Eclairs (choux pastry only) Recipe. In a standard French dictionary, you'll find that an éclair is not only a pastry, but also a flash of lightning. Eclairs, profiteroles, Paris-Brest, cream puffs… whatever you like to call them and whatever shape, they are my go-to indulgence every time. In case you don't live near Edgecliff or any other fabulous fresh cream eclair vendor in town, here is the recipe and some Choux pastry tips.
They're indulgent and sheer luxury in your mouth.
They're indulgent and sheer luxury in your mouth. Éclairs are very easy to make too, don't be put off by the choux pastry.
Classic eclairs, called eclairs au chocolat or chocolate eclairs, are made with French choux pastry.
You can have Eclairs (choux pastry only) using 7 ingredients and 9 steps. Here is how you cook that. The Best Eclairs (choux pastry only) Recipe - Recipe: Delicious Eclairs (choux pastry only)
Ingredients of Eclairs (choux pastry only) Recipe
- You need 240 ml of water.
- Prepare 114 g of unsalted butter at room temperature.
- Prepare 133 g of bread flour.
- It's 4 of large eggs.
- You need 1/2 tsp of salt.
- It's 1 tbsp of white sugar.
- You need 1/2 tsp of vanilla extracts.
The hallow crispy shells are then filled with vanilla custard, called pastry cream, and dipped in a chocolate glaze! You HAVE to try making these yourself! Most people associate choux with pastries like eclairs, profiteroles, and beignets. But choux's versatility makes it useful for savory preparations like gougeres and even French gnocchi.
Eclairs (choux pastry only) instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius.
- Place salt, water, sugar and butter in a saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the water is begins to boil (butter should be melted at this point), add all the flour (do this with the saucepan off the stove) and vigorously mix the flour in, so that it absorbs all of the water (use a wooden spoon or spatula to do this). When the flour has absorbed the water and it's forming a dough, put the pan back on the stove..
- Cook the dough for 1 – 3 minutes while you mix and move it around in the pan until you get a dough that pulls away from the sides of the pan, forms a film or oil droplets on the bottom of the pan, and when you stick a spoon in the dough, it stays upright..
- Transfer the dough to a bowl, and let it cool down slightly for a few minutes. Add the vanilla extract and then with a hand whisk, mix the dough while adding the eggs mix a little at a time, mixing it really well after each addition. Make sure the eggs are lightly beaten so that you can stop adding eggs immediately, when you reach the right consistency (i.e. a glossy dough with pipeable consistency..
- To check that the dough is the right consistency dip the hand whisk into the mix. If it come out with a firm v shape bottom, it is ready..
- Get a bowl of water and two teaspoons and put the teaspoons in the water. Get the pre-floured eclair tins or the baking tray with parchment you are using and with the wet spoons take some of the mixture and spoon it on the trays. Don’t worry if you don’t have eclair tins you can do this with a normal baking tray..
- Once all the eclairs have been put into the moulds, use a wet spoon to smooth the tops..
- Bake the choux in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes. Do not open the oven until it has been AT LEAST 25 minutes. Once the eclairs are golden, remove from the oven and use a butter knife to make small incisions on the side of the eclairs where you will pipe the cream. Then leave them to cool on a cooling rack.
- Don’t pipe cream inside until they have cooled down. For the fillings please see my eclair fillings recipe on my cookpad.
Choux is relatively easy to make; the tricky part is knowing how to get the right consistency. Crisp choux pastry, vanilla-scented pastry cream, and a rich chocolate icing make up these classics. To assemble the eclairs: Make a wide incision in the side of each pastry. Place pastry cream into a piping bag and fill each pastry with cream. What about profiteroles, cream puffs, and cheesy gougères?