Ingredients for 16 2-inch puffs:

• 1 cup/250 ml water,
  
• 4 tablespoons/60 g unsalted butter, cut into pieces,
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper,
  
• 1 cup/125 g all-purpose flour,
  
• 4 eggs + 1 for egg wash,
  
• 1/4 pound/125 g Gruyère or other Swiss-type cheese.

Preparation Steps:

1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees F/230 degrees C.

2. Combine the water, butter and salt in a medium saucepan. Set the pan over moderately high heat until the butter melts and the water boils, then remove from the heat.

3. Add all the flour at once and beat to combine with a wooden spoon. Set the pan over low heat, and continue beating until the mixture is smooth and comes away from the sides of the pan in a ball, about 1 minute. Cool for a few minutes.

4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The mixture must be just soft enough to fall from the spoon but firm enough to hold its shape. Stir in the cheese cut into shavings or small cubes. Add some pepper.

5. Cover the baking sheet with parchment paper. Either put the dough in a pastry bag or use 2 spoons to shape the dough and place on the baking sheet, spacing the mounds well apart, as they will expand when baked. Or adjoin mounds of dough to form a 10 inch circle.

6. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn the heat down to 375 degrees F/190 degrees C, and bake 20 to 30 minutes more, until golden and crisp.

7. Serve warm or lukewarm with drinks or as an appetizer with a green salad.

Gougère is best freshly baked, but it can also be stored a day or two in an airtight tin, or frozen, and reheated.

Wine Pairing Tips: A relatively neutral pastry, the gougère will pair with a variety of wines, including Champagne. For still wine, the Côte Chalonnaise is a little known source for great value Chardonnay in Burgundy. When served with green salad, why not offer a Saint-Bris, the only Burgundy appellation featuring the Sauvignon Blanc grape variety?