Lobster & Cheddar Gougères
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Gougères are basically French cheese puffs but with the added luxury of lobster and a fancy name. Add these to your list for holiday party appetizers. These are like luxury cheddar bay biscuits; they have similar flavors but are so light and airy.
Gougères are made from choux pastry dough (Pâte à Choux), the same dough used to make cream puffs or profiteroles but are made savory with the addition of cheese and in this recipe also lobster. This type of egg and water based dough is cooked twice and uses the steam trapped inside the dough to rise. When baking the Gougères they will often look done before they actually are; break one open to make sure that it is soft but not undercooked on the inside.
Lobster & Cheddar Gougères
Table of contents
Key Ingredients in This Recipe
- Lobster – While I use lobster tails, meat from whole lobsters can also be used in place of lobster tails in the recipe, I find lobster tails are the most readily accessible and their meat gives the gougeres the best texture.
- Cheddar Cheese – Always use sharp Cheddar when cooking. If you use mild or medium Cheddar the flavor will cook out and the recipe will be lacking in that cheesy flavor.
- Flour – The flour is added to the milk, water and butter mixture and cooked within the pot before it’s added to the mixer to add the eggs. Cooking it alters the gluten structures so it’s less elastic.
How to Make Lobster and Cheddar Gougères
Step 1: Heat milk and water base.
Position the racks in the upper and lower third of the oven. Heat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat baking mats.
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat bring the milk, water, butter and salt to a rapid boil.
Step 2: Add flour and cook.
Add the flour, lower the heat to medium-low and immediately stir with a wooden spoon while the dough comes together.
Step 3: Dry the dough out.
Continue to cook, stirring constantly, to dry out the dough, until the dough becomes smooth ball that easily pulls away from the sides of the pan, an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
Step 4: Add eggs.
Add the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Turn the speed to low and add the eggs in one at a time, beating well after each addition. Once all the eggs have been added, the dough will be shiny, thick and fall from a spoon.
Step 5: Add fillings.
Add the cheese, cayenne and lobster meat and beat to combine.
Step 6: Drop choux pastry onto baking sheet.
Drop the choux pastry dough in rounded tablespoons onto the lined baking sheets about two inches apart.
Step 7: Bake the gougeres.
Brush each with the egg wash mixture then bake for 15 minutes. Rotate the pans and continue to bake until the gougères are crisp on the outside and slightly soft on the inside, about an additional 15 minutes.
Step 8: Garnish with chives.
Top with chives and serve warm. The gougères can be made ahead of time, frozen and reheated in the oven.
Tips and Tricks for This Recipe
Tips for the best Gougères
- Once the flour is added to the choux dough in the pan it’s important to remove it from heat so it cools slightly before the eggs are added.
- A stand mixer is the best way to throughly and quickly mix eggs into the dough.
- To test the consistency of your choux pastry dough before adding the fillings, it should pass the string test. Hold a bit of dough between your thumb and index finger and slowly pull them apart. If a thin string forms between the pieces of dough then its a good consistency to add the remaining ingredients and bake.
Swaps and substitutions
- If you have a shellfish allergy the lobster can be omitted.
- The Cheddar cheese can be swapped for another semi-hard or hard cheese like gruyère or comté.
- For a cleaner presentation, rather than dropping the choux dough in tablespoons, add the dough to a piping bag and pipe the dough onto the lined baking sheet.
- Other herbs can be added to the dough like chives, fresh thyme or rosemary.
Other Recipes to Try
If you enjoy this lobster and Cheddar gougère recipe, I recommend checking out some of these:
Lobster & Cheddar Gougères
Ingredients:
- ½ cup whole milk
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup unsalted butter, (8 tablespoons), cut into ½” pieces
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
- ½ cup chopped, cooked lobster meat
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
- 1 egg, beaten with ½ teaspoon salt, for brushing
- 1 teaspoon chopped chives, for serving
Instructions:
- Position the racks in the upper and lower third of the oven. Heat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat baking mats.
- In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat bring the milk, water, butter and salt to a rapid boil.
- Add the flour, lower the heat to medium-low and immediately stir with a wooden spoon while the dough comes together.
- Continue to cook, stirring constantly, to dry out the dough, until the dough becomes smooth ball that easily pulls away from the sides of the pan, an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Add the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Turn the speed to low and add the eggs in one at a time, beating well after each addition. Once all the eggs have been added, the dough will be shiny, thick and fall from a spoon.
- Add the cheese, cayenne and lobster meat and beat to combine.
- Drop the choux pastry dough in rounded tablespoons onto the baking sheets two inches apart.
- Brush each with the egg wash mixture then bake for 15 minutes. Rotate the pans and continue to bake until the gougères are crisp on the outside and slightly soft on the inside, about an additional 15 minutes.
- Top with chives and serve warm. The gougères can be made ahead of time, frozen and reheated in the oven.
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Choux pastry base recipe adapted from Anne Willan’s in “Country Cooking in France”.
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These look amazing!