Eclairs are a wonderful French dessert, made from choux pastry, topped with cream and then topped with usually fondant icing. For the toppings there are a lot of variations, but making a simple and quick chocolate ganache just seems perfect to me. Eclairs is a real pleasure and worth all the effort involved.
Source: Home Cooking Adventure
Ingredient
Create 10-12 ecological floors
For the choux pastry
1 cup (125 g) flour
3.5 oz (100 ml) milk
3.5 oz (100 ml) of water
2 teaspoons (10 g) sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 1/2 tablespoons (80g) unsalted butter
4 eggs
Vanilla Pastry Cream
2 cups (480 ml) milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup (70g) sugar
1/3 cup (40g) cornmeal
1 tablespoon (15g) unsalted butter
chocolate glaze
7 oz (200 g) chocolate (55-70 cocoa), cut into smaller pieces
2/3 cup (155 ml) whipped cream
1. First prepare the pastry cream to be ready before baking.
2. Beat egg yolks with sugar until slightly pale.
3. Mix the cornstarch well. Pour milk into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour about a third of the hot milk over the egg
yolk mixture. Pour the entire mixture into a saucepan with the milk. Cook while stirring until thickened. Keep enough
Cook to cook all the cornstarch. Add vanilla extract.
4. Pour the cream into a clean bowl and let it cool for 10 minutes, then stir in the butter. Cover with cling film and press directly onto the surface of the ice cream to avoid skin forming on the surface. Set aside until ready to use.
5. Preheat oven to 350F (180C).
6. Prepare the choux pastry. Sieve flour. Boil milk, water, sugar, salt and butter in a saucepan.
7. Remove the heat and add all the flour at once and combine vigorously mixing by hand with a wooden spoon until homogeneous. Return the pan to low heat and while stirring, cook for 1 or 2 minutes to absorb any moisture from the dough and until it is tender.
pull away from the sides of the pan. You should see some dough sticking to the bottom of the pan.
8. Transfer dough to a large bowl and let cool slightly. Add the eggs one at a time, carefully combining them one by one
butter using a wooden spoon or even a stand mixer. It will produce a smooth, uniform powder that will retain its shape.
9. Fit a large inch (1 cm) round or star shaped pastry bag and dough tube into 4 or 5 inch (10 -12 cm) long strips on a
parchment lining baking sheet.
10. Dust with powdered sugar and bake for about 40 minutes. After the first 10 minutes, open the oven door slightly, about 1/8 inch (2 .)
-3 mm), let the steam escape. Bake for the remaining 30 minutes with the oven door slightly open, until golden. (Use a wooden spoon
to keep the oven door open)
11. Remove the eco from the oven, poke each slice with a skewer to release the steam and let it cool on a wire rack. Poke 3 holes in the base of each eclair using a 1/4 inch (5-6mm) pointed or star tip.
12. Take the pastry cream out of the refrigerator and beat until smooth. Transfer the pastry cream to a 1/4 inch (5-6 mm) plain-tipped piping bag.
13. Fill the cooled eco-levels by putting cream in the holes.
14. Prepare the chocolate ganache. In a small saucepan, heat the cream over medium-low for a few minutes until hot. No need to boil or simmer. Remove from heat, pour chopped chocolate on top and let stand for 1-2 minutes. Stir until dissolved.
15. Dip the top of the stairs in the chocolate and let it harden. You won’t need all the chocolate but you need more to get it
to embed them well.
16. Eclairs are best eaten the day they are made, but they do well in the refrigerator overnight.
