France · Sweet Dishes
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
- water120 ml
- unsalted butter60 g
- saltpinch
- all-purpose flour75 g
- large eggs2
- whole milk250 ml
- vanilla bean0.5
- large egg yolks3
- granulated sugar60 g
- cornstarch25 g
- semi-sweet or dark chocolate100 g
- light corn syrup or honey1 tbsp
- heavy cream60-80 ml
Method
- 1Pastry 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.
- 2Choux 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.
- 3Pipe 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.
- 4Glaze: melt chocolate, corn syrup and heavy cream together until smooth.
- 5Make 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.