CHOCOLATE ECLAIRS
Recipe and photo: Lee Ann Ferrue
When I make these they disappear like the speed of light.
- 236 ml water
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- 125 g all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- Line a large baking sheet or two smaller baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Set aside.
- In a medium-sized heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine water, butter, and salt over medium/high heat.
- Bring to a rolling boil.
- Reduce heat to medium/low and add flour, stirring continuously with a spatula or wooden spoon until the mixture forms a ball that pulls away from the sides of the pot.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and stir for another minute or two to cool it down a bit (it will still be hot).
- Add eggs, one at a time, stirring well/until egg is incorporated after each addition until the mixture is smooth and velvety.
- Mixture will look like it’s separating at first – just keep mixing.
- Transfer the mixture to a piping bag (or a large Ziploc bag with one corner snipped) and pipe onto prepared baking sheets by mounds about 6 cm wide by 2.5 cm tall. See note.
- Pipe straight down when piping, don’t swirl the pastry onto the baking sheet as if you were piping icing on a cupcake.
- Space each mound at least 1 ½ inches apart.
- Lightly dampen your fingers with cool water and gently press down any peaks on the pastry mounds.
- Bake in center rack of 200° C preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until the cream puffs appear dry and light golden brown.
- Turn off the oven and remove the pastry, pierce each with a sharp knife and then return to the oven.
- Let the pastry sit in the oven with the door cracked for another 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on the baking sheet before using as desired.
- To assemble:
- Cut top off (inside should be hollow).
- I fill mine with caramel and fresh cream.
- Dip the top cut off in melted chocolate and then place on top of the cream filled puff.
- Note:
- This is the size I typically use for large cream puffs or profiteroles, feel free to make yours different size or shape but keep an eye on the pastry as bake time will vary.
- For the Vanilla Pastry Cream:
- 4 large egg yolks, at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups whole milk
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Whisk together the egg yolks, at room temperature, cornstarch, salt, and pure vanilla extract in a medium bowl.
- Place milk and sugar in a small saucepan and heat over medium-high just until tiny bubbles begin to form around the edges.
- Slowly pour the scalded milk into the egg mixture while whisking to temper. Return the liquid to the pot and continue to whisk over medium-high heat until it starts to bubble and thicken. Remove from the heat and whisk in 5 tablespoons unsalted butter.
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl, then cover with plastic wrap, gently pressing directly onto the surface of the mixture to prevent it from forming a skin.
- Chill until the pastry cream is cold, about 2 hours.
Once the pastry cream is cold, whisk or stir vigorously with a rubber spatula until smooth. - Place the pastry cream into a piping bag fitted with a 1/3-inch circle piping tip.
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