Eclairs
I've been motivated to bake my favorite desserts more since coming back from pastry boot camp and I'm really happy with how these turned out. These are definitely pretty labor-intensive -- be prepared for an afternoon of baking! This recipe makes around ~15-20 eclairs, you could easily increase it if you wanted.
Active Time: 2 hr 30 min
Total Time: 5 hr
Ingredients
pate a choux dough:
> water (113g)
> milk (113g)
> butter (113g, ~1 stick, unsalted + cubed)
> salt (3g)
> bread flour (113g)
> egg (~200g, about 3 eggs)
pastry cream:
> sugar (113g)
> corn starch (42g)
> milk (470g)
> egg (3)
> salt (pinch)
> butter (42g)
> vanilla extract (1 tsp)
putting together everything:
> dark chocolate (80g)
> butter (40g)
> corn syrup (10g)
> salt (tiny pinch)
Instructions
Prepare the pate a choux dough:
1. Bring water, milk, butter, and salt to a rolling boil in a saucepan.
2. Remove from heat and add the flour all at once. Stir constantly with a whisk until the mixture forms a ball, pulls away from the sides of the pan, and leaves a film on the bottom of the pan, about 30-45s.
3. Transfer to a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment and mix on 2nd speed for 2 minutes to allow mixture to cool slightly.
4. Slowly add the eggs in 3-4 additions, mixing well between each addition to form a medium stiff paste.
5. Let cool before piping / using.
Prepare the pastry cream:
1. Combine together in a mixing bowl: half the sugar, corn starch, 10% of the milk, and eggs. Mix well to blend.
2. Bring remaining milk, remaining sugar, and salt to a boil in a saucepan.
3. Temper the egg mixture. Gradually add small portions of the milk mixture to the egg mixture and whisk well to blend. Return the entire tempered egg mixture to the pan after ~1/3 of the milk has been added.
4. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly. Cook for 1 minute.
5. Remove from the heat, whisk in butter and flavorings.
6. Let cool and cover surface with plastic wrap.
Putting everything together:
1. Pipe the eclairs onto parchment paper / baking sheet. Aim for 4-inch long lines that are ~1-inch wide. Pipe them 2 inches apart each. Hold the piping bag at a 45-degree angle, lightly drag the tip along the surface of the paper, applying steady downward pressure and moving at a consistent speed. To stop piping, cease applying pressure and move the pastry tip up and over towards the opposite end of the eclar before completely lifting away. Smooth out uneven eclairs by dipping a finger in cold water and patting down bumps.
2. Bake at 350F until puffed, golden brown, and hollow feeling, about 30 minutes.
3. Reduce the temperature to ~200F and bake until all the moisture has been eliminated, about ~15-30 minutes.
4. Let cool completely.
5. Form two small holes with a paring knife on the underside of the eclair, rotating the knife in a circular motion.
6. Fill the eclairs by inserting the tip of a pastry cream filled bag into a hole in each eclair shell and begin piping with steady pressure until filled. Repeat with other hole.
7. Make the glaze by melting chocolate, butter, corn syrup, and salt in a double-boiler. Carefully dip each eclair upside down into the chocolate. Allow glaze to set, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.
Notes/Tips:
> It is important to add the eggs in several additions and stop once you achieve the desired consistency. I added too much egg and it led the dough to be a bit too runny, more than I would like. You might not need the full egg amount. You want the dough to form a medium-stiff paste. If you lift up the paddle attachment, it should quickly form a "V"
> You do want to bring the pastry cream to a boil. The extra corn starch allows you to achieve this. But be careful to not overcook it either otherwise you'll end up with scrambled eggs and a curdled pastry cream.
> Consider drawing lines on a piece of parchment using a ruler and flipping over the parchment paper and using it as a guide.
> Consider piping a small amount of choux paste under each corner of parchment paper to prevent the paper from moving.
> You can tell when the eclair is filled when there's starting to get backpressure from piping the pastry cream. That's when you know to stop.