Coconut Eclairs Food

CHOCOLATE ECLAIRS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. In a large saucepan, bring water, butter and salt to a boil. Add flour all at once and stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny. , Using a tablespoon or a pastry tube with a #10 or large round tip, form dough into nine 4x1-1/2-in. strips on a greased baking sheet. Bake 35-40 minutes or until puffed and golden. Remove to a wire rack. Immediately split eclairs open; remove tops and set aside. Discard soft dough from inside. Cool eclairs. , In a large bowl, beat milk and pudding mix according to package directions. In another bowl, whip cream until soft peaks form. Beat in sugar and vanilla; fold into pudding. Fill eclairs (chill any remaining filling for another use). , For frosting, in a microwave, melt chocolate and butter; stir until smooth. Stir in sugar and enough hot water to achieve a smooth consistency. Cool slightly. Frost eclairs. Store in refrigerator.

COCONUT ECLAIRS

Steps:

• Pastry Cream:Combine granulated sugar, cornstarch, salt, and toasted coconut in a medium saucepan. Combine coconut milk, whole milk, egg yolks, and vanilla in a large liquid-measuring cup. Place a fine-mesh sieve over a heatproof bowl. Add milk mixture to sugar mixture until fully combined and no lumps remain. Cook, stirring, over medium heat until mixture thickens and comes to a boil; let boil 2 minutes. Strain mixture through sieve into bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto surface to prevent skin from forming. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 4 hours and up to 2 days.
• Pate a Choux:In a medium saucepan, heat butter, granulated sugar, salt, and 1 cup water over medium; bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Using a wooden spoon, quickly stir in flour. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture pulls away from sides of pan and a film forms on bottom, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on low speed until slightly cooled, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. With mixer on low, add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is fully incorporated and a soft peak forms when you touch dough with your finger.
• Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch open star tip (such as Ateco #826). Using a pencil and ruler, make a template that will be the guide for piping out the eclairs: Draw a line crosswise on a sheet of parchment, about 1 inch from the edge of a short side. Draw a second line crosswise, 5 inches from the first. Draw a second set of lines on opposite end of parchment, then trace template to an additional sheet of parchment. Place templates, upside-down, on two rimmed baking sheets and use a small amount of dough to adhere templates to each corner of baking sheets.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pipe dough between lines on parchment templates, holding pastry bag at a 45-degree angle and allowing dough to fall gently onto the surface. When you reach the end, stop squeezing pastry bag and slide the tip back along the surface of the eclair to release. Flatten tips of eclairs with a wet finger.
• Bake 10 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Continue baking until evenly browned and firm to the touch, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and prick a small hole in bottom of each eclair to release steam. Transfer sheets to wire racks and let cool completely. (For extra-crispy shells, return cooled pastries to a 350-degree oven 20 minutes to dry thoroughly.)
• Stir chilled pastry cream with a rubber spatula to loosen. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a coupler and a filling tip (such as Wilton #230). Insert tip into bottom of each eclair; fill.
• Glaze:In a small bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar and coconut cream. Using a spoon, carefully apply a line of glaze about 1 inch wide along top of each filled eclair, holding eclair vertically to allow excess to drip off the end. Smooth edges of glaze with your finger, if necessary. Garnish with toasted coconut, if desired. Glazed eclairs can be stored in refrigerator up to 1 day.

CHOCOLATE ECLAIRS

Steps:

• Filling: In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and vanilla bean to a boil over medium heat. Immediately turn off the heat and set aside to infuse for 15 minutes. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cornstarch and whisk vigorously until no lumps remain. Whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture until incorporated. Whisk in the remaining hot milk mixture, reserving the saucepan. Pour the mixture through a strainer back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and slowly boiling. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Let cool slightly. Cover with plastic wrap, lightly pressing the plastic against the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill at least 2 hours or until ready to serve. The custard can be made up to 24 hours in advance. Refrigerate until 1 hour before using.
• Pastry: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. In a large saucepan, bring the water, butter, salt and sugar to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. When it boils, immediately take the pan off the heat. Stirring with a wooden spoon, add all the flour at once and stir hard until all the flour is incorporated, 30 to 60 seconds. Return to the heat and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Scrape the mixture into a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer). Mix at medium speed. With the mixer running, add 3 eggs, 1 egg at a time. Stop mixing after each addition to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix until the dough is smooth and glossy and the eggs are completely incorporated. The dough should be thick, but should fall slowly and steadily from the beaters when you lift them out of the bowl. If the dough is still clinging to the beaters, add the remaining 1 egg and mix until incorporated.
• Using a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip, pipe fat lengths of dough (about the size and shape of a jumbo hot dog) onto the lined baking sheet, leaving 2 inches of space between them. You should have 8 to 10 lengths.
• Egg Wash: In a bowl, whisk the egg and water together. Brush the surface of each eclair with the egg wash. Use your fingers to smooth out any bumps of points of dough that remain on the surface. Bake 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375 degrees and bake until puffed up and light golden brown, about 25 minutes more. Try not to open the oven door too often during the baking. Let cool on the baking sheet. Fit a medium-size plain pastry tip over your index finger and use it to make a hole in the end of each eclair (or just use your fingertip). Using a pastry bag fitted with a medium-size plain tip, gently pipe the custard into the eclairs, using only just enough to fill the inside (don't stuff them full).
• Glaze: In a small saucepan, heat the cream over medium heat just until it boils. Immediately turn off the heat. Put the chocolate in a medium bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Set aside and keep warm. The glaze can be made up to 48 hours in advance. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use, and rewarm in a microwave or over hot water when ready to use.
• Dip the tops of the eclairs in the warm chocolate glaze and set on a sheet pan. Chill, uncovered, at least 1 hour to set the glaze. Serve chilled.