Friday, November 16, 2012

French Fridays with Dorie - Goat-Cheese Mini Gougères


Today the recipe for the French Fridays with Dorie group are Goat-Cheese Mini Puffs or Gougères. An elegant, delicious and uncomplicated savory pastry.




These Gougères or “Windbeutel” (which can be loosely translated as “wind bags”) are very popular around here. I have prepared many different versions, my favorite savory version has grated Parmigiano Reggiano in the batter itself. But we also love them for dessert, filled with a bit of softly whipped cream. For us, Profiteroles are the ultimate impressive dessert. When I made Dorie´s recipe and tasted the Gougères that were light as air, I was delighted because this recipe is definitely versatile enough that it can be adapted to a somewhat sweeter version as well as to a savory version with various fillings.




For these Gougères you start out by preparing a basic Pâte à Choux, a Cream Puff Dough. A very light, twice-cooked pastry usually used for sweets and buns. It is made with flour, salt, butter, eggs, milk and a little sugar (if it is being used for a sweet version). As mentioned, choux pastry can be used to make profiteroles, éclairs and choux puffs and is also the basis of the dramatic dessert Gâteau St Honoré.




Choux pastry has a reputation for being somewhat difficult to master, but in fact it is no bother once you know the proper technique. A pre-heated hot oven is essential to raise and set the choux and if you take it out of the oven before it is cooked thoroughly, which means “firm to the touch”,  it will most certainly collapse. Any filling, sweet or savory,  should not be added until the last possible moment because it will make the choux pastry sag. I did choose to serve most of my goat-cheese filling “on the side”, so everyone could fill or not fill his/her Gougères as much or as little as they wanted.




I filled a pastry bag fitted with a large star nozzle to pipe the choux pastry onto parchment lined baking sheets to give the Gougères a bit of a fancy look. I baked them for about twenty minutes, let them rest and cool on the baking sheet while preparing the filling made of goat cheese (I used Picandou from France), cream cheese (I used Philadelphia cream cheese) and herbs (I used finely chopped Italian parsley), some freshly ground black pepper and some fine sea salt.




In conclusion, these delicious Goat-Cheese Mini Gougères make a great appetizer or savory alternative to your afternoon tea or coffee cake. They are an elegant treat that the whole family can enjoy.




To see how the other members of the French Fridays with Dorie group prepared these delicious little morsels, please click here.









29 comments:

  1. Beautiful puffs. They came out perfectly. I think the gougeres are still my favorite recipe using this dough, but these were pretty darn tasty as well.

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    1. Rose, thanks so much - this was truly an enjoyable recipe, I agree!

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  2. Beautifully done, Andrea! They came out absolutely perfect and look so lovely on your platter. I plan on serving them for our Thanksgiving next week!

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    1. Kathy, serving the Mini Goat Cheese Puffs for Thanksgiving dinner sounds perfect!

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  3. LOL - I think I like the term "windbags" better than puffs.

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    1. So many different names for one and the same thing - different languages are just wonderful!

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  4. I like the German windbag better than the English cream puff! Your gougeres look delicious. I like how you offered the filling for everyone to do it themselves. That makes me think what a nice idea it would be to offer a variety of fillings for people to choose from.

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    1. Betsy, yes, the German "Windbeutel" ("windbags") sounds fitting and funny! But in fact, that is exactly what they are - not only delicious but also light as air.

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  5. That last picture is a wow-ser. I just had to pin it. Like everyone else, I like the German name for this - windbags. Too funny. It is probably a good idea, when you're trying to please the palates of all ages, to put the cheese mixture on the side. Yours looked so pretty. Profiteroles are my favorite dessert as it was Michael's. Well, to be honest, the last dessert he always was served was always his favorite. He was fickle. By the way, completely off track. Ms.Merkel is holding her own with Mr. Putin. I don't know what they are talking about but she is irritating him!!!!!

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    1. Mary, thanks so much (also for pinning my pic) - you know, it is funny with these politicians, Frau Merkel speaks fluent Russian and Herr Putin speaks fluent German but they still do not seem to understand each other.

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  6. The puffs look beautiful and delicious. I love your plates.

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    1. Thanks, Geraldine, puffs were fun to make, and plate is one of my most treasured ones.

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  7. Wow did your little puffs turn out perfectly !! Looks like a magazine spread :) I also enjoyed all that you shared about names, history and such-- as well as your making savory ones before with Parmigiano Reggiano mixed right into the batter. That sounds sublime and I will have to try it. My kids adore that cheese. And your plate is just adorable - LOVE. Happy Thanksgiving !

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    1. Thanks, Tricia, yes, these wonderful baked morsels have many different names, I can never decide which one to use - I like them all. And this "French design" plate is one of my absolute favorites from my collection. It seems that I can never own enough vintage cake pans, plates or coffee cups, sigh!

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  8. Picture perfect, my friend!!!! As always, you rocked this recipe!!!

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    1. Liz, thanks so much for the lovley comment - this was such a fun recipe and I love it whole family enjoys Dorie´s recipes.

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  9. I'd forgotten all about these. I used to make them and fill them with chocolate pudding for my husband and kids. They loved them! I must say that mine didn't turn out quite as lovely as these. :)

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    1. Kristin, cream puffs with chocolate pudding sound wonderful - I am sure that your whole family adored them for dessert!

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  10. The puffs, the plate, the filling!!! Andrea you are awesome!! I'm coming to your place for cooking lessons asap!!!

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    1. Maria, anytime you are in the neighbourhood, you are quite welcome to drop by for some lunch, dinner or cookies and cake - I am not so sure that you need some cooking lessons from me but thanks very much for the lovely comment!

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  11. Hehehe, Andrea, that gooseherd on the plate looks like he cannot believe his luck to have that light delicious choux puff all to himself. I bet he doesn't share it with his flock! Great photos. I'm feeling rather peckish all of a sudden :)

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    1. Hester, what a lovely comment - you know that I actually had to look up a word in the dictionary - Ha! - I love to learn, I had never heard the word "peckish" before, it does sound awfully cute and I am looking forward to using it in the future!

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  12. These look delicious. I've made gougeres from a much easier recipe by the Barefoot Contessa. They were very good - but I'll bet yours were amazing

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    1. Beth, thanks so much - the recipe for these Gougères wasn´t complicated at all. I have requests for a repeat performance, so I will happily oblige in the near future.

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  13. I love your ribbed puffs Andrea! Certainly a recipe to help in any celebration. The drawing in the plate is so perfect for your wonderful pastries!

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    1. Thank you, Paula! These Gougères always seem to be a hit, whether you prepare a savory or a sweet version, so you are absolutely right, they are just perfect for any kind of celebration!

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  14. Your puffs came out beautifully - I really liked the platter you used to display them on. Very fun :-)

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    1. Cher, thanks so much - as part of my collection, this plate is kind of dear to my heart.

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  15. Your puffs are absolutely gorgeous the way you piped them, Andrea! I can't wait to make these.

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