AaishaShaikh.com

A few days after I put up my profiterole post, a friend of mine asked me if I had ever been to Choux Factory. After I was done laughing (get it? “Shoe” Factory? Hah! Clever!), I said I hadn’t and was told it was a matter of near life and death that I HAD to visit as soon as possible. Well today dawned a balmy near 70 degrees, and I decided to walk on over to Mee Noodle for lunch. After a deliciously satisfying meal of shrimp and broccoli with fried rice, I suddenly realized I was a mere 2 block away from Choux Factory. Gasp! How did that happen? Ok I lie. I purposely had lunch at Mee Noodle knowing I could treat myself to a stroll and a bit of desert. Shrug
The shop sits on the corner of 48th and 1st (48th st and 1st Ave) across from the UN hub in Midtown East.

I walked in and was immediately greeted by two lovely women just waiting to take my order. Custard filled choux, chocolate choux, or a green tea choux? And each for only $2. That’s a STEAL considering the fact that cupcakes are near $3 (if not more) at most bakeries these days. Choices choices! Now I’m not a huge fan of custard, but I thought why not? Let’s give this bad boy a try. They picked an empty pastry from the few dozen that were baked and waiting, filled it for me, and off I went.

With a gorgeous day like this I knew I didn’t want to be stuck at work chowing down. I wanted to be outside savoring the weather and my desert. There’s only one place that could satisfy this situation, so I headed to the ‘park’ on 51st between 2nd and 3rd. I love this spot. It’s a great little getaway to take a break, and it’s right around the corner from where I work!

The pastry was baked perfectly – nice crusty, buttery, thin shell with great color. I’m not a huge fan of the sprinkled sugar so I scraped that off, and took a bite.

Oh. My. Word. It was delicious! The custard wasn’t too thick and wasn’t overpoweringly sweet. A nice subtle flavor, and perfectly thick consistency. I may have to change my mind about custards after this.

Here’s a close up of the pastry while I was munching away. You can tell how thin it is, and that it had baked perfectly on the inside before being filled. My pastry sure as heck didn’t come out like this, but now I know what to strive for

Next time I think I may try the specialty mango custard filled choux. It’s the one all the way to the right