French · Burgundy · snack

Gougères Bourguignonnes

Gougères Bourguignonnes reads richness 7.1, umami 6.8 and nutty 5.1 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a French · Burgundy snack, about 54 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 7.5 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 1.9 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 0.0 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 0.9 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 8.6 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 2.0 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Richness 7.1 · Umami 6.8 · Nutty 5.1 · Salinity 4.4 · Funk & Ferment 2.5 · Warm Spice 2.0 · Sweetness 1.9 · Bitterness 0.9 · Heat 0.8

What's in it (10)

• water — 250 g
• unsalted butter — 100 g
• all-purpose flour — 150 g
• eggs — 200 g
• salt — 5 g
• freshly ground white pepper — 1 g
• freshly grated nutmeg — 1 g
• gruyere — 120 g
• gruyere — 30 g
• regular milk — 15 g

Time & effort: about 54 min (49 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 175.2 kcal, 10.5 g protein, 17.5 g fat, 14.6 g carbs

Dietary: Vegetarian · Contains dairy · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (9 steps)

1. In the cellars of Chablis and the Côte these are handed round warm while the wine is being tasted, because a mouthful of warm cheese pastry resets the palate between glasses. They are also the best possible way to learn choux paste, since there is no filling to hide behind.
2. Bring the water, butter and salt to a full rolling boil in a heavy saucepan. Take it off the heat, tip in all the flour at once and beat hard with a wooden spoon until it comes together in a smooth ball.
3. Put it back over medium heat and keep beating for 2 to 3 minutes to dry the paste. You are looking for two signs: a thin film forming on the base of the pan, and the paste pulling cleanly away from the sides so a spoon drawn through leaves a track that holds. A wet panade makes flat, sad gougères, and this is where almost every failure begins.
4. Take it off the heat and let it cool for 5 minutes, to about 60°C, before the eggs go in. Any hotter and the eggs scramble.
5. Beat in three eggs one at a time, working each in completely before the next. Then beat the fourth egg in a cup and add it in fractions, stopping when the paste is right rather than when the egg is gone. Correct choux falls from the lifted spoon in a slow, heavy V and the ribbon closes over within a couple of seconds. Too stiff and it will not rise; too slack and it spreads.
6. Fold in the grated Comté, the pepper and the nutmeg. Pipe or spoon walnut-sized mounds onto a lined tray, 5 cm apart. Beat the last egg with the milk and brush the tops, flattening any peaks with the brush — a peak burns before the body of the pastry is cooked. Scatter over the finely grated cheese.
7. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 20 minutes, then lower to 180°C (350°F) for 10 minutes more, until they are deep gold, feel light for their size and sound hollow. Do not open the oven for the first 15 minutes: the steam inside is what inflates them, and a draught will collapse the lot.
8. Pierce each one with a skewer as it comes out to let the steam escape, and eat them within the hour, warm, with cold Aligoté or Chablis.
9. Substitutions: Gruyère can stand in for the Comté.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Quiche Lorraine — French
• Soufflé au Fromage — French
• Galette de Sarrasin Complète — French · Brittany
• Three-Cheese Baked Mac and Cheese with Broccoli — American
• Cotoletta alla Petroniana — Italian · Emilia-Romagna

Keep reading: what richness, umami, nutty mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.