Vanilla Cream Éclairs with Chocolate Glaze
Inspired by techniques from NYT Cooking and America's Test Kitchen.
Crisp choux fingers filled with a light vanilla pastry cream and dipped in a glossy dark chocolate glaze.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Pastry cream. whisk the yolks, sugar, cornflour and salt smooth, then whisk in the milk. Cook over medium heat, whisking, until it thickens, then let it bubble gently 1 min; it will pass 85 °C. Strain, whisk in the butter and vanilla, cover the surface and chill 2 h.
- 2
Choux. heat the oven to 200 °C (180 °C fan) and line the tray. Bring the butter, water, milk, sugar and salt to the boil, tip in the flour and beat over low heat 1-2 min until it forms a smooth ball. Cool 4 min, then beat in the eggs a little at a time until the paste is glossy and drops slowly from the spoon in a V. Cooking the paste dries it so it holds more egg and puffs well.
- 3
Pipe. pipe 12 fingers 12 cm long and 2.5 cm wide, 5 cm apart.
- 4
Bake. bake 30-35 min, without opening the door for the first 20 min, until deep golden and light. Pierce each end with the skewer and cool on the rack. Opening the door early lets steam out and the pastry can collapse.
- 5
Fill. whip the cold cream to firm peaks, beat the chilled pastry cream smooth and fold the two together. Make 2 small holes underneath each éclair and pipe in the cream until it feels heavy.
- 6
Glaze. bring the cream and golden syrup to a simmer, pour over the chocolate, wait 3 min and stir smooth. Dip the top of each éclair in the glaze, let the excess drip off and set 20 min.
Storage
Filled éclairs keep in the fridge for up to 1 day. Unfilled shells freeze for 1 month; recrisp at 160 °C (140 °C fan) for 5 min.
Equipment
- medium saucepan
- whisk
- fine sieve
- 2 bowls
- cling film
- baking tray
- baking paper
- piping bag with 1.5 cm plain nozzle
- small star or plain nozzle
- instant-read thermometer
- wooden spoon
- wire rack
- small saucepan
- electric whisk
- skewer
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 373 kcal |
| Protein | 6.9 g |
| Carbohydrate | 28.2 g |
| of which sugars | 16.6 g |
| of which free sugars | 13.7 g |
| Fat | 25.9 g |
| of which saturates | 15 g |
| Fibre | 1.8 g |
| Salt | 0.28 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
1.8 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
