Eclairs I Recipes

Steps:

• Filling: In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and vanilla bean to a boil over medium heat. Immediately turn off the heat and set aside to infuse for 15 minutes. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cornstarch and whisk vigorously until no lumps remain. Whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture until incorporated. Whisk in the remaining hot milk mixture, reserving the saucepan. Pour the mixture through a strainer back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and slowly boiling. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Let cool slightly. Cover with plastic wrap, lightly pressing the plastic against the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill at least 2 hours or until ready to serve. The custard can be made up to 24 hours in advance. Refrigerate until 1 hour before using.
• Pastry: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. In a large saucepan, bring the water, butter, salt and sugar to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. When it boils, immediately take the pan off the heat. Stirring with a wooden spoon, add all the flour at once and stir hard until all the flour is incorporated, 30 to 60 seconds. Return to the heat and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Scrape the mixture into a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer). Mix at medium speed. With the mixer running, add 3 eggs, 1 egg at a time. Stop mixing after each addition to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix until the dough is smooth and glossy and the eggs are completely incorporated. The dough should be thick, but should fall slowly and steadily from the beaters when you lift them out of the bowl. If the dough is still clinging to the beaters, add the remaining 1 egg and mix until incorporated.
• Using a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip, pipe fat lengths of dough (about the size and shape of a jumbo hot dog) onto the lined baking sheet, leaving 2 inches of space between them. You should have 8 to 10 lengths.
• Egg Wash: In a bowl, whisk the egg and water together. Brush the surface of each eclair with the egg wash. Use your fingers to smooth out any bumps of points of dough that remain on the surface. Bake 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375 degrees and bake until puffed up and light golden brown, about 25 minutes more. Try not to open the oven door too often during the baking. Let cool on the baking sheet. Fit a medium-size plain pastry tip over your index finger and use it to make a hole in the end of each eclair (or just use your fingertip). Using a pastry bag fitted with a medium-size plain tip, gently pipe the custard into the eclairs, using only just enough to fill the inside (don't stuff them full).
• Glaze: In a small saucepan, heat the cream over medium heat just until it boils. Immediately turn off the heat. Put the chocolate in a medium bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Set aside and keep warm. The glaze can be made up to 48 hours in advance. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use, and rewarm in a microwave or over hot water when ready to use.
• Dip the tops of the eclairs in the warm chocolate glaze and set on a sheet pan. Chill, uncovered, at least 1 hour to set the glaze. Serve chilled.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees with a rack in the center. Line two unrimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpats (French nonstick baking mats).
• Fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch (Ateco No. 806) tip with pate a choux batter; pipe out oblong shapes, about 3 1/2 inches long and 1 inch wide, onto prepared baking sheets at 2-inch intervals. Gently run a fork dipped in water along each top, making straight lines to ensure even rising.
• Cover one baking sheet with lightly oiled plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator. Transfer the second sheet to the oven. Bake 10 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes more. Turn off oven; prop door open slightly to let steam escape. Allow eclairs to dry in oven about 15 minutes, or until the center is damp but no wet dough remain (test by cutting into the center of one). Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. Raise heat back to 425 degrees and repeat process with remaining batch. If serving immediately, fill eclairs while still warm so they can take more cream; if filling at a later time, insert a skewer into one end, and move it around to expand opening for cream; set aside.
• In a medium bowl, stir pastry cream to soften. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a coupler and filling tip (Ateco No. 230) with pastry cream. Insert tip into one end of each eclair; fill. Serve, or glaze as follows.
• To make the glaze, combine 1/4 cup water, corn syrup, and s ugar in a small saucepan. Stir over medium-high heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring mixture to a boil, washing sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent crystals from forming. Once at a boil, remove from heat; add chocolate. Let stand 2 minutes; stir gently until smooth. Transfer glaze to a shallow bowl. Dip top of each eclair into glaze; let excess drip off before turning over. Transfer to a wire rack to allow glaze to set. Serve.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet.
• In a medium saucepan, combine 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, stirring until butter melts completely. Reduce heat to low, and add flour and salt. Stir vigorously until mixture leaves the sides of the pan and begins to form a stiff ball. Remove from heat. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well to incorporate completely after each addition. With a spoon or a pastry bag fitted with a No. 10, or larger, tip, spoon or pipe dough onto cookie sheet in 1 1/2 x 4 inch strips.
• Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce heat to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) and bake 20 minutes more, until hollow sounding when lightly tapped on the bottom. Cool completely on a wire rack.
• For the filling, combine pudding mix and milk in medium bowl according to package directions. In a separate bowl, beat the cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Beat in 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Fold whipped cream into pudding. Cut tops off of cooled pastry shells with a sharp knife. Fill shells with pudding mixture and replace tops.
• For the icing, melt the chocolate and 2 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir in 1 cup confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in hot water, one tablespoon at a time, until icing is smooth and has reached desired consistency. Remove from heat, cool slightly, and drizzle over filled eclairs. Refrigerate until serving.

Steps:

• First, make the choux pastry. Put the butter in a saucepan with 450ml water. Sieve the flour into a large bowl and set aside. Bring the butter and water to a fast boil, simmer until the butter has melted, then tip in the flour and beat like mad with a wooden spoon until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan and is lump-free. Tip into the bowl and spread the thick paste up the sides a little to help it cool quickly, then leave for 10 mins.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6 and cut two pieces of baking parchment to fit two baking sheets. Using a ruler and pen, mark 10 lines about 12cm long over each piece, leaving plenty of space between the lines, then flip the parchment over. Fit a piping bag with a large round piping nozzle, about 1.5cm wide.
• When the flour paste has cooled but is not cold, start adding the egg, bit by bit, beating well between each addition until you have a smooth batter which will reluctantly drop off the end of your spoon (you can do this in a freestanding mixer if you have one). You may not need to use all the egg, so add it slowly. Transfer to your piping bag and use a little of the mixture to stick the parchment to your trays.
• Pipe the choux onto the baking sheet, using the lines as a guide. Pipe slowly so the eclairs aren't too skinny - each one should be about 2.5cm wide x 12cm long. Bake for 35-40 mins, swapping the trays around for the final 10 mins. The choux should be puffed, golden and sound hollow when tapped. You may wish to sacrifice one eclair to make sure the inside is completely dried out - if it's still moist, the eclair will sink when cooling. Once baked, leave to cool completely. (Can be made a day ahead and stored in an airtight container, reheat in the oven for 5-10 mins to crisp up before filling.) Split each eclair through the middle with a serrated knife.
• Now, make the crème pâtissière. Pour the milk and cream into a saucepan. Heat until just simmering, then remove from the heat. Meanwhile, tip the egg yolks into a bowl and add the sugar and cornflour, whisking together until smooth. Pour over the milk mixture, mix, then pour back into the saucepan. Cook over a medium heat for 5-8 mins until the crème pâtissière thickens to a thick custard consistency. Sieve into a jug, cover the surface with cling film and chill for at least 3 hrs, or up to 3 days.
• To fill and glaze your eclairs, choose one of our flavours - raspberry & cardamom, lemon & passion fruit, salted caramel & popcorn or elderflower & meringue.For more help, see our how to make choux pastry and eclairs video.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. In a large saucepan, bring water, butter and salt to a boil. Add flour all at once and stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny. , Using a tablespoon or a pastry tube with a #10 or large round tip, form dough into nine 4x1-1/2-in. strips on a greased baking sheet. Bake 35-40 minutes or until puffed and golden. Remove to a wire rack. Immediately split eclairs open; remove tops and set aside. Discard soft dough from inside. Cool eclairs. , In a large bowl, beat milk and pudding mix according to package directions. In another bowl, whip cream until soft peaks form. Beat in sugar and vanilla; fold into pudding. Fill eclairs (chill any remaining filling for another use). , For frosting, in a microwave, melt chocolate and butter; stir until smooth. Stir in sugar and enough hot water to achieve a smooth consistency. Cool slightly. Frost eclairs. Store in refrigerator.

Steps:

• START WITH THE DOUGH.
• Align the racks so the oven is divided into thirds. Preheat the oven to 375°F Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a heavy bottomed saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar, and salt to a boil.
• Add all of the flour at once, reduce heat to medium, and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough will come together quickly and may form a slight crust at the bottom of the pan, which is perfect. Stir for 2-3 minutes to dry out the dough. The dough should be very soft and smooth.
• Transfer the dough to a stand mixer (or I've mixed by hand just fine) with a paddle attachment and add the eggs one by one. If the dough separates after the first egg, don't worry, it should come back together by the time the third egg is incorporated. When all the eggs are incorporated, the dough should be thin and fall back to the bowl in a ribbon when lifted.
• Pour the dough into a piping bag and pipe onto baking sheets.
• Bake in oven for 7 minutes, then stick the handle of a wooden spoon in the door to keep it ajar. Bake for 5 more minutes, then rotate the pans top to bottom, back to front. Bake for approximately 8 more minutes (with the spoon in the door) until the eclairs are golden brown and puffy. Total baking time should be about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the pastry cream.
• FOR THE CHOCOLATE PASTRY CREAM.
• In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. While the milk is coming to a boil, combine the yolks, sugar, and cornstarch together and whisk in a heavy bottom saucepan.
• Once the milk has reached a boil, temper the eggs by putting a little milk at a time into the egg mixture while whisking. Continue whisking and slowly pour the rest of the milk in the egg mixture.
• Strain the mixture back into the saucepan to remove any egg that may have scrambled. Place the pan over medium heat and whisk vigorously (without stop) until the mixture returns to a boil. Keep whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 more minutes (still over medium heat).Stir in the melted chocolate and then remove the pan from the heat.
• Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl and set it in an ice‐water bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture at this point so that it remains smooth.
• Once the cream has reached a temperature of 140 F remove from the ice‐water bath and stir in the butter in three or four installments. Return the cream to the ice‐water bath to continue cooling, stirring occasionally, until it has completely cooled. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.
• FOR THE VANILLA PASTRY CREAM.
• Bring milk, vanilla beans, and vanilla pod to a simmer.
• Meanwhile, combine the sugar, flour, and cornstarch in a bowl. Whisk until smooth and then add the yolks, whisking until lump-free.
• Remove the vanilla pod from the milk.
• Temper the egg mixture with the milk by pouring he milk little by little into the egg mixture while stirring to prevent scrambling.
• Once the egg mixture is tempered, return to the saucepan and bring to a boil.
• Boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat and stir in the butter. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.
• FOR THE CHOCOLATE SAUCE.
• Place all the ingredients into a heavy‐bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.
• It may take 10‐15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.
• FOR THE CHOCOLATE GLAZE.
• In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.
• Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.
• TO ASSEMBLE THE ECLAIRS.
• Slice the éclairs horizontally, using a serrated knife. Set aside the bottoms and place the tops on a rack over a piece of parchment paper.
• The glaze should be barely warm to the touch (between 95 - 104 degrees F or 35 - 40 degrees C, as measured on an instant read thermometer). Spread the glaze over the tops of the éclairs using a metal icing spatula. Allow the tops to set and in the meantime fill the bottoms with the pastry cream.
• Pipe or spoon the pastry cream into the bottoms of the éclairs. Make sure you fill the bottoms with enough cream to mound above the pastry. Place the glazed tops onto the pastry cream and wriggle gently to settle them.
• Serve immediately.