Éclair
The Éclair is a masterpiece of French pâtisserie — a delicate hollow shell of choux pastry filled with vanilla custard and topped with glossy chocolate glaze.
Ingredients
- 120 mlwater
- 60 gunsalted butter
- pinchsalt
- 75 gall-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- 250 mlwhole milk
- 0.5 vanilla bean
- 3 large egg yolks
- 60 ggranulated sugar
- 25 gcornstarch
- 100 gsemi-sweet or dark chocolate
- 1 tbsplight corn syrup or honey
- 60-80 mlheavy cream
Method
- Pastry cream: heat milk with vanilla until simmering. Whisk yolks, sugar and cornstarch until pale. Pour hot milk into egg mixture, return to pan and cook, whisking, until thick. Strain, cover surface with cling film and chill at least 2 hours.
- Choux pastry: preheat oven to 200°C. Bring water, butter and salt to a rolling boil. Off heat, add all flour at once and stir vigorously. Return to low heat and cook 1 minute. Cool 5 minutes, then gradually beat in eggs until smooth and glossy.
- Pipe 10-12 cm logs onto parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes at 200°C, then reduce to 175°C and bake 20-25 minutes more until deep golden. Do not open the oven in the first 20 minutes. Cool completely.
- Glaze: melt chocolate, corn syrup and heavy cream together until smooth.
- Make 2-3 holes in the bottom of each éclair shell and fill with pastry cream. Dip tops in warm chocolate glaze and refrigerate 15 minutes to set.
FAQ
Two main reasons: too many eggs (batter is too runny) or opening the oven too early. The right consistency — batter falls slowly from a spatula in a triangle. Do not open the oven for the first 20 minutes under any circumstances.
Instead of classic crème pâtissière, you can use whipped cream (lighter option), mascarpone with sugar, or chocolate ganache. The taste will change, but the éclairs will still be delicious.
Empty choux shells keep at room temperature for up to 2 days or can be frozen for up to 1 month. Filled éclairs — refrigerator only, no more than 24 hours: the cream softens the pastry.
The glaze should be applied to warm éclairs just out of the oven — then it sets evenly and shines. If applied to cold ones, the glaze will be matte. Corn syrup or honey adds shine.
It's best to freeze empty shells without cream or glaze. Filled éclairs lose texture when frozen — the cream becomes watery and the pastry goes soft after thawing.
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Comments (2)
Заварное тесто — единственное тесто, которое готовится на плите перед духовкой. Если ваши эклеры не поднялись — вы либо открыли духовку раньше времени, либо тесто было слишком жидким. Муку засыпайте разом и мешайте яростно, без пауз. И крем внутри должен быть холодным, а эклер — полностью остывшим.
I rotate the pan 180° halfway through baking this éclair. Most ovens have hot spots, and the unsalted butter colors unevenly without the rotation. It takes 3 seconds and prevents a burnt side.