Description
Elegant French choux pastry shells filled with vanilla pastry cream and topped with rich chocolate glaze.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1 cup (240 ml) water
- 8 Tbsp (113 g) unsalted butter
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup (125 g) all‑purpose flour
- 4 large eggs
- For pastry cream: 2 cups (480 ml) milk, 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar, 1/4 cup (30 g) cornstarch, 4 large egg yolks, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- For glaze: 4 oz (115 g) semisweet chocolate, 1/4 cup (60 ml) heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 °F (220 °C). Line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Make choux dough: in saucepan, combine water, butter, sugar, and salt; bring to boil. Remove from heat, add flour all at once, stirring until mixture forms a ball and pulls from pan.
- Return to low heat, cook 1–2 minutes to dry slightly. Transfer to bowl or mixer.
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each, until dough is smooth and shiny.
- Pipe 4–5″ logs onto parchment, spacing 2″ apart. Smooth tips with wet finger.
- Bake 10 minutes at 425 °F, then reduce to 375 °F (190 °C) and bake another 20–25 minutes until shells are puffed and golden. Avoid opening oven early. Cool on rack.
- Prepare pastry cream: whisk yolks, sugar, and cornstarch until pale. Heat milk until steaming; slowly whisk into yolk mixture. Return to saucepan, cook over medium, whisking until thickened and bubbling. Remove from heat, whisk in butter and vanilla. Transfer to bowl, cover surface with plastic, and chill.
- Make glaze: heat heavy cream until simmering, pour over chopped chocolate, let sit 1 minute, then stir until smooth.
- Fill eclairs: cut or poke hole in shells and pipe pastry cream inside.
- Dip tops in chocolate glaze, let set, then serve.
Notes
- Ensure choux dough is dry before adding eggs—dough should fall in a thick ribbon.
- Don’t open oven during baking to avoid collapse.
- Use room‑temperature eggs for better incorporation.
- Shells can be baked ahead and stored airtight up to 2 days; fill before serving.
- Glaze sets nicely at room temp, but for shine chill briefly before serving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 eclair
- Calories: 280 kcal
- Sugar: 20 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 16 g
- Saturated Fat: 9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 28 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Cholesterol: 125 mg