…Making eclairs was a pretty fun challenge. The recipe I used was this one from foodnetwork.com. The process of baking eclairs involves 3 components – the creme patisserie, choux pastry, and the chocolate glaze. Oooh la la I feel so French! It took a while to complete the bake but I am happy to say that overall it wasn’t as difficult or arduous as I anticipated.
Why did I choose eclairs? As a long time fan of the The Great British Bakeoff, I have wanted to try choux pastry for awhile. When the style of pastry was assigned on the show, the steps always looked complicated and difficult for the bakers to complete in the allotted time. There were episodes when the pastry wouldn’t puff up properly or the batter was too runny. The whole point of my monthly #canibakeit challenge is for me to try something that will test my baking prowess. I know that not every recipe will turn out perfectly, but I will always try my best and that was the case with these eclairs!
I started the recipe by making the creme patisserie. In my saucepan, I brought two cups of milk with half of a vanilla bean pod to a boil. Since it was my first attempt, I went all out and bought a jar of vanilla beans which only had TWO pods in the jar and cost $20. If I make these again, I will make them with good vanilla extract instead since I read it’s fine to use as well and not so expensive.
Once the milk and vanilla came to a boil, I set it aside for 15 minutes to let the flavors infuse.
Egg yolks, corn starch, sugar, milk, vanilla bean, and butter
for the creme patisserie
Milk and vanilla bean almost to a boil here
Then, I mixed the egg yolks and sugar together until they were nice and fluffy before adding the cornstarch until it was well incorporated. After the milk and vanilla rested for 15 minutes, I added a 1/4 cup of it to the egg/sugar/cornstarch mixture until it was all mixed together and then slowly added the rest from the pot making sure to not cook the eggs.
Adding the cornstarch to the sugar and eggs 
After the milk was added – it looked kind of thin and bubbly
When I finished this step, I noticed one of the big mistakes I would make during this challenge – I let the milk boil a little too long and created a thin burnt layer on the bottom of the pot. I got rid of a bit of the layer but I probably should have scraped all of it off. Instead, I followed the next step of the recipe which said to strain the egg/sugar/cornstarch/milk/vanilla combination back into the pot. Once it was all strained, it was a hefty liquid but not a velvety texture like a custard should be. With a whisk, I stirred the liquid until it started to boil and thicken up. It was cool to start out feeling very unsure about this custard and then all of a sudden realizing I actually made it correctly when it became just slightly tougher to stir. When the pastry cream base became a custard, I turned off the heat and put it in a glass bowl. One tab of butter was added to melt and incorporate. Other than a few brown bits in the custard from my mess-up, it tasted sweet, the texture was smooth and creamy, and it looked the filling of the eclairs I’ve had before. It was very exciting. I placed a layer of plastic wrap over the bowl and pressed it down onto the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Then, the bowl went into the refrigerator where it cooled for 2 hours.
Creme patisserie is done 
Covered in plastic wrap and ready for the fridge
The next step is the one I watched so many times on the GBBO– the choux pastry! I made sure to read the recipe several times to make sure I understood the order of things because the dough comes together rather quickly. To start this part of the dessert, I brought a cup of water, a stick of butter, a bit of salt, and a dash of sugar to a rolling boil. As soon as it boiled, I took it off the heat and stirred in a cup of flour until it all came together. The recipe said it should take about 30-60 seconds, but mine seemed to be quicker – about 10-15 seconds. Then, I put the pot back on the heat to cook for a bit while stirring the whole time. After 30 seconds, I transferred the pastry dough to a mixing bowl and added 3 eggs one at a time.
Sugar, butter, flour, salt, water, and eggs 
After adding the flour, I returned the pot to the head to stir a few seconds longer.
When the eggs are all mixed in, the dough should be smooth, glossy and slowly fall off of the beaters but mine was not acting like that. The recipe suggested adding a 4th egg if the batter was a little too thick, so I followed that step and it became the consistency I needed. Then, I pre-heated my oven to 425 degrees.
Adding the eggs in one at a time 
The final look of the pastry before piping
The next step was my favorite since it involved piping. I filled a pastry bag with the choux dough and on a baking sheets lined with parchment paper or my Wilton silicone baking mat, I made thick lines of pastry. I needed a few tries to actually produce semi-normal looking ones since, as you can see, some of these eclairs were quite squiggly and crooked at first but slowly became better with some practice. Once I filled a tray, I brushed egg wash on top and then smoothed any bumps with my finger.
My first batch were very goofy and crooked looking 
Still kind of silly looking but much smoother and straight
Once the tray was ready, I popped it into the oven. They baked at 425 degrees for 15 minutes and then I reduced the heat to 375 and they baked for 25 more minutes. It is very important to not peek at the oven to allow the eclairs to puff up properly so I didn’t open the door once while they were baking. When they were done, I placed them on a cooling rack.
The final step for making eclairs is decorating them! I grabbed the set creme patisserie out of the refrigerator to soften up a bit and started the chocolate glaze. The glaze has only two ingredients and was incredibly easy to make. I brought half a cup of heavy cream to a boil and then poured it over 4 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips. I let it sit for a few seconds to melt the chocolate before stirring it into the cream to create a smooth, silky texture.
Before filling the pastry, I had to poke holes into it with a tooth pick. I tried several different methods. I watched a video where the baker poked two to three holes along the bottom of the pastry shell. The recipe I used said to press a whole at just one end of the shell. After trying both ways, I personally don’t think one way was better than the other. To fill the pastry, I used a a plastic syringe that was originally filled with chocolate when I went to Max Brenner’s, which is a restaurant and chocolate shop in NY. One by one, each eclair was filled with enough Creme Patisserie without overflowing and then dunked in the chocolate glaze.
Poking holes into the pastry shells 
All ready to fill and glaze 
My chocolate syringe all ready to fill my choux pastry 
Glazed and looking beautiful!
Once all of the eclairs were filled and glazed, they went into the refrigerator. I patiently waited the suggested hour to let the glaze set and slightly harden on top before digging in.
I definitely know that there are a few ways I would improve the next time I make them but I think they turned out really well! They tasted like an eclair and mostly looked like one too so I say it was a successful challenge! The recipe said it would make 8-10 but I made 25 so next time I would halve the recipe. I ended up giving several to our doormen because there was no way Pete and I could eat all of them ourselves!
The Finished Product – Tasty eclairs! 
The cross section – creme patisserie, choux pastry, and chocolate glaze
Have you ever tried to make eclairs? Did they turn out well? What other baking challenges should I try? I have a few lined up for this year, but I would love to have suggestions to mix it up occasionally.
every so often... 
Leave a comment