COURTESY JANICE YAP Writer Janice Yap prepared Gougeres in the La Varenne cooking school's kitchen during her visit to France in June.

Gougeres are cheesy,
crispy puffs

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By Janice Yap
Special to the Star-Bulletin

Tour de France

One delicious and easy recipe that we prepared at the La Varenne cooking school in Burgundy was a cheese puff called Gougeres, which originated in the French town of Yonne.

It was crispy, airy and offered a range of taste possibilities just by changing the type of cheese used. This recipe could be either sweet or savory. We added chopped prunes in one batch.

The puffs were served for lunch with white asparagus and a twice-baked spinach soufflé made of freshly picked spinach from the garden.

You will need a piping bag with 1/2-inch plain tube to properly form the dough.

Cheese Puffs

"My Chateau Kitchen," by Anne Willan (Cassell & Co., London)
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
3/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese
>> Glaze:
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a baking sheet. Sift flour onto a piece of paper.

In a small saucepan, heat water, butter and salt until butter is melted, then bring to a boil. Immediately remove pan from heat. Add flour all at once and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until mixture is smooth and pulls away from sides of pan to from a ball, 30 to 60 seconds. Beat mixture over low heat 30 to 60 seconds more to dry it.

Whisk 1 egg; set aside. Beat remaining 3 eggs into the dough 1 at a time, using a wooden spoon or an electric mixer. Beat thoroughly after each addition. Beat in enough of the fourth reserved egg so the dough is shiny and just falls from the spoon; you may not need all of the last egg. Beat in cheese.

Place dough in pastry bag and pipe 12 mounds about 2 inches in diameter onto baking sheet.

To make glaze: Beat egg with salt. Brush puffs with glaze.

Bake until puffed and golden, 25 to 30 minutes. (To test, remove 1 puff and cool 1 minute. If it remains crisp on the outside, it is done. If not, replace and bake 5 to 10 minutes longer.)

Cool puffs slightly, then remove from baking sheet and serve warm. They will be slightly soft in the center. Makes 12.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per puff: 130 calories, 9 g total fat, 5 g saturated fat, 110 mg cholesterol, 280 mg sodium, 6 g carbohydrate, 5.5 g protein.*

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