Perfect Classic Eclairs (Foolproof Recipe)

Deliciously crisp, light, airy, puffy, and perfect french classic eclairs filled with delicious pastry cream fillings. 

You jumped into the right place to know about making perfect classic eclairs! This blog will guide you through the recipe step by step and you will be able to make the deliciously perfect classic eclairs with three different flavors not only this you will enable to solve the shortcomings due to which eclairs came out flat or soggy.

What is CHOUX PASTRY? aka Pâte à Choux

A French pastry dough: choux pastry, pronounced shoe pastry. Or, in French, pâte à choux. “Choux” means cabbage and pâte means paste. So, in other words, cabbage paste. The name comes from the resemblance the pastry has to tiny cabbages. When baked, the pastry puffs up with little crinkles and ruffles. Little cabbages! But instead of cabbage paste, let’s simply call it choux pastry. Choux has a reputation for being difficult, but I witness it’s surprisingly simple. If you want to know how to make perfect choux au craquelin or choux pastry check my other blog CHOUX CRAQUELIN OR CRISPY CREAM PUFFS

How To Make The Perfect Classic Eclairs? Watch With Us!

Master this easy recipe and you can make many pastries most bakers are scared to try.  Choux pastry is a wonderful recipe to master because if you stick to the one basic recipe below, the door to DOZENS of other pastries are wide open. If you’re new to making eclairs, then you are in the right place. This foolproof step by step recipe will help you to master the eclairs, also similar french pastries like cream puffs/profiteroles (both sweet and savory), choux au craquelin, croquembouches, gougères, French crullers and more. 

For Perfect Eclairs:

Always weigh your ingredients, rather than relying on cup measurements for guaranteed, consistent results. If you do use cups, pay extra attention to the consistency of the dough at each step to make sure you’re on the right track. And you’ll get eclairs that are nice and puffy, with a beautiful shell and with no cracks. This will help you make foolproof classic eclairs that look like they came from a high-end pastry shop! So let’s get to it.

How to Make Eclairs ( Peta Choux) Dough:

Take water, milk, sugar, salt, and unsalted butter in a heavy bottom saucepan and brings to the boil. When starts boiling turn off the flame and add all-purpose flour in the milk mixture by sifting it. Mix these ingredients until becomes smooth paste and incorporate well. Be careful while mixing, there should be no lumps in the batter.

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Once the batter becomes smooth, turn on the flame and cook for 3-4 minutes at low to a medium flame by continually mixing it until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan. Once you see the dough starts pulling away from the sides of the pan, it is done and turns off the flame.

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Now turn off the flame and transfer the dough in the stand mixer bowl. Mix this dough with the paddle attachment, at low speed so the steam will be released from the dough. This is a very important step to release the steam before going to add the eggs. Once the steam has been released take eggs in a bowl and whisk them. Now gradually add these eggs into the dough preparation while mixing the dough on low to medium speed.

It is very important that the eggs should be at room temperature or at around 30C. If the eggs are cold enough, they might freeze the batter. Another very important thing, it is possible that you don’t need to add the whole quantity of eggs. It depends on how much eggs you need to obtain the result. Meaning a mixture that is bouncy and soft and holds soft peaks.

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We are almost there! next, you will be preparing the piping bag with the nozzle. Take 6B Wilton star nozzle fitted in a pastry bag. Transfer the eclairs dough in a pastry bag and remove the excess air from the batter that is trapped in the pastry bag.

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Pipe the long strips of pate a choux on a silicon mat and place it in the freezer until solid enough to cut. Remove from the freezer and cut the rough edges and cut into the strips of 12cm long. This way you can get the smooth and nice eclairs very easily.

Consistent Piping Pressure and Shape:

Here you need to take notice of a few important things. Firstly, you need to take care of the pressure you are applying to a pipe. Make sure to apply the same pressure throughout so to get the stripes of equal width. secondly, make straight stripes this will help to avoid cracks on the surface.

Finally! Baking:

Preheat the oven at 205°C or 401°F. When the oven is preheated take ¼ cup of water and throw it in the oven. It will help to increase the moisture in the oven and your eclairs will not burn. Now place the éclair’s tray in the oven and immediately lower the temperature to 160°C or 320°Fand bake for 30 minutes.

MY ECLAIRS HAVE CRAKS ON THE TOP!

It seems the cracking is due to using too high a temperature for too long and not enough moisture in the oven during the beginning stages of baking. Using a French star tip for piping looks amazing and apparently helps the dough expand evenly due to evenly spaced small ridges. so, keep the temperature low, and spraying the choux paste with water just before they go in the oven provides more steam allowing the dough to expand without drying prematurely and cracking.

Pastry Cremeux/ Pastry Filling:

Get yourself ready to make the fillings of these freshly baked eclairs. We are going to have three different flavors of fillings. Mango cremeux, Strawberry cremeux, and Chocolate cremeux.

Mango Cremeux :

We are going to make the mango filling. Mangoes are the most favorite fruit, so people love to consider mango flavor among different choices. so firstly, dip the gelatine sheet in water and whisk the egg yolks and make a smooth foam.

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Boil the milk with sugar and pour the mixture in whisked eggs. It is very important to prevent the eggs to curdle so, Make sure to stir it evenly while adding milk.

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Cook the mixture for a few minutes and you will notice the mixture will start becoming thick. Stir it continually while cooking because otherwise lumps will appear and you will lose the right track to get amazingly delicious mango cremeux eclairs. Also, add the gelatine into it after squeezing the extra water from it.

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After mixing the gelatin properly, you need to add mango puree and heavy cream and then blend it properly to get an even mixture.

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In the last, just cover your mixture with the plastic wrapping for a few hours to use it later.

Strawberry Cremeux :

For making the strawberry cremeux, the initial steps are the same as the ones you follow to make mango cremeux. The only difference is made to add strawberry puree instead of mango. Now, in strawberry cremeux, you will add strawberry puree with heavy cream and blend it. Cover the mixture with the covering sheet and let it sit for a few hours.

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Brazil Chocolate Cremeux :

Here we go with one more flavor! whisk egg yolks and sugar to get a smooth structure. Now, boil milk and cream in a saucepan and when the mixture comes to boil, mix it in the whisked eggs. keep on stirring the mixture while adding it so as to avoid lumps and again put the mixture on the stove to cook the mixed ingredients.

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This chocolate cremeux needs you to add dark chocolate chips in the empty bowl and pour your cooked mixture. Here you need to wait for a little so the heat of mixture will be transferred to the chocolate chips and they will melt. Use a blender to emulsify it. Blend just for a few minutes.

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In the end, just cover the mixture with wrapping sheet and let it sit for a few hours.

Vanilla Pastry Cream filling:

You can also enjoy the vanilla flavor. In a medium-sized saucepan, stir together milk, the sugar, salt, and the vanilla bean. (If you’re using vanilla extract or Vanilla Crush, add it at the end.) Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

Meanwhile, whisk the cornstarch, flour, and egg yolks with the remaining milk. Whisk some of the hot milk mixtures with the egg yolks to temper them. This keeps the yolks from turning to scrambled eggs when you add them to the simmering milk.

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Pour the egg/milk mixture back into the remaining simmering milk. Doing this through a strainer will help prevent lumps later. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly with a whisk, until the mixture thickens; its temperature should reach 165°F. This is important: if the pastry cream doesn’t reach 165°F on the stovetop it won’t set properly as it cools, and maybe soft and runny.

Remove from the heat and strain through a fine strainer into a bowl that is set in an ice bath. Stir in the butter and vanilla extract (if you’re using it). If you’ve never made pastry cream before, be sure to set up a bowl with a strainer over an ice bath before you apply heat to anything. Once the pastry cream comes to a full boil, it’s important to stop the cooking immediately, or it can curdle and separate. Taking it off the stove and straining it into the bowl in the ice bath can be the difference between silky pastry cream and a sad (weepy) result. Mix the butter over the surface of the cream

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Top with a piece of plastic wrap (make sure it touches the top of the pastry cream so it doesn’t develop a skin), then refrigerate until cool.

CHOCOLATE GLAZE:

Take chocolate, corn syrup, and butter in a heatproof bowl and melt the chocolate in a microwave oven. Mix the chocolate well.

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Colored Mirror Glaze:

Soak gelatin sheets in cold water.

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In a high jar, place finely chopped chocolate, yellow/red food color, and set aside.

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In a saucepan pour water and sugar and brings to boil. Cook this sugar syrup until the required temperature. This step is very important to cook your sugar syrup to the right temperature.

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Squeeze out the excess water from gelatine and add it in the hot sugar syrup. Mix the gelatine until dissolved. Next, add heavy cream in the sugar syrup mixture and mix it well. Out of the heat, pour over the chocolate mixture, and blend with a hand blender for about a few minutes.

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Sieve this glaze to make it smooth and cover with a cling wrap on the surface of the glaze and let it cool in the refrigerator.

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For red Glaze, I added red food color instead of yellow.

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ASSEMBLY:

Use a round nozzle 3 mm tip to make holes in the éclair at both sides. Transfer the cremeux or filling in the piping bag and piped into the holes you have just created. Completely fill the eclairs. And let it chill in the freezer for a few hours before applying the glaze.

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Dip the top of eclairs into the glaze and right after sprinkle some chopped pistachio or sprinkles.

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Eclairs are ready!