I have had a rough few weeks and although I am still working on my waistline sometimes only a sweet treat can make everything seem ok again. Plus if you combine my small sporadic meals with not having time to eat during the day an éclair for breakfast surely can’t hurt. This post is short and sweet, this recipe isn’t the easiest but it definitely delicious and just in case you were wondering éclairs and profiteroles are essentially the same thing except éclairs have a long shape while profiteroles are smaller and round.
Chocolate Eclairs
Start by making the choux pastry. Heat the water and butter in a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil before mixing in the flour, sugar and salt until the mixture is smooth and doughy and starts to come away from the side of the pan easily. Continue to cook for 2-3 minutes.
Remove from the heat and pour the beaten eggs into the pan a little at a time and whisking with electric whisk into all of the eggs are incorporated. The dough should look glossy and ‘elasticy’ – put to one side.
Making choux pastry for eclairs
Once cooled slightly, spoon into a piping bag and using a thick nozzle pipe lines about 10cm long onto a non-stick baking sheet or greaseproof paper. Put a baking tin at the bottom of the oven, once it is hot add half a cup of water before closing the door quickly allowing the éclairs to bake for 20 minutes, or until golden-brown. Then remove, make a hole in the end of each one using a skewer (to let steam escape) and pop back into for another couple of minutes to crisp up. Remove and cool on a rack.
Raw éclairs
Once your eclairs have cooled, take the double cream and whip until stiff peaks form, then sift in the icing sugar icing 50g of your icing sugar and fold in the vanilla essence. Using a piping bag and a small nozzle, pipe cream into each éclair using the hole you made earlier ensuring that each is full of cream. Refrigerate.
Baked éclairs
Baked éclairs
Then mix your chocolate and two tablespoons of water in a large saucepan (large enough to dip the eclairs in lengthways) and heat until the chocolate has melted. Then sift in the remaining icing sugar and mix well into it is smooth and thick.
Finally, take each éclair and dip the top of each, flat, into the chocolate to cover the top third. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.
Chocolate éclairs
Chocolate éclairs
Live, Love, Eat!
April x
- 250 ml water
- 115 g unsalted butter
- 200 g plain flour
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar
- Pinch of sea salt
- 4 free-range eggs, beaten
- 50 g chocolate, broken into pieces
- 150 g icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 450 ml double cream
- Preheat oven to 400°F
- Start by making the choux pastry. Heat the water and butter in a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil before mixing in the flour, sugar and salt until the mixture is smooth and doughy and starts to come away from the side of the pan easily. Continue to cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and pour the beaten eggs into the pan a little at a time and whisking with electric whisk into all of the eggs are incorporated. The dough should look glossy and ‘elasticy’ – put to one side.
- Once cooled slightly, spoon into a piping bag and using a thick nozzle pipe lines about 10cm long onto a non-stick baking sheet or greaseproof paper. Put a baking tin at the bottom of the oven, once it is hot add half a cup of water before closing the door quickly allowing the éclairs to bake for 20 minutes, or until golden-brown. Then remove, make a hole in the end of each one using a skewer (to let steam escape) and pop back into for another couple of minutes to crisp up. Remove and cool on a rack.
- Once your eclairs have cooled, take the double cream and whip until stiff peaks form, then sift in the icing sugar icing 50g of your icing sugar and fold in the vanilla essence. Using a piping bag and a small nozzle, pipe cream into each éclair using the hole you made earlier ensuring that each is full of cream. Refrigerate.
- Then mix your chocolate and two tablespoons of water in a large saucepan (large enough to dip the eclairs in lengthways) and heat until the chocolate has melted. Then sift in the remaining icing sugar and mix well into it is smooth and thick.
- Finally, take each éclair and dip the top of each, flat, into the chocolate to cover the top third. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.
- You can easily modify this recipe to make profiteroles if you wish. Just make small round pastry and follow the same instructions with less cooking time.
