Chocolate Éclairs
French Pastries… Oui, s’il vous plaît! 🙏
My mother did quite a bit of baking when I was younger. She made many desserts from scratch. The odd time, she bought “prepared mixes” from the store. I liked the Chocolate Cake from Duncan Hines until I was old enough to make my own chocolate cake. She made some pastries and lucky for me, some were my all-time favorites… Chocolate Éclairs, Mille-Feuille and Cream Puffs!
When it came to other pastries, my mother was buying 🛒 them directly from the pastry chefs at the boulangerie/bakery. I asked her once why she never attempted to make other pastries at home besides the ones mentioned above and her answer was – “They are too challenging!” – and I’m sure they can be…
Baking cakes, cookies, muffins, and so on is one thing but when it comes to pastry, it’s a totally different story. It seems more complicated and more technical! To me, making pastries is like chemistry – a little too much or too little and you’re looking at a disaster 😫.
I’ve been baking 👩🍳 pastries for a while now and it’s not always obvious at first. A few that are not complicated to make in my (pastry) book are definitely the Chocolate Éclairs, along with others like Profiteroles, Cannoli, Charlotte, Cinnamon Rolls, Baklava, Vol-au-vent, Pain au Chocolat, and more including Pop Tarts (toaster pastry)… yes mom, they’re not that hard to make!
Today, I will show you how I make my Chocolate Éclairs. It’s an easy and incredibly delicious French pastry recipe! After making Pâte à Choux, the rest is quite easy to achieve. Filled with a beautiful custard (crème pâtissière) and dipped in chocolate 🍫, these oblong pastries are sinfully delicious!
When you are having people over for dinner, how cool is it to say that these éclairs are “homemade”… right 😉? The only technique that I can suggest to you is to relax and take your time because quite frankly, this is not complicated at all. So go ahead and try these yummy éclairs…
Bon Appétit!🍽
P.S. If you decide to change the chocolate icing to caramel icing instead, they are called “Bâton de Jacob” in French…
Here are more decadent dessert recipes you just have to try…😀
– Pumpkin & Spice Cream Cheese Muffins
– Black Forest Cake
– Tiramisu
– Chocolate Lava Cake with Caramel
– Pavlova
– Butterscotch Pudding
– Red Velvet Cake
and for even more dessert recipes 🍩🍰🧁, click on this link… Recipe Category • Dessert
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Chocolate Éclairs
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Ingredients
PÂTE à CHOUX aka CHOUX PASTRY
- 1/2 Pâte à Choux aka Choux Pastry recipe see Recipe
CUSTARD aka CRÈME PÂTISSIÈRE
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 2 large free-run egg yolks, beaten
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tbsp. unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
CHOCOLATE GLAZE
- 2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
- 2 tbsp. butter tips & tricks
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 2 tbsp. whole milk (substitute heavy cream or half-and-half), or more if needed
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Directions
PÂTE à CHOUX aka CHOUX PASTRY
- Make 1/2 of the Pâte à Choux aka Choux Pastry recipe.
- When the pastry comes out from the oven, using a chop stick, pierce a hole at each end of them - this will help to let the steam escape.
- Let them cool off while making the custard.
CUSTARD aka CRÈME PÂTISSIÈRE
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, pour in milk and warm it up (do not boil).
- In another saucepan, combine egg yolks and sugar; whisk until blended. Add flour and stir.
- When the milk is warm, temper the eggs by carefully pouring a little into the egg mixture at first, whisking constantly. After a few additions, slowly pour in the remaining milk, whisking continuously.
- Turn the heat to medium and cook the custard for 3-4 minutes or until it thickens, stirring constantly.
- Remove from the heat and set aside to cool off. About 5 minutes later, add vanilla, stir and let it continue to cool.
- Place tip #3 or a long tip in a piping bag and spoon in the cooled custard.
- Inserting the tip in both ends, fill up the cooled Pâte à Choux aka Choux Pastry with custard.
- Place filled pastries in a plastic container, cover and transfer to the fridge for 10 minutes while making the chocolate glaze.
CHOCOLATE GLAZE
- In a double-boiler over medium heat, combine chocolate and butter.
- When melted, add sifted sugar, stir until somewhat combined before pouring in the milk; stir until smooth. Add vanilla, stir and remove from the heat.
- Transfer the chocolate to a rectangular container (preferably a microwave-safe glass container) and dip one pastry in at a time.
- Transfer the pastries back to the fridge for at least 10 minutes. Remove the pastries about 15 minutes before serving.
- If you prefer a thicker glaze, dip them a second time (you might have to use the microwave to melt the chocolate again).
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