixture is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the pan
4. Allow dough to cool for two minutes, stirring occasionally to release the heat
5. Beat the eggs one at a time (by hand or with a mixer) until the paste is smooth and shiny
6. Drop golf-ball sized mounds of dough by scooping with two spoons on the baking sheet, evenly spaced
7. Sprinkle pearl sugar liberally over the top and sides of each mound
8. Bake the chouquettes for 35 minutes, or until puffed and well browned 

Notes:

• This recipe makes about 25 chouquettes
• The chouquettes are best eaten warm or at room temperature the same day they are made
• Pearl sugar is an essential ingredient, and can be found on-line, at Scandinavian specialty stores (such as Scan Specialties in Seattle), or at some Ikea stores
• I find that the best way to get maximum sugar coverage is to scoop out a mound of dough in one spoon, sprinkle pearl sugar on the dough over a bowl to collect the excess sugar, and then transfer the dough onto the baking sheet with a second spoon