Parmesan Gougeres

So, I was looking for something to make as a birthday treat for someone who is not a fan of sweets - I know, what the Hell, right? It had to be savoury, but still feel decadant. What better than little choux pastry buns? They're simple, buttery and light, and are a great accompaniment to a birthday cocktail. Best of all, a small amount yeilds a pretty large batch, with these measurements making about thirty little bitesized buns. Winner! - Pip

Ingredients

•  125ml water
• 40g butter
• 1/2 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
• 2 tbsp fresh minced chive
• 2 large eggs
• 100g grated vegetarian parmesan
• 70g flour

Equipment

• Pan
• Baking sheet
• Piping bag

Oven Temperature

• Gas mark 7/425f/220c and then gas mark 5/375f/190c 

Method

• Get all your ingredients prepared - seriously. You have to work quickly once everything is on the go, so do yourself a favour and have it all chopped, grated, and ready to go. 
• Preheat your oven to gas mark 7 and line a sheet pan with greaseproof paper. 
• Put the butter, water and nutmeg into a pan and heat gently until the butter is completely melted.
• Drop in all the flour and fold vigorously until a ball is formed that pulls cleanly away from the sides of the pan. Leave this to rest for a couple of minutes so that it has a chance to cool slightly.

•  Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, mixing fast so that they don't cook. Whisk until the texture is smooth and consistent.
• Add 3/4 of the cheese and chives and fold it into the pastry mix.
• Spoon the mix into a piping bag with a plain tip and pipe it into little mounds about the size of a ten pence piece, spacing them evenly.
• Sprinkle with the cheese you held back and put in the oven.
• After ten minutes baking at gas mark 7, turn down to gas mark 5 and leave for another twenty minutes, until they are golden brown and puffy.

Verdict

I was seriously impressed by how these turned out. I'd never made choux pastry before, only hearing horror stories about how it was notoriously tricky, but I definitely found that, by having everything prepared and to hand, I felt a lot more in control. These are best served fresh from the oven, but you can definitely make them ahead of time and just pop them back in the oven for a couple of minutes to warm through.