Gougère with roasted grapes and apple for an Easter Dinner Apéritif ~ Elizabeth David’s ring form method

As an accompaniment to an apéritif a gougère has several things to recommend it. It may be served hot or cold, slices and serves easily, and is both fine to look at and to eat.

In the introduction to her recipe for a gougère in the ring form in French Provincial Cooking (1975 edition) Elizabeth David gives some useful advice for making a gougère:

Although the gougère begins to smell cooked after the first 25 minutes, do not be taken in; it will have swelled up and turned golden brown, but it is not ready. If you can resist, do not open the oven, because of the risk of the mixture collapsing. If you feel you have to look, open and shut the door of the oven gently. To test when the gougère is done press lightly with a finger in the centre of the cake; it should be firm to the touch. If it is too soft it will fall the instant you take it from the oven into a sad flat pancake.

The recipe itself is easy to follow and makes a high-rising version of la gougère for an Easter aperitif, served with Roasted Black Grapes and Apples.

Speaking from experience, however, a fallen gougère is not a culinary disaster. It will have lost some of its beauty–but not all. Though a bit deflated, it will still have a crisp golden exterior and will still be…enjoyed.

Options for less processed ingredients are: Flour, Gruyère AOP, Butter, Milk, Nutmeg and Salt.

Equipment

a Digital Scale (The original recipe was written in the pre-metric style. The scale is useful for getting the amount of cheese right.)
a Heavy-Bottomed Medium Size Pot
a Wooden Spoon
a Baking Sheet covered with a Sheet of Parchment Paper
a Large Spoon for forming the gougère ring and an Icing Spatula or any broad, flat knife for smoothing and shaping the balls of paste into the form of a ring
a Pastry Brush

Ingredients

4 ounces (115 g) of Organic Unenriched All-Purpose White Hard Wheat Flour, measured and then sifted: Hard Wheat Flour is preferable because it gives the paste more strength.
1/2 pint (1 cup or 240 ml) of Whole Milk, plus a little more to brush over the gougère before baking it.
2 ounces (4 Tablespoons or 60 g) of European-style Unsalted Butter, sliced into bits
4 Eggs
4 ounces (115 g or about 1 cup) of Imported Gruyère AOP cheese, cut into little cubes. Divide the cubes into 2 portions of 3 ounces and 1 ounce.
1 teaspoon of Sea Salt
freshly ground Black Pepper
freshly ground Nutmeg, or about 1/8 of a teaspoon Organic Ground Nutmeg

Making the Gougère

Gas or Convection Oven: thefoodlessprocessed uses a gas oven. The conversions from Fahrenheit to Celsius do not attempt to adjust for differences between baking in a gas or convection oven. I have no experience using a convection oven and leave adjustments to the better judgement of you who do have.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Streak the baking sheet with butter to hold down the sheet of parchment and lay the parchment paper on it. Using a couple of bowls as guides, trace a 7-inch ring on the paper, and in the middle of that ring, another ring, 2 and 1/2-inches in diameter. (The circles are general, not precise, guides for forming the Gougère.):

Place the milk, bits of butter, and salt in the pot and a few grindings of black pepper. Bring the mixture quickly to a boil and pour in, all at once, the sifted flour. Stir the mixture vigorously over medium heat until it comes away from the sides of the pot and forms a ball.
Remove the pot from the heat. Stir the eggs in one at a time, thoroughly mixing in each egg before the next one is added. When the paste is smooth and thoroughly combined, mix in the 3 ounce portion of cheese cubes.
Add the nutmeg and a few more grindings of black pepper.
Arrange balls of the paste around the perimeter of the 7-inch (18 cm) circle.
Put balls of the remaining paste on top of this circle to form a high wall around the inner circle.

Smooth the ring into an even shape all around.

Brush the ring with milk and sprinkle the 1 ounce portion of cheese cubes over it.

Bake the ring on the middle rack of the oven for 45 minutes. The inside of the ring will feel firm and crisp to the touch when it is done.

Cut the gougère in slices for serving and arrange the slices in a circle on a plate or wooden board. If included, place the bowl of Roasted Black Grapes and Apple in the center.

thefoodlessprocessed