I love chocolate eclairs! So, let’s make 3 different versions of the chocolate eclair! All you need are some basic recipes to make these delicious eclairs with plenty of flavor ideas!
Let’s start with Crème Pâtissière (Pastry Cream) first because it needs to chill in the fridge for a few hours
Ingredients:
- 1 whole vanilla bean
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup (115g) granulated sugar
- 3 tbs (30g) corn starch
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 tbs unsalted butter
Directions:
- Gently bring the milk and vanilla bean (& pod) to a simmer and then remove from heat and cool for about 20 mins
2. Whisk together the egg yolks, corn starch, salt, sugar and then slowly add the cooled milk and whisk constantly
3. Add that mixture back to the sauce pan, through a sieve and whisk on low until thickened, about 2 minutes, then remove from heat
4. Add butter and whisk, transfer to a different bowl and cover with Saran Wrap to cool in the fridge for 3 hours or so
Now let’s make and bake our Pâte à Choux (Choux Pastry)
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 cup (125g) all purpose flour
- 4 eggs (plus one extra for an egg wash)
Directions:
- Bring water, milk, butter, salt and sugar to a low boil, turn down the heat and add the flour, mixing continuously and then keep stirring until everything is incorporated and it starts forming a ball in the pan and leaving a thin residue on the bottom, let cool
2. Whisk together all four eggs and then slowly add them, about an egg at a time to your cooled flour ball mixture. You may not need all 4 eggs, so take it easy at the end and look for a pipable texture that holds a v shape when held up with a spatula
3. Pipe eclair shapes onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 20 mins, then turn down the oven to 350°F for another 10-12 minutes
4. Poke holes or X’s in the bottom of your eclairs when they come out of the oven to release some steam
Now on to our Chocolate Ganache because it has to cool a bit before dipping your eclairs
Ingredients:
- 113g 60-70% dark chocolate bar, chopped
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
Directions:
- Heat heavy cream in microwave in 20 second intervals until it reaches between 176-185°F and then pour over the chocolate and let sit for 5 minutes and stir
The Chantilly Cream is just a stabilized whipped cream
Ingredients:
- 8g instant pudding mix (white chocolate)
- 30g powdered sugar
- 1 cup cold heavy cream
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
Directions:
- Whisk all ingredients with a hand mixer until it becomes whipped cream
Diplomat Cream is what happens when you fold Chantilly Cream into Pastry Cream, so here I took half of each so then I had 3 different fillings
Then you just fill your eclair shells
And dip in ganache
For the Chantilly cream eclairs, instead of making the X’s on the bottom of my eclairs, I cut them in half to fill them
I also used the leftover ganache to fill the bottom of this eclair variety and then piped my chantilly cream
I did a milk chocolate drizzle on the Chantilly cream filled eclairs and then a white chocolate drizzle on the diplomat cream filled eclairs so I could tell them apart from the pastry cream filled eclairs.
These chocolate eclairs are a labor of love but they are so worth it!
They were a fun project to do with my husband on the weekend and were a vibe to share with the family for movie night.
I really hope you try baking these eclairs, and if you do, you’ll have to tell me which kind of filling you liked the best! They’re all delicious though, I can’t decide!
Be sure to watch my video for more details and visuals of how to succeed the most delicious chocolate eclairs!
Also, here’s a list of the Amazon products I used to make this recipe.
Ok love you bye
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