Gougères with Smoked Salmon, Caviar and Prosciutto
Gougères with Smoked Salmon, Caviar, and Prosciutto are elegant French savory pastries made from light, airy cheese puffs (gougères) filled or topped with luxurious ingredients. The gougères, made from choux pastry and cheese (typically Gruyère), are baked until golden and crisp. They're then paired with rich smoked salmon, salty caviar, and thin slices of prosciutto, creating a delightful mix of textures and flavors—creamy, salty, smoky, and savory. Perfect as a gourmet appetizer or canapé for upscale gatherings.
Ingredients
- ½ cup water
- 3 tablespoons salted butter, cut into cubes
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup (about 2 1/8 ounces) all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- 3 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated (about 3/4 cup), divided
- 1 ¼ teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme, divided
- ½ cup crème fraîche
- 1 ounce smoked salmon, sliced
- ½ ounce sevruga caviar (1 tablespoon)
- ½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
- 1 ounce sliced prosciutto
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Heat water, butter, salt, and pepper in a medium saucepan over medium until butter is melted, about 1 minute. Add flour all at once, and stir vigorously using a wooden spoon until mixture dries a bit and pulls away from sides of pan, about 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Carefully pour mixture into bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment; beat on low speed until cool and steam is released, about 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. With mixer running on low speed, add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until fully incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes. (Batter will be lumpy at first but continue beating until batter smooths out.) Stir 1/2 cup of the Gruyère and 1 teaspoon of the thyme into batter.
- Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a wide plain tip or large ziplock plastic bag with tip of 1 corner cut off to create a 1-inch hole. Twist top of bag; pipe dough into 1 1/2-inch mounds (slightly smaller than a ping pong ball) on prepared baking sheet, spacing dough evenly apart.
- Top each mound evenly with remaining 1/4 cup Gruyère. Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven and pierce each gougère in the side using a small knife. Return gougères to oven and bake at 400°F for 5 minutes. Remove from oven. Let cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes. Spoon crème fraîche evenly onto gougères (about 1 teaspoon each). Top half of gougères evenly with smoked salmon, caviar, and lemon zest; top remaining half of gougères evenly with prosciutto and remaining 1/4 teaspoon thyme.
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