Pistachio Chocolate Choux Buns Recipe

Pistachio chocolate choux buns are crisp choux pastry shells filled with pistachio pastry cream and dipped in dark chocolate glaze. The recipe makes 12 buns and takes about 2 hours 15 minutes, most of it waiting for the cream to chill.

Two things decide whether the shells puff: add the flour off the heat all at once, and keep the oven door shut for the first 20 minutes. The pastry cream gets ½ cup of pistachio paste, so it tastes of pistachio first and sugar second.

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What Goes Into 12 Pistachio Choux Buns

• Choux pastry: ½ cup water, ½ cup whole milk, ½ cup (113g) butter, 1 tbsp sugar, ¼ tsp salt, 1 cup (125g) flour, 4 large eggs
• Pistachio pastry cream: 2 cups whole milk, 4 egg yolks, ½ cup sugar, ¼ cup cornstarch, ½ cup (120g) pistachio paste, 2 tbsp butter, ½ tsp vanilla
• Chocolate glaze: 150g dark chocolate (about 70%), 3 tbsp heavy cream, 1 tbsp butter
• Oven: 400°F (200°C), 25 to 30 minutes
• Time: 45 minutes prep, 30 minutes baking, 1 hour chilling
• Topping: chopped roasted pistachios, a whole pistachio per bun, gold dust if you like

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Cooking the Choux Dough Before the Eggs Go In

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a tray with parchment. Put the water, milk, butter, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan and bring it to a full boil over medium heat. The butter should be completely melted by the time it boils, so cut it into pieces first.

Take the pan off the heat and tip in all the flour at once. Stir hard. It looks lumpy and gluey for a few seconds, then pulls into a dough. Put the pan back on medium heat and keep stirring for about 2 minutes, until the dough comes away from the sides as one smooth ball and leaves a thin film on the bottom of the pan. That drying step is what lets the dough take 4 eggs and still hold its shape.

Beating in the 4 Eggs

Let the dough cool for 5 minutes, or the eggs start to cook as they hit it. Then beat in the eggs one at a time with a hand or stand mixer, mixing fully before the next. The dough looks split after each egg and comes back together as you keep beating.

After the fourth egg, lift the beater. The dough should be glossy and thick, and fall away slowly to leave a V shaped point hanging from the edge. If it slumps off like pancake batter, it is too loose and the buns will spread flat.

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Piping 2 Inch Choux Rounds and Baking Without Peeking

Spoon the dough into a piping bag with a large round tip. Hold the bag straight up just above the tray and pipe 2 inch rounds, at least 2 inches apart, since they roughly double. Wet a fingertip and press down any peaks so they do not burn.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes and do not open the oven during the first 20. The steam inside is what lifts the shells, and a rush of cool air makes them sink. They are done when they are deep golden all over, feel light, and sound hollow when you tap the base. Cool them completely on a wire rack so the steam escapes and the inside stays dry.

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Pistachio Paste, Pistachio Butter or Sweet Pistachio Spread?

Pistachio paste is pistachios ground until completely smooth, sometimes with a little sugar. It is what this pastry cream is built for: ½ cup (120g) gives a strong flavor and a soft green color without thinning the cream.

Pistachio butter is close, but jars tend to be coarser and the oil often separates, so stir it very well before measuring. You can make it yourself with this homemade pistachio butter. Sweet pistachio cream spreads are a different product, with sugar and oil added. If that is what you have, cut the sugar in the pastry cream and taste before chilling. Brands vary a lot in sweetness, so taste whichever one you use.

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Cooking the Pistachio Pastry Cream Until It Bubbles

Whisk the 4 yolks, sugar and cornstarch in a bowl until smooth and pale. Bring the 2 cups of milk to a simmer, then pour it into the yolks in a thin stream while you whisk, so the eggs warm up gently instead of scrambling.

Pour everything back into the saucepan and whisk over medium heat until the cream thickens and starts to bubble. Let it bubble for a moment. Cornstarch only thickens fully near the boil, and an undercooked cream turns runny in the fridge. Take it off the heat and stir in the butter, pistachio paste and vanilla. Press plastic wrap onto the surface and chill for about an hour, until fully cold. Cold cream pipes cleanly and does not soak the shells.

If you would rather start from a plain base, the vanilla pastry cream uses the same method.

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Filling the Shells Through the Base

Poke a small hole in the bottom of each bun with a knife tip or a small piping tip. Whisk the cold pastry cream until smooth again, put it in a piping bag, and pipe into each shell until it feels slightly heavy in your hand. Stop when a little cream shows at the hole. Too much and the shell can split along the side.

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Dark Chocolate Glaze With 150g Chocolate and 3 Tablespoons Cream

Chop the chocolate finely. Heat the cream until it just simmers, pour it over the chocolate and leave it for 2 minutes, then stir until smooth and add the butter for shine. With so little cream, this glaze is thick on purpose. It clings to the top of the bun and sets firm instead of sliding down the sides.

Dip while the glaze is still warm and flows like thick honey. Push the top of each bun in, give it a small twist, and lift it straight up so the excess drips back. If the glaze stiffens in the bowl, warm it in 5 second bursts in the microwave and stir.

Set the buns on a rack. While the glaze is still soft, add a swirl of leftover pastry cream, some chopped pistachios and one whole pistachio in the middle. A spoonful of pistachio cream works for the swirl too. The same glaze idea, with more cream, is behind this chocolate ganache.

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Flat, Soggy or Cracked: Choux Bun Fixes

• Shells spread flat: the dough was too loose, usually because the flour paste was not dried for the full 2 minutes or the eggs were very large. Do the V test before piping.
• Puffed, then sank: the oven was opened too early or the shells came out pale. Bake until deep golden and hollow sounding.
• Shells went soft: they were filled too early or stored in the fridge once filled. Re-crisp unfilled shells at 350°F (175°C) for 5 minutes, then cool.
• Pastry cream is runny: it did not reach a bubble on the stove. Cook it until it bubbles next time.
• Glaze is dull or streaky: it was too cool when you dipped. Warm it briefly and stir before the next bun.

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What to Make the Day Before

Choux buns are at their best on the day you fill them. You can bake the shells a day ahead and keep them unfilled in an airtight container at room temperature, and make the pastry cream the day before and keep it in the fridge. Fill and glaze close to serving.

Avoid refrigerating filled buns unless you have to. The shells pull moisture from the cream and lose their crunch within a few hours.

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Chocolate Choux Bun Questions

What is the difference between choux buns, cream puffs and profiteroles?

They are all made from the same choux pastry. Cream puffs and choux buns are usually larger and filled with pastry cream or whipped cream, while profiteroles are smaller and often served with chocolate sauce. Piped long, the same dough becomes chocolate eclairs.

Can I freeze the choux shells?

Yes. Freeze baked, unfilled shells in a sealed bag for up to 1 month, then re-crisp them at 350°F (175°C) for about 5 minutes and cool before filling.

How long before serving can I fill them?

Up to about 2 hours. After that the shells start to soften from the cream inside.

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Pin these to your pistachio board for the next time you want a project bake. For a bigger showpiece with the same flavors, try the pistachio chocolate eclair towers, or keep it simpler with pistachio cannoli or a chocolate pistachio tart.