I was shopping at Sur la Table the other day when I overheard a saleswoman trying to help a young French woman find a specific type of sugar for a recipe she wanted to make. There was a little bit of a communication problem taking place and as I listened in (I happened to be standing next to them and also looking at baking products, not simply trying to eavesdrop!) I realized what the girl was after: pearl sugar. It turned out that she wanted to make a batch of chouxquettes and needed the coarse sugar to lend them a crunchy exterior. I politely suggested the pearl sugar, and the saleswoman was able to find her a box and send her on her way – and I was left with a desire to head home and make a batch of chouquettes myself!
Chouquettes are cream puffs that have been rolled in pearl sugar before baking to give them a crisp, crunchy exterior. They’re not filled with cream of any kind, unlike regular cream puffs; they simply start out with the same choux pastry that cream puffs do. I didn’t see them when I was in Paris last year, but I first heard about them a few years ago when David Lebovitz mentioned making a batch of the popular French snack.
Choux pastry is not difficult to make and you can whip these treats up in just a few minutes at home, although you will have to wait a bit as they bake to indulge yourself in them. They’re light and eggy, with a lovely sweet crunch to them. They are absolutely at their best when they are fresh out of the oven. Use pearl sugar for the best sugary crunch and to get the same speckled look that these have. If you don’t have any and can’t find it, use another coarse sugar, or even some crushed sugar cubes, and generously sprinkle some on before baking.
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