Eclairs

I can honestly say, eclairs rank very high on my list of favorite desserts.  When I was young, I'd buy them from a bakery, but I now I know how to bake them from scratch at home.  Let me walk you through the process.   

We'll start by making the pastry which is technically called pate a choux (sounds like pot-ah-shoo).

In a 4-quart nonstick saucepan, heat water, milk, butter, salt, and sugar until it boils.

While you're waiting for the mixture to boil, have the flour and eggs ready to go.

Okay, the milk mixture is just starting to boil - time to add the flour.

Add all the flour at once...

And stir vigorously until all the liquid is absorbed.

When all the liquid is absorbed, continue stirring constantly...

Until a smooth paste forms and pulls away from the sides of the pan.  We're not quite there yet, but almost.

Just a few more moments and we're done.  Remove the pan from the heat.

Transfer the paste to the bowl of a stand mixer or food processor.

Add the eggs, mixing one at a time, until no traces of raw egg remains. You can use the flat paddle attachment if you don’t have one of these nifty BeaterBlade attachments.

Transfer the mixture to a large pastry bag fitted with a large star tip (like this one).  I like to use disposable bags (like these).  Using a star tip helps the pastry dough expand evenly in the oven.

Pipe the eclairs on a silpat lined half sheet pan.

Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar and bake.

They'll puff up during baking, which creates a hollow space in the center.  

That hollow space is just begging to be filled with creamy vanilla pastry cream (recipe here).

But before we can fill the pastry shells, we need to turn them upside down and poke a few holes in the bottoms.  I used a chopstick to poke the holes.  The holes will allow excess steam to escape as the shells cool, and they'll be where we pipe the pastry cream filling inside.

Place the pastry cream in a large pastry bag fitted with a bismark tip.  Squeeze the filling into room temperature shells - fill them up completely.

Use an offset spatula to scrape away any excess pastry cream.

To make the ganache, heat cream and chocolate together, whisking to combine.  Dip the tops of each eclair into the ganache and allow to set. 

Serve them as is, or place them in paper wrappers.  Just grab a standard cupcake wrapper and flatten it out a bit. Greaseproof liners are my favorite.

Like this.

Then place the eclairs on the wrapper and serve. 

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• All-Clad nonstick 4-quart saucepan https://amzn.to/3JhkjTN

• BeaterBlade https://amzn.to/3Lmdbaw

• disposable pastry bags https://amzn.to/360wbLt

• large star tip https://amzn.to/3LcyQSi

• silpat liner https://amzn.to/3rBj0ZS

• half sheet pan https://amzn.to/34HN38V

• bismark tip https://amzn.to/34oUuCl

• offset spatula https://amzn.to/3rBjpvm

• greaseproof cupcake liners https://amzn.to/3Lh6INX

• really good quality dark chocolate https://amzn.to/3Jb24iG

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Eclairs

makes about 20 eclairs (3 to 4 inches long)

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

Pastry Shells:

• 1/2 cup water

• 1/2 cup whole milk

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1 teaspoon table salt

• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar

• 1 cup all purpose flour

• 5 large eggs

• confectioner's sugar for dusting

Filling:

• pastry cream (recipe here)

Ganache Topping:

• 8 ounces dark chocolate (really good quality)

• 8 ounces heavy cream

Directions

TO MAKE THE PASTRY SHELLS:

1. Preheat oven to 450F and place rack in center position.

2. In a 4-quart nonstick saucepan, heat the milk, water, butter, salt, and sugar until it boils.

3. Immediately add the flour and stir vigorously until all the liquid is absorbed by the flour and a paste forms; continue stirring constantly until the paste dries out and forms a ball that cleans the sides of the pan.

4. Transfer the paste to the bowl of a stand mixer or food processor and allow it to cool for a couple of minutes.

5. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is fully incorporated.

6. Transfer paste to a large disposable pastry bag that has been fitted with a large star tip (I used Ateco #826).

7. Pipe the paste into 3 or 4-inch lengths on a silpat lined sheet pan; dust with confectioner's sugar.

8. Bake in 450F oven for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 350F and continue baking for 25 to 30 minutes more.

9. Remove from oven and allow to rest until they're cool enough to handle, then poke a couple of vent holes in the bottom and allow to cool completely.

10. When completely cool, use a pastry bag fitted with a bismarck tip to fill pastry shells with vanilla pastry cream through the vent holes (my recipe can be found here); scrape away any excess pastry cream from the vent holes.

TO MAKE THE GANACHE TOPPING:

1. Place chopped chocolate in a medium bowl.

2. In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat cream over medium heat until it just begins to boil.

3. Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and rest for several minutes; whisk to combine fully and use immediately.

TO ASSEMBLE:

1. Dip the top of each pastry cream filled shell in the ganache; turn right side up and place on a flattened out cupcake liner or on a serving platter.

adapted from pastry chef Bruno Albouze

Pastry Cream (Creme Patissiere)

Vanilla Pastry Cream (aka creme patissiere, creme patisserie, or creme pat) is silky and delicious - no wonder it's a component of countless desserts. Fruit tarts (like this one), eclairs (step-by-step tutorial here), cream puffs (another tutorial here), Portuguese custard tarts, trifle, profiteroles, mille-feuilles, Boston cream pie, and so many more.   

I've made a lot of pastry cream over the years and this recipe is definitely the easiest.  All the ingredients are placed in a saucepan and cooked together until they thicken.  Strain, chill, and use!  Here's how I make it.   

To begin, place sugar, cornstarch, and a pinch of salt in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart saucepan (like this one).

Whisk them together to break up any cornstarch clumps. 

Add milk.  I like to use whole milk.

Whisk to mix.

Add egg yolks.  Just check out the color of those yolks - it really pays to buy free-range eggs from a local farm.

Whisk to mix.

Add butter.  No need to soften, just throw it in cold. 

Next scrape the seeds from half of a vanilla bean pod.  Cut the pod lengthwise and scrape the seeds out.

Add them to the saucepan.  Now it's time to start heating our mixture.

You can substitute pure vanilla extract if you don't have vanilla bean pods, but wait until the pastry cream is finished cooking before you add it (or it may taste bitter).

Whisk constantly over medium-high heat until the mixture reaches the boiling point.

Continue to boil, whisking constantly, for a full minute.  

Mmm - see how the mixture has thickened?  Now turn off the heat. 

Immediately pass the pastry cream through a sieve.  Actually, you don't have to do this step, but it'll remove any lumps.  

See?  There were some bits of cooked egg and some vanilla bean strands, but not anymore! 

The last step is to cover the pastry cream with plastic wrap, directly on the surface of the cream, and chill completely before using. 

Oh, and don't throw that vanilla bean pod away.  See all those old vanilla bean pods in the jar?  I've been saving them for years to make vanilla sugar.

Every time I use a pod, I put it in the jar...

And whenever the level of sugar in the jar gets low, I top it off with more.  The sugar will absorb the flavor of the vanilla.  I use it for baking and sweetening beverages.

Give it a try!

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• small knife https://amzn.to/3sjWL9G

• pure vanilla extract https://amzn.to/3ovS9fE

• whole vanilla bean pods https://amzn.to/3B67JUp

• heavy bottom saucepan https://amzn.to/3LiRdF8

• mesh sieve https://amzn.to/3LjBYM7

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Vanilla Pastry Cream (Creme Patissiere or Creme Patisserie)

makes 2 cups

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup cornstarch

• pinch table salt

• 2 cups whole milk

• 4 large egg yolks

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• seeds of 1/2 vanilla bean pod (or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract)

Directions

1. In a 2-quart heavy bottom saucepan over medium-high heat, cook all ingredients (except vanilla extract, if using), stirring constantly, until it begins to boil; continue whisking for a full minute.

2. Remove from heat and strain through a sieve.

3. Cover pastry cream with a layer of plastic wrap directly on the surface; chill completely before using.

Notes

• When using vanilla extract instead of vanilla beans, stir in to thickened pastry cream AFTER it is removed from the heat.

• To make vanilla sugar, place used vanilla bean pod in jar and cover with sugar. Use for baking or sweetening beverages.

adapted from Martha Stewart