A doughnut shaped choux éclair, what’s not to like? A vegan choux bun is a welcome twist to the usual patisserie offerings. This dairy free choux bun is spread with a vanilla glaze plus a dusting of roasted pecan nuts and dried strawberries. Make these for an afternoon tea or as a special birthday treat.
Baked vs Fried Choux bun
Now choux pastry is not the easiest of pastries to veganise. Eggs are used in the traditional recipe to bind the ingredients and give rise to the dough. Alas, I have persevered for your benefit and gone through many a trial and error to perfect the vegan choux bun!
I have tried making a fried variety of these vegan choux buns, and although the shape is more aesthetically pleasing and more akin to a traditional choux pastry, they were too oily for my liking and the texture much denser.
I prefer to bake mine as you end up with a more consistent choux bun, albeit a slightly less defined swirl. They are also much lighter in texture with a pleasant squidge and crisper shell. Now, these vegan choux buns are not an exact replica of the vegetarian friendly kind so please don’t go expecting a really crisp outer. But I honestly do find these softer choux buns just as delicious. There are still plenty of holes indicating a light and airy inner. Plus when you slather them in chocolate who is really looking at the swirl on top?
The ingredients
To achieve a tender crumb, I have added plenty of leavening agents plus a high oven temperature. The cornstarch helps to further bind the ingredients whilst also keeping the pastry light and tender. The pastry is made semi-sweet with the use of caster sugar. Golden caster sugar dissolves easily into the mixture and adds a pleasing soft golden hue.
The method
Melt the vegan butter and milk over a medium heat bringing the liquid to a gentle boil. Combine the dry ingredients, pour in the wet and beat vigorously until you have a silky smooth texture. The dough should be reluctantly dropping off the spoon. Add to a large piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe the mixture onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Place in the oven for 15 minutes until golden brown. Remove and leave to cool. Glaze with your preferred flavouring; go for classic chocolate or keep it simple like I have and spread over a vanilla icing.
Leave a comment and let me know how you get on making these Vegan Choux buns. I would love to see your creations over on instagram!
More vegan treats
Choux buns
Ingredients
For the choux buns
- 100 g vegan butter or baking fat
- 275 mls soy milk unsweetened
- 275 g plain flour
- 30 g cornstarch
- 50 g golden caster sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
For the vanilla glaze
- 200 g icing sugar sieved
- 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
- 2 tbsp soy milk
- 2 tbsp dried strawberries
- 25 g pecans
Instructions
- Pre heat the oven to 220C / 200C fan. Line two baking trays with parchment paper.
- Melt the vegan butter and soy milk over a medium heat and bring to a light boil.
- Combine the flour, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a large bowl.
- Pour in the melted butter and milk and beat vigorously until you have a silky, smooth texture. The dough should be reluctantly dropping off the spoon.
- Add the dough to a large piping bag with a star nozzle. Pipe the dough in a spiral pattern from the inside out.
- Place in the oven for 15 minutes. The pastries are ready when they are a deep golden brown and slightly firm to the touch. Remove and leave to cool on a wire rack.
- Chop the pecans into fine pieces. Toast the nuts in a dry frying pan over a moderate heat for 3 minutes.
- Prepare the glaze by adding the icing sugar, vanilla and soy milk to a bowl. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and glossy.
- Dip the choux buns into the glaze and smooth over with a pastry brush. Sprinkle each bun with a dusting of nuts and dried strawberries.
So pretty and drool worthy!!