Classic Chocolate Éclairs

Ingredients

• 2 cup Milk
• 0.5 cup Water
• 0.5 cup Butter
• 0.25 cup Granulated sugar
• Salt (1 pinch)
• 1 cup All-purpose flour
• 4 Eggs
• 2 cup Pastry cream (Use vanilla pastry cream or flavor with the listed vanilla extract.)
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 1 cup Dark chocolate (Chopped, for the glaze.)
• 0.5 cup Heavy cream (For the chocolate glaze.)

Steps

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Line a baking tray with parchment paper and fit a piping bag with a plain or star tip.

2. 2

   Place the milk, water, butter, sugar, and pinch of salt in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a full boil over medium heat, stirring as needed until the butter has melted.

3. 3

   Add the flour all at once. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a smooth dough and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Continue cooking briefly until the dough is cohesive and a thin film forms on the bottom of the pan.

4. 4

   Transfer the dough to a bowl and let it cool slightly, until warm rather than hot. Beat in the eggs one at a time, incorporating each egg fully before adding the next. The finished dough should be smooth, glossy, and thick enough to hold its shape when piped.

5. 5

   Pipe 10–12 evenly sized éclairs onto the prepared baking tray, leaving space between them for expansion.

6. 6

   Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 30–35 minutes, until the éclairs are puffed and golden. Avoid opening the oven during baking so they do not collapse.

7. 7

   Transfer the éclairs to a rack and cool completely before filling. Do not fill them while warm, or the pastry cream may soften the shells.

8. 8

   Stir the vanilla extract into the pastry cream. Fill a piping bag with the vanilla pastry cream, make small openings in the bottoms or ends of the éclairs, and pipe the cream into each shell until filled.

9. 9

   Place the dark chocolate and heavy cream in a heatproof bowl. Melt them together gently, using a microwave in short intervals or a bowl set over barely simmering water, stirring until the glaze is smooth and glossy.

10. 10

    Dip the tops of the filled éclairs into the chocolate glaze, allowing excess glaze to drip back into the bowl. Arrange them on a rack or parchment paper.

11. 11

    Let the chocolate glaze set completely before serving.

Notes

The source also lists vanilla and coffee éclair variations using the same choux pastry base, but the supplied text is truncated during the pistachio variation. Refrigerate filled éclairs and serve preferably the same day; unfilled shells can be stored airtight and refreshed briefly in a warm oven.

Nutrition per serving

• dessert
• French
• baked
• pastry
• chocolate
• vegetarian
• make-ahead