Eclairs I Food

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.

ECLAIRS

Steps:

• START WITH THE DOUGH.
• Align the racks so the oven is divided into thirds. Preheat the oven to 375°F Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a heavy bottomed saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar, and salt to a boil.
• Add all of the flour at once, reduce heat to medium, and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough will come together quickly and may form a slight crust at the bottom of the pan, which is perfect. Stir for 2-3 minutes to dry out the dough. The dough should be very soft and smooth.
• Transfer the dough to a stand mixer (or I've mixed by hand just fine) with a paddle attachment and add the eggs one by one. If the dough separates after the first egg, don't worry, it should come back together by the time the third egg is incorporated. When all the eggs are incorporated, the dough should be thin and fall back to the bowl in a ribbon when lifted.
• Pour the dough into a piping bag and pipe onto baking sheets.
• Bake in oven for 7 minutes, then stick the handle of a wooden spoon in the door to keep it ajar. Bake for 5 more minutes, then rotate the pans top to bottom, back to front. Bake for approximately 8 more minutes (with the spoon in the door) until the eclairs are golden brown and puffy. Total baking time should be about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the pastry cream.
• FOR THE CHOCOLATE PASTRY CREAM.
• In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. While the milk is coming to a boil, combine the yolks, sugar, and cornstarch together and whisk in a heavy bottom saucepan.
• Once the milk has reached a boil, temper the eggs by putting a little milk at a time into the egg mixture while whisking. Continue whisking and slowly pour the rest of the milk in the egg mixture.
• Strain the mixture back into the saucepan to remove any egg that may have scrambled. Place the pan over medium heat and whisk vigorously (without stop) until the mixture returns to a boil. Keep whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 more minutes (still over medium heat).Stir in the melted chocolate and then remove the pan from the heat.
• Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl and set it in an ice‐water bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture at this point so that it remains smooth.
• Once the cream has reached a temperature of 140 F remove from the ice‐water bath and stir in the butter in three or four installments. Return the cream to the ice‐water bath to continue cooling, stirring occasionally, until it has completely cooled. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.
• FOR THE VANILLA PASTRY CREAM.
• Bring milk, vanilla beans, and vanilla pod to a simmer.
• Meanwhile, combine the sugar, flour, and cornstarch in a bowl. Whisk until smooth and then add the yolks, whisking until lump-free.
• Remove the vanilla pod from the milk.
• Temper the egg mixture with the milk by pouring he milk little by little into the egg mixture while stirring to prevent scrambling.
• Once the egg mixture is tempered, return to the saucepan and bring to a boil.
• Boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat and stir in the butter. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.
• FOR THE CHOCOLATE SAUCE.
• Place all the ingredients into a heavy‐bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.
• It may take 10‐15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.
• FOR THE CHOCOLATE GLAZE.
• In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.
• Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.
• TO ASSEMBLE THE ECLAIRS.
• Slice the éclairs horizontally, using a serrated knife. Set aside the bottoms and place the tops on a rack over a piece of parchment paper.
• The glaze should be barely warm to the touch (between 95 - 104 degrees F or 35 - 40 degrees C, as measured on an instant read thermometer). Spread the glaze over the tops of the éclairs using a metal icing spatula. Allow the tops to set and in the meantime fill the bottoms with the pastry cream.
• Pipe or spoon the pastry cream into the bottoms of the éclairs. Make sure you fill the bottoms with enough cream to mound above the pastry. Place the glazed tops onto the pastry cream and wriggle gently to settle them.
• Serve immediately.