Cream Puffs to Gnocchi: Magical Pâte à Choux

A hands-on in-person cooking class. Alongside the tasting of baked goods, a seasonal salad will be served with wine or beer. This class is limited to 12 students. Review our registration and cancellation policies here.

One magical dough can create a delicious appetizer, a main course, and a dessert. Can't believe it? Join us for a class celebrating the versatility of the iconic pastry known as Pâte à Choux!

Pate a choux translates to cabbage paste, describing how it looks after baking. This sticky dough puffs up and transforms into a light, crispy pastry, twice its original size, with a hollow center perfect for sweet and savory fillings. 

First, you'll make gougères. These light-as-air gruyere cheese puffs are the perfect canvas for savory fillings (or solo snacking). Make them ahead of time and you'll have a delicious appetizer at the ready. For the main course, you'll make Parisienne gnocchi. They're like their Italian counterparts, except these cheesy herbed dumplings use pâte à choux dough instead of potatoes to make little pillows of deliciousness. You'll serve the dumplings with brown butter and even more cheese. Then we’ll make baked Churros and toss them in brown butter and cinnamon sugar. Finally, we'll work together to make a show-stopping dessert: the croquembouche. French for “crunch in the mouth,” a croquembouche is a cone-shaped tower of cream puffs (profiteroles) bound together by caramel.
Add this dynamo dough to your repertoire with this essential recipe!

MENU

Gougères

Gnocchi à la Parisienne with Brown Butter and Herbs

Baked Churros with cinnamon sugar

Croquembouche—Vanilla Custard-Filled Cream Puffs with Caramel

This menu contains the following common allergens: Egg, Dairy, Wheat. If you have allergies or dietary restrictions that concern your ability to cook along, please e-mail info@18reasons.org before purchasing a ticket.

Let’s Cook Together! 

Jennifer Altman began her culinary journey at age eight baking and cooking for her family and friends. After a career in science, she followed her passion and became a pastry chef. She is now a culinary instructor teaching both professional and amateur cooks nationally and internationally. She loves anything to do with food—cooking, gardening, recipe developing, teaching, and is particularly interested in food sustainability.