Choux pastry, also known as pâte à choux, is a light and airy pastry dough that is used to make things like cream puffs, éclairs, and profiteroles. It gets its signature puffiness from the steam that’s created when the water in the dough turns to steam in the oven. But with its buttery, rich taste, you may wonder – is choux pastry high in calories?
What is Choux Pastry?
Choux pastry consists of just a few simple ingredients: water, butter, flour, and eggs. To make the dough, the butter is melted in water and the mixture is brought to a boil. Next, the flour is stirred in to form a dough that pulls away from the sides of the pan. After cooling slightly, eggs are beaten in one at a time to give the dough structure.
The high moisture content in the dough creates steam when baked, causing the pastry to puff up. The eggs coagulate to set the structure of the pastry. The result is a hollow pastry shell that can be filled with sweet or savory ingredients like cream, custard, cheese or meat.
Some key things that affect the nutrition of choux pastry include:
– Butter – Provides fat and flavor, but also adds calories. Using less butter would reduce calories.
– Flour – Traditionally choux pastry is made with all-purpose flour or a combination of all-purpose and cake flour. Whole wheat or almond flour could be used to increase nutrients.
– Eggs – Important for structure and richness. Uses minimal added sugar.
– Fillings – The fillings you choose impact calories more than the actual pastry. Pick light options like whipped cream vs custard.
So in terms of ingredients, choux pastry has the basics of butter, flour and eggs. But it’s the fillings you choose that can really determine how many calories are in a final pastry.
Calories in Choux Pastry
To determine if choux pastry is high in calories, we need to look at the calorie count in a typical serving.
According to the USDA, 1 ounce of choux pastry dough contains:
– Calories: 94
– Fat: 6g
– Carbs: 10g
– Protein: 2g
The high fat and calorie count comes from the butter. There is also a good amount of calories from the refined flour.
For comparison, here are the calories in 1 ounce of some other common pastry doughs:
– Puff pastry: 104 calories
– Phyllo dough: 55 calories
– Pie crust: 60 calories
So in terms of just the plain pastry dough, choux pastry is fairly high in calories compared to other doughs. The water content gives it more weight than lighter pastries like puff pastry, but the fat content still gives it a high calorie count.
However, keep in mind the filling also contributes calories. A typical serving size of a filled choux pastry is often larger than 1 ounce.
Calories in a Cream Puff
A single small cream puff made with choux pastry dough and filled with whipped cream is around 100-150 calories.
According to MyFitnessPal, a 2-inch cream puff contains:
– Calories: 133
– Fat: 7g
– Carbs: 15g
– Protein: 3g
So just doubling the serving size adds nearly 40 more calories. The light whipped cream filling adds minimal calories so most of these come from the pastry shell.
Calories in an Eclair
Eclairs are typically larger and filled with heavy custard as well as dipped in chocolate. Here are the nutrition facts for a typical eclair according to MyFitnessPal:
– Calories: 364
– Fat: 16g
– Carbs: 53g
– Protein: 6g
This significant jump in calories compared to a cream puff comes mainly from increased portion size and the richer, eggy custard filling. The chocolate topping also adds calories.
Calories in Profiteroles
Profiteroles are essentially cream puffs served as a dessert with chocolate sauce. Here is the nutrition info for 2 profiteroles according to MyFitnessPal:
– Calories: 392
– Fat: 21g
– Carbs: 45g
– Protein: 8g
Again, we see a big increase in calories mainly due to portion size. The chocolate sauce for dipping also significantly increases calories and fat.
How Choux Pastry Compares to Other Pastries
To better evaluate the calories in choux pastry, let’s compare it against some other popular pastries.
Here are the calories for a typical serving of other pastries:
| Pastry | Calories |
|---|---|
| Choux pastry cream puff (2-inch) | 133 |
| Croissant (2-ounces) | 187 |
| Cinnamon roll (2-inches) | 320 |
| Slice of apple pie (1/6 pie) | 327 |
| Glazed donut (1 donut) | 195 |
Based on these comparisons, a small choux pastry is fairly average in calories compared to other pastries. Items like cinnamon rolls, pie and donuts are significantly higher in calories.
However, larger choux pastries like eclairs that are filled and topped with chocolate can contain just as many calories as the highest-calorie pastries.
So portion size and fillings play a big role in the calorie count. But in general, the choux pastry dough itself contains fewer calories than items like cinnamon rolls and donuts made with yeasted dough.
Ways to Reduce Calories in Choux Pastry
If you’re looking to enjoy choux pastry but reduce the calories, here are some tips:
– Use less butter in the dough – Try cutting it back by a quarter or third.
– Fill with light whipped cream instead of heavy custard.
– Skip the chocolate dip or glaze.
– Opt for smaller sizes like mini cream puffs.
– Use a chocolate drizzle rather than coating the whole pastry.
– Choose fresh fruit as a filling instead of rich custard.
– Use low-fat milk instead of heavy cream in pastry fillings.
– Fill profiteroles with ice cream instead of topping with hot fudge.
– Substitute half the all-purpose flour with almond or whole wheat flour.
– Skip the extra chocolate sauce and enjoy profiteroles on their own.
With some simple tweaks like these, you can still enjoy the signature taste and texture of choux pastry in a lighter, more calorie-conscious way.
Healthier Choux Pastry Recipes
If you want a choux pastry treat but are limiting calories, here are some healthier recipes to try:
Mixed Berry Cream Puffs
Make single-serving cream puffs and fill them with light whipped cream and fresh mixed berries. You’ll get a serving of fruit along with the delicious pastry texture.
Lemon Cream Puffs
Fill your cream puffs with tangy lemon curd lightened up with Greek yogurt. It will satisfy your sweet tooth with fewer calories than heavy custard.
Strawberry Cheesecake Profiteroles
For a lighter take on profiteroles, fill choux puffs with reduced-fat ricotta cheese mixed with fresh strawberry sauce. Drizzle with chocolate for an indulgent touch.
Chicken and Cream Cheese Wontons
Skip the sweet fillings and use choux pastry to make savory appetizer wontons filled with chicken and herbs.Brush with egg wash instead of deep frying.
Vegetable Samosas
Make healthier samosas by baking choux pastry filled with spiced potatoes and peas. Serve with tangy yogurt dipping sauce.
Is Choux Pastry Healthy?
While choux pastry isn’t typically considered a “healthy” food, it can be enjoyed in moderation as part of an overall balanced diet.
Some factors that make it less healthy:
– High in calories, fat and refined carbs – This makes it hard to fit into a diet low in these nutrients. The butter and refined flour add calories without a lot of nutrition.
– Low in protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals – You won’t get much nutritional benefit from eating choux pastry. A piece of fruit would be a healthier choice.
– Often topped or filled with sugar and fat – Custard, chocolate and cream add taste but drive up the calories significantly.
Some things that make choux pastry better for you:
– Uses simple, whole food ingredients – Unlike some pastries, classic choux pastry just uses butter, flour, eggs and water without heavily processed ingredients.
– Only minimally sweetened – The dough itself contains no added sugar, unlike many other pastries.
– Can be filled with fruit – Fresh fruit fillings provide nutrients and make it healthier overall.
– Lower carb than some doughs – The moisture makes it lower in carbs than drier pastries like croissants.
Overall, while choux pastry won’t provide much nutritional benefit, it can be an occasional treat when balanced with more wholesome foods in your diet. Making some simple tweaks to fillings and toppings can also help lighten it up.
Conclusion
Choux pastry definitely falls on the higher end for calories compared to other doughs thanks to its high butter content. But the pastry shell itself is not off the charts high-calorie, especially when making smaller cream puff-style pastries.
Where it starts to get into dangerous territory is when you make large eclair or profiterole style pastries and then fill and top them with custard, chocolate and sauce. Then you are getting into the same calorie range as the highest-calorie cinnamon rolls and donuts.
Enjoying a choux pastry as an occasional treat is perfectly reasonable as part of a balanced diet. Just be mindful of portion sizes and accompanying fillings and toppings. Opting for lighter versions filled with fruit or low-fat fillings can satisfy your craving while avoiding going overboard on calories. With some small tweaks, you can still indulge in these elegant pastries without sabotaging your healthy diet.
