“pastry butter”

Technique for working with choux is important.

Sounds like you have the right oven temp to get that initial POOF! but sounds like the second stage is missing for working with larger shapes.

What we do in the bakery is start off at the high temp to get that steam expansion and slight crispness to the outside. We then turn the oven down about 50F-100F and continue to bake them so the dough cooks all the way through. At about the 3/4 point we'll sometimes quickly poke the bottoms to allow steam to escape easier.

Once you stuff the shells with your filling they get soft again so a really crispy shell isn't a big concern for us. It's about getting the right colour and the complete cooking in the middle. Also, if it doesn't quick work out you can do as another poster said, scoop out the under done dough.

Good luck!

The UK supermarkets have the opinion that British people like milder garlic, so most of the garlic you find in the UK supermarkets, even organic garlics, are of a very mild variety. Also, they are bred for yield, in softer soils, so they produce bigger bulbs but less strong.

Garlic found in most French and Italian stores is much stronger, as that is what people demand. It is usually hardneck, rather than softneck garlic, and hardnecks tend to be much stronger. French garlic is usually grown in stronger soils, so it produces a stronger flavor.

My solution is to grow my own, 3 bulbs planted usually yields a years' worth of garlic for me, and because I have clay soil it has a strong flavor. It's by far the easiest and most rewarding thing I've ever grown.

If that's not your cup of tea then ask a greengrocer to stock a stronger variety of garlic, or order it from an Isle of Wight supplier. Of course, you could just use about 4 times as much to get more flavor.