Fancy Chocolate Éclairs For Every Occasion

The word éclair comes from the French for "a flash of lightning," so named because this delicious treat is eaten up in no time at all. In fact, our éclairs disappear from the plate faster than the amount of time it takes to prepare them. But when all is said and done, the effort is certainly worth it!

You'll Need:

For the batter:

  • 7 fl oz water
  • 2½ oz butter
  • some salt
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 5 oz flour
  • 4 eggs

For the vanilla filling:

  • 10 fl oz milk
  • 2 oz sugar
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1-2 tbsp rum
  • 2 oz vanilla pudding mix
  • 9 fl oz cream

For the coating:

  • 2-3 tbsp apricot jelly, smooth

For the glaze:

  • 5 fl oz cream
  • 7 oz chocolate
  • 1 tbsp honey

For the garnish:

  • 2 oz hazelnuts
  • 1 oz butter
  • 1 tbsp honey

Here's How:

1. The batter:

  • Melt the butter with the water, sugar, and salt in a pot.
  • Add the flour and stir until a white layer forms on the bottom of the pot.
  • Transfer the batter to a bowl and fold in the eggs until it becomes nice and smooth.
  • Fill a piping bag with the batter. Pipe individual éclairs onto a baking tray before placing everything in a preheated oven set to 370°F for 30 minutes. Keep the oven door closed throughout, as the éclairs could otherwise fall apart.
  • Next, leave the éclairs to cool in the switched off oven. After the oven and éclairs have cooled, you can take them out. You'll notice how light the éclairs are, since they're hollow inside and ready to be filled.

2. The filling:

  • Mix 6¾ fl oz of milk, two egg yolks, the vanilla extract, and the pudding mix together and add the mixture to a pot containing 10 fl oz of milk, 2 oz of sugar and 1-2 tbsp of rum. Stir everything together until you have a creamy mixture.
  • Next, remove the pot from the stove, place food wrap on top of the mixture so that a skin doesn't form, and leave it to cool.
  • Transfer the cooled mixture to a bowl and break it up using an electric whisk. Next, fold in the whipped cream. To finish, add the filling to a piping bag with a long, thin nozzle.

3. Filling the éclairs:

  • Take the piping bag containing the vanilla filling and insert it into an éclair. Once you can see the filling in the holes, you've piped in enough.
  • Next, spread warm apricot jelly onto the top of the éclairs and leave them to dry.

4. The glaze:

  • Heat up the cream with honey and add the chopped up chocolate. Leave the chocolate to melt and stir it into a smooth mixture. Dip the éclairs into the melted chocolate with the apricot jelly side facing downward.
  • For the finishing touch, you can garnish the éclairs with chopped up hazelnuts that have been fried in butter and honey.

Well, you've certainly earned your dessert after all that work! As you can see, our éclairs are a great way to show off your pastry skills to family and friends. Just be sure to get your hands on one quickly, as they'll be gone in a flash.

Comments

Also hefty