Gougères (traditional cheese puffs)

Whether you are going to a Michelin star restaurant or at a friend’s house in France, you will most likely be served gougères to accompany your aperitif drinks (drinks served before a meal). Gougères are traditional cheese puffs made with either Emmenthal, Comté or Gruyère cheese. These little luxuries are perfect with champagne or wine (they are often served during wine-tastings) – and so chic if you have them home-made. Originally from Burgundy, these puffs were invented in the 17th century in a patisserie called ‘Le ramequin de Bourgogne’. So next time you have guests, why don’t you dazzle them with these golden puffs.

Ingredients (makes about 40)

250 ml/ 1 cup water
100 g/ 3.5 ounce salted butter
150 g/ 1 1/4 cups plain flour
180 g/ 2 cups grated Emmenthal or Gruyère cheese
4 eggs
A dash of ground nutmeg
1 egg yolk for glazing
A dash of salt and pepper

Pre-heat the over 180° celcius.

In a saucepan, bring the water and butter to a boil. Add the flour, stirring very fast and take immediately off the heat. By now the batter will be roughly in the form of a soft ball. Add the eggs, one by one and stir. It’s important to add the eggs slowly – don’t worry if it looks too thick, just continue to stir as it will eventually become a smooth batter. Finally add the cheese, salt & pepper and stir to a good dewy batter.

Prepare a baking tray line with parchment paper. You have two choices for preparing the gougères: either put the dough in a pastry bag with a standard tip and pipe walnut sized mounds, or spoon and shape with the help of two teaspoons and evenly shaped ball (again like the size of a walnut). Glaze with the egg yolk for a golden baked finish. Sprinkle the puffs lightly with grated cheese.

Leave an adequate space between each gougères and bake for 25 minutes approx or until puffy and golden. Serve immediately.

ps: You can prepare these in advance and either refrigerate or freeze them. Just take them out again before serving and heat in a high-heat oven for 5-7 minutes.

33 thoughts on “Gougères (traditional cheese puffs)

  1. these Gougères are absolutely stunning! i made them a while ago, to try something new out, and i am planning to serve them at our halloween dinner, and my mothers birthday! so, well done! 🙂
    your blog is also very nice, it must be a beautiful life, you have there! enjoy it, and keep blogging such nice rezepies 🙂

  2. Is there any chance you could post the American measurements? I know I should get a scale and do things properly but until then . . .

  3. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe Mimi! I just made these and absolutely adore them – I don’t know why I haven’t made them before…

    These will certainly be making regular appearances at my table in the future.

    Katrina
    xx

  4. Could you please tell me when to add the nutmeg? Thank you so very much for the beautiful photos and recipes.

        1. Hi Marianne! Yes, I meant the water! I made these a few days ago for my mother-in-law – she loved them. They are incredibly easy to make and delicious. So rewarding! I hope you will enjoy them! Mimix

  5. I was looking for a recipe for crab and cheese puffs….Do you think it would work to add crab to the dough? Any tips? Thank you! LOVE your blog. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. recipes and pics!

  6. Hi, is there any way to serve them not right from the oven – like bake them in the morning and serve them in the afternoon in the picnic? Or am I overdoing it? Thanks a lot.

  7. Gorgeous! Gruyère is one of my favourite cheeses and, for me, gougères are a wonderful way to enjoy its complex savoury flavour in another form, especially with Champagne. Gruyère stays tender after baking and,even though there is a high proportion of cheese in the recipe, doesn’t create pools of oil either. I fell in love with these before they even came out of the oven! Thank you for sharing these delicious treats and your beautiful surroundings.

    1. You’re welcome Lindsey, I make these little puffs ever so often and they never fail to please. They are especially convenient when I’ve run out of time and the guest arrive sooner than I hoped. I have yet to meet a crowd that could not be distracted by Gougères and Champagne. Mimi x

  8. J’ai découvert votre blog ce matin et je suis très interessée par vos recettes . le probleme est qu’elles sont toutes en anglais….. il n’y aura pas une version française par hasard ?? Merci pour votre réponse et bravo pour votre blog. Les photos sont magnifiques…

  9. OMG these came out so well, my husband was in raptures! My choux style pastry never works normally! Which leads me to a question …. if you omit the gruyere cheese, do you have a basic choux pastry that you can make puffs to ice with choc and fill with cream?? Thanks so much!

  10. Dear Mimi, would this work if chilling the dough/choux overnight you think? I read something like that somewhere, and want to serve these for an very early lunch ..
    Thanks for a wonderful wonderful blog!!

  11. We’ve made your gougere recipe twice now, and both times it has been a hit! We made it once with gruyere and the second time with comte, both delicious (without the nutmeg). I admittedly was skeptical at first since I’m not a huge fan of these in restaurants (flavor was always too burned cheese-y or something), but this recipe, baked and served fresh from the oven, has converted me into a fan! Thank you.

  12. I don’t see where to add the “Dash of Nutmeg”? Also, do you think these will turn out good, if I half the receipe to make 20 instead of 40?

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