Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Gougères
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the dough
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Place butter, 1/4 cup milk, water, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper in a 2-quart saucepan and heat over medium heat.
Bring to a boil, remove from heat, and add flour and baking powder. Stir well with a wooden spoon and return to heat.
Cook until dough pulls away from sides of pan and forms a ball.
Transfer dough to a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and, setting the mixer on low, mix until the dough is just warm, about 2 minutes.
Enrich and shape
Add eggs, one at a time, and add 1/2 cup cheese. Beat the mixture until uniformly smooth and shiny, about 12 minutes.
Place dough into a pastry bag fitted with a #3 tip. Pipe gougères into small mounds on the baking sheets, about 1 inch round.
Space the gougères evenly about 1/2 inch apart, making about 18 per sheet.
Bake and serve
Brush tops with the remaining 2 tablespoons milk and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and salt. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until gougères turn golden brown.
Remove from oven and serve warm.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Cheese | 1 oz (28g) cheddar | 113 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Milk + cheesetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,426 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Provide structure and lift as they set in the baked puffs.
- All-purpose flour
- Starch gelatinizes with the butter and water to form the choux dough's body.
- Gruyère cheese
- Adds savory flavor and melts into the puffs, aiding browning.
- Unsalted butter
- Adds fat for richness and tenderness in the choux dough.
- Whole milk
- Adds moisture and richness and helps the tops brown.
The step that matters
Beat the dough until smooth and shiny before piping. Eggs must be fully incorporated so the dough is smooth and elastic enough to trap steam and rise into hollow puffs. Dough that is too stiff or broken will bake dense and flat.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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