Light Emmental Gougères

📝 Ingredients

• 100 ml semi-skimmed milk
• 50 ml water
• 40 g unsalted butter
• 90 g plain flour
• 3 eggs
• 80 g grated Emmental (60 g for the dough, 20 g for the top)
• ½ tsp salt
• Black pepper, nutmeg

🍴 Utensils

• Saucepan
• Wooden spatula
• Mixing bowl
• Piping bag or freezer bag
• Baking tray + baking paper
• Bowl

📖 Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C conventional (not fan): choux puffs rise more evenly than with a fan. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Beat the eggs in a bowl; they will be added a little at a time.
2. Put the milk, water, diced butter and salt in a saucepan. Heat over a medium heat until the butter has completely melted, then bring to a rolling boil: the butter must melt before the liquid boils.
3. Off the heat, tip in the flour all at once and stir vigorously with a spatula until you have a smooth ball of dough. Return to a medium heat and dry out for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring, until a thin film forms on the bottom of the pan.
4. Transfer the dough to a mixing bowl and spread it against the sides for 3 minutes to let it cool slightly. Beat in the eggs in 4 additions, mixing vigorously after each one until the dough is smooth again before adding more. Pour in the last quarter little by little.
5. The dough is ready when it is glossy and falls from the spatula in a thick ribbon that forms a point: if there's a little egg left over, keep it for finishing. Then fold in 60 g of the Emmental, a pinch of nutmeg and a grind of pepper, without overworking the dough.
6. Fill the piping bag, or a freezer bag with one corner snipped off, and pipe 3 cm balls in staggered rows on the tray, about 3 cm apart. Smooth the tips with a finger dipped in the leftover egg (or in water) and sprinkle with the remaining 20 g of Emmental.
7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes without ever opening the oven door, or the gougères will collapse. They are done when well puffed, golden and light when you lift them.
8. Turn off the oven and leave the gougères inside for 5 minutes with the door ajar so they dry out and stay puffed. Serve warm as an aperitif, about 7 per person.