We have friends who live in Auxerre, the beautiful ancient capital of Burgundy in France, and of course we love to visit when we can.
A great pleasure is to take my morning walk along the Canal du Nivernais then into town to buy gougère for breakfast.
These fabulously airy, cheesy puffs of choux pastry are a speciality of Burgundy and I’ll happily admit to succumbing to their delicious aroma by knocking one off before innocently arriving home with a basket-full.
A good gougère is a thing of beauty. The outside is crisp and golden and the inside airy, yet cheesy, creamy and rich with their gruyère or comté addition.
I like to make tiny versions to serve with drinks and have devised a gluten-free version which has been given the thumbs up.
Gougère are really easy to make. They can be prepared ahead, the raw choux pastry piped or spooned onto trays and refrigerated overnight then brought back to room temperature before baking.
They can also be baked ahead and reheated just before serving.
What are you waiting for!
Rosie
GOUGÈRE
Makes 45-50 mini gougère
90 gm gruyère or comté cheese, grated
50 gm butter
100 ml milk
25 ml water
Salt and pepper
75 gm corn flour
1 pinch nutmeg, freshly grated
3 eggs
Preheat oven to 250°C. Line two trays with baking paper. Place two additional trays in the oven to preheat.
In a small saucepan, bring butter, milk, water and salt and pepper to the boil. Immediately add the flour and nutmeg. Turn stove to low and stir until the mixture comes together and starts to pull away from the sides of the pan.
Transfer to a food processor. Allow to cool for 2 or 3 minutes. With blade running, add the eggs and process until smooth. Add all but 2 tablespoons of the cheese and pulse to combine.
Pipe or spoon small spoonfuls of the mixture onto the prepared baking trays and sprinkle tops with remaining cheese.
Place the trays in the oven on top of the preheated trays. This ensures well-cooked bottoms. Reduce temperature to 230°C and cook 15 minutes or until golden brown.
If not serving immediately, cool on a rack and reheat in the oven just prior to serving.
TIP: The gougère mixture can be made the day before, piped or spooned onto trays, stored in the fridge and brought back to room temperature before baking.