Name: Comté gougères
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: Makes 24
Ingredients: 8 eggs; 100ml double cream; 200g comté grated; 60g parmesan grated; 125g comté grated; 50g unsalted butter; 100ml whole milk; 125ml plain flour; 4 eggs; 120g butter softened; 200g parmesan grated; 200g plain flour

A white plate on a dark wood table with three pastry balls covered in finely grated hard cheese

CHEESE CUSTARD

8 eggs
100ml double cream
200g comté
grated

COMTÉ GOUGÈRES

60g parmesan
grated
125g comté
grated
50g unsalted butter
100ml whole milk
125ml plain flour
4 eggs

CRAQUELIN

120g butter
softened
200g parmesan
grated
200g plain flour

Method

step 1
To make the cheese custard, combine the eggs, cream and comté in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, ensuring the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl. Whisk the mixture until it reaches 75-80C on a digital thermometer, or thickly coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat, cool, then chill.
step 2
For the gougères, put the grated cheeses in a stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment. Chop the butter into small pieces and heat in a small pan with the milk, 100ml of water and 3g of salt. Bring the mixture to the boil, then mix in the flour with a spatula for 30 seconds. Tip this into the bowl with the cheeses and mix on a medium-high speed. When the cheese has been incorporated, add the eggs, one at a time, ensuring they are fully incorporated before adding the next. When all the eggs have been added, the mixture should be fairly thick but still runny. Transfer it to a blender and whizz until smooth, scraping down the sides as you go. Spoon into a piping bag and cool to room temperature for 30-45 minutes.
step 3
To make the craquelin, mix the butter, parmesan, flour and a pinch of salt with a hand blender until a soft dough forms. Tip out onto a sheet of baking paper and bring together gently, then put another sheet of baking paper on top and roll out until it is very thin. Put in the freezer for 30 minutes.
step 4
Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Once the gougère mixture has cooled, pipe it into walnut-sized balls onto baking trays lined with baking paper. Remove the craquelin from the freezer and cut small rounds the size of the piped gougère balls, and put one onto each gougère.
step 5
To assemble, bake the gougères for 12 minutes without opening the oven door. After 12 minutes, turn the tray around and bake for a further 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 5 minutes. Spoon the cheese custard into a piping bag and use this to fill the gougères. Serve with extra grated comté, if you like.