Homemade Chocolate Eclairs Food

CHOCOLATE ECLAIRS

Steps:

• Start by making the custard filling. Heat the milk until almost boiling in a saucepan. Meanwhile, mix together the sugar, egg yolks and vanilla in a bowl, then stir in the flours, a couple of tsp at a time, to a smooth paste.
• Gradually whisk in the hot milk, pour everything back into the saucepan and cook over a high heat, stirring constantly, for about 5 mins until thick - it will go alarmingly lumpy but don't worry, just keep stirring it vigorously with a wooden spoon until smooth
• Lay a sheet of cling film directly on the custard surface, then cool and chill until you're ready to fill the buns.
• To make the choux buns, heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Sift the flour with the sugar and a pinch of salt into a small bowl. Put the milk and butter into a medium saucepan with 125ml water and gently heat so the butter melts but the liquid doesn't bubble.
• Once the butter has completely melted, increase the heat until the liquid comes to a fast rolling boil. Immediately turn off the heat, tip in the sifted flour and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until you a have a smooth dough that comes away from the sides of the pan. Spread over a large dinner plate to cool to hand temperature.
• Allow to cool for a few minutes, then gradually add the eggs, mixing well between each addition until the mixture reluctantly drops off the spoon. Don't add all the egg unless you need to.
• Cut two large sheets of baking parchment. On each one draw two sets of 'track' lines with a 10cm gap - these will be your guidelines so your eclairs will all be roughly the same size. Use the paper to line two large baking sheets - penside down.
• Spoon your choux mixture into a piping bag with a 1cm star or round wide nozzle, or into a disposable piping bag with a similar-size hole snipped off for piping. Pipe two rows of well-spaced, squashed 'S' shapes on each sheet between the guidelines. Bake, one tray at a time, on a high-ish shelf for 25 mins, reducing temperature to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 as soon as they go in the oven.
• After 25 mins, poke a hole in the end of each bun, or using a small serrated knife, split down the middle and return to the oven, upside-down, to dry out for 5 mins until crisp and golden. Set aside to cool.
• While the buns are cooling, finish your filling. Whisk the cream until thick, then use your electric whisk to beat the cooled, set custard until just smooth again. Fold in the cream. Spoon your filling into a piping bag - use a small nozzle if you're filling the buns through the holes you've pierced, or a large nozzle if you've split the buns in half. Carefully pipe the custard into each cooled bun - they should feel heavy once full.
• To make the icing, melt 100g plain chocolate and 25g butter together in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Once melted, remove from the heat and stir in 75ml double cream and 1 tbsp sifted icing sugar. Once cooled a little, spread over the tops of the buns and leave to cool.

CHOCOLATE ECLAIR DESSERT

Steps:

• Mix together vanilla pudding mix and milk.
• Fold in whipped topping.
• Line 9 x 13 pan with one layer of graham crackers.
• Put half of the pudding mixture over the graham crackers.
• Place a second layer of graham crackers over the pudding mixture.
• Put the remaining pudding mixture over the graham crackers.
• Place a third layer of graham crackers over the pudding mixture.
• Heat the tub of frosting in the microwave for 30 seconds to soften. (Don't forget to remove the foil seal or you'll get fireworks).
• Spread frosting on the top of the last layer of graham crackers.
• Cover with plastic wrap and let set a couple hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
• Cut in squares.

HOMEMADE ECLAIRS

Steps:

• Start by making the custard filling. Heat the milk until almost boiling in a saucepan. Meanwhile, mix together the sugar, egg yolks and vanilla in a bowl, then stir in the flours, a couple of tsp at a time, to a smooth paste.
• Gradually whisk in the hot milk, pour everything back into the saucepan and cook over a high heat, stirring constantly, for about 5 mins until thick - it will go alarmingly lumpy but don't worry, just keep stirring it vigorously with a wooden spoon until smooth.
• Lay a sheet of cling film directly on the custard surface, then cool and chill until you're ready to fill the buns.
• To make the choux buns, heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Sift the flour with the sugar and a pinch of salt into a small bowl. Put the milk and butter into a medium saucepan with 125ml water and gently heat so the butter melts but the liquid doesn't bubble.
• Once the butter has completely melted, increase the heat until the liquid comes to a fast rolling boil. Immediately turn off the heat, tip in the sifted flour and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until you a have a smooth dough that comes away from the sides of the pan. Spread over a large dinner plate to cool to hand temperature.
• Allow to cool for a few minutes, then gradually add the eggs, mixing well between each addition until the mixture reluctantly drops off the spoon. Don't add all the egg unless you need to.
• Cut 2 large sheets of baking parchment. On each one draw 2 sets of 'track' lines with a 10cm gap - these will be your guidelines so your eclairs will all be roughly the same size. Use the paper to line 2 large baking sheets - penside down.
• Spoon your choux mixture into a piping bag with a 1cm star or round wide nozzle, or into a disposable piping bag with a similar-size hole snipped off for piping. Pipe 2 rows of well-spaced, squashed 'S' shapes on each sheet between the guidelines. Bake, one tray at a time, on a high-ish shelf for 25 mins, reducing temperature to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6 as soon as they go in the oven.
• After 25 mins, poke a hole in the end of each bun, or using a small serrated knife, split down the middle and return to the oven, upside-down, to dry out for 5 mins until crisp and golden. Set aside to cool.
• While the buns are cooling, finish your filling. Whisk the cream until thick, then use your electric whisk to beat the cooled, set custard until just smooth again. Fold in the cream. Spoon your filling into a piping bag - use a small nozzle if you're filling the buns through the holes you've pierced, or a large nozzle if you've split the buns in half. Carefully pipe the custard into each cooled bun - they should feel heavy once full.
• Arrange the buns on a wire rack and spread each with a little of your chosen icing. If you can't decide, it's really easy to split your batch of choux buns, halve icing quantities, and make a selection to keep everyone happy. See the tip below for more icing flavours.

CHOCOLATE ECLAIR DESSERT

Steps:

• Line the bottom of a 9x13-inch pan with graham crackers.
• In a large bowl, combine pudding mix and milk; stir well. Mix whipped topping into pudding mixture. Spread half of mixture over graham cracker layer. Top with another layer of graham crackers and the remaining pudding.
• Top all with a final layer of graham crackers and frost with chocolate frosting. Refrigerate at least two hours before serving to allow the graham crackers to soften.

CLASSIC CHOCOLATE ÉCLAIRS

Steps:

• Prepare the custard: Stir together the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and kosher salt in a medium saucepan until smooth. Whisk in the milk and 1/2 cup heavy cream. Add the vanilla bean and seeds and the butter and bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Set a fine-mesh sieve over a large heatproof bowl.
• Cook the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly and making sure to get the edges, until the mixture begins to thicken, 2 to 4 minutes. (It's helpful to have both a spatula and a whisk handy while making the custard. Switch between the two.) Let it come up to a very slow boil and cook for 1 minute more. Strain the custard through the sieve into the bowl. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the custard and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 1/2 hours.
• Prepare the puffs: Bring the butter, sugar, salt and 3/4 cup/175 milliliters water to a simmer over medium heat in a medium saucepan, stirring with a wooden spoon. As soon as it comes to a boil, add the flour, stirring constantly, until the dough forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring the dough occasionally.
• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Add the eggs to the dough in the pan, one at a time, stirring vigorously between each addition with a wooden spoon. The dough will break apart and slide around in the pot before it comes back together. Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a large round or star tip. (The author used Ateco #826.)
• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Pipe the dough into 4 1/2-inch-by-3/4-inch lengths about 3 inches apart. With a damp fingertip, flatten any points. Bake until éclairs are deep golden brown and puffed, rotating the sheets halfway through, 22 to 25 minutes. They should be very light and crisp. Turn the oven off. Poke each éclair on either end with a toothpick to allow some steam to release. Return the puffs to the oven and prop the door open a crack with a wooden spoon. Allow the puffs to dry out in the oven, about 15 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Prepare the glaze: Bring the heavy cream and salt to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate and corn syrup. Let the mixture stand for 1 minute and then whisk to make a smooth sauce.
• To finish the custard, whip the remaining 1/4 cup heavy cream to soft peaks. Whisk the cooled custard to loosen it, then fold in the whipped cream. Transfer the custard to a pastry bag fitted with a fluted tip. Slice the top third off each éclair and fill the bases of the éclairs with custard. Dip the tops of the éclairs in the glaze and set them on top of the custard-filled bases. Serve immediately.

CHOCOLATE ECLAIRS

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the water and bring to the boil.
• Remove from the heat and quickly add the sifted flour and salt and beat well.
• Heat again until the mixture leaves the side of the pan.
• Allow the mixture to cool for a few moments before adding the first egg.
• Beat this well into the mixture and then add the other two eggs one at a time, beating well with a wooden spoon.
• Make sure the mixture is soft by shaking some off a spoon, it will fall softly and leave some on the spoon.
• Eclairs: Put the choux pastry in a biscuit forcer or something similar with a 1/2 inch or 1 inch plain forcer.
• Force out 1/2 inches of mixture on a lightly greased tray.
• Bake in a moderate over[350F] for 35-40 minutes.
• Ice with chocolate icing when cold, and fill with whipped cream.

CLASSIC FRENCH CHOCOLATE ÉCLAIR RECIPE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425 F. Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
• Combine the butter, water, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Stir the mixture until the butter melts and is incorporated into the water.
• Add the flour all at once, lower the heat to medium-low. Stir vigorously and continuously with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together in a ball, pulls away from the sides of the saucepan, and a thin film develops on the bottom of the pan, about 1 minute. Continue to stir the dough vigorously so the dough dries out a bit and moisture evaporates, another 2 1/2 to 3 minutes.
• Remove from heat, transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Let cool, stirring occasionally on a low setting until the dough is only slightly warm to the touch. Beat in the eggs, one at a time on low speed until each one is well incorporated into the batter and the dough looks smooth before adding the next egg. Alternatively, use a wooden spoon, stirring vigorously and continuously after each egg is added.
• Spoon the choux pastry dough into a pastry bag fitted with a 5/8-inch star tip and pipe six 4-inch lengths onto each baking sheet.
• Bake one sheet at a time until the eclair shells are very puffed and just beginning to show slight color, 10 to 12 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375 F and continue to bake until the pastries are golden brown and dry-looking, 16 to 18 minutes more. The shells should sound hollow when lightly tapped.
• Remove them from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before filling. Be sure to bring the oven back to 425 F before baking the second batch.
• Gather the ingredients.
• Warm the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat until small bubbles appear on the surface.
• Meanwhile, in a medium heat-proof bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until pale yellow. Add the cornstarch and salt, whisking well to combine.
• In a thin stream, pour the hot milk into the yolk mixture while continuing to whisk constantly until well combined.
• Return the mixture to the saucepan, scraping the bowl clean with a silicone spatula. Over medium heat, cook while whisking constantly until it thickens to the consistency of a thick pudding, about 3 1/2 minutes. It may look lumpy as the pastry cream starts to thicken, but will smooth out as you continue to whisk.
• Transfer the pastry cream to a large clean bowl and whisk in the vanilla extract. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Chill in the fridge or over an ice bath until completely cooled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours or overnight.
• Gather the ingredients.
• Place the finely chopped chocolate in a heat-proof bowl and set aside.
• In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, heat the heavy cream until it's just beginning to boil. Remove from the heat immediately.
• Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and let sit for 1 minute. Stir the mixture until the all the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth.
• Set the chocolate glaze aside at room temperature, stirring occasionally until cool, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Poke three small even holes in the bottom of the eclair shells with a 3/16-inch wide plain pastry tip or Bismark tip. Whisk the cold pastry cream to lighten the texture. Fit a pastry bag with the pastry tip and fill with pastry cream, being sure not to overfill the bag.
• Pipe the cream into each hole until it starts to seep out of the top or you feel the pastry starting to get heavy (about 4 tablespoons of pastry cream per shell). Alternatively, slice the pastry shell in half lengthwise with a serrated knife and fill evenly with 4 tablespoons of the pastry cream.
• Gently spread 1 tablespoon of chocolate glaze onto the éclair or carefully dip the top of each filled éclair into the glaze (use this method only if you filled the shells from the bottom). Chill about 30 minutes to set the glaze before serving.

CHOCOLATE ECLAIRS

Steps:

• Pate a Choux: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Bring salt, water, and butter to a boil. Add flour all at once and stir until it forms a film on the bottom of the pot. Cool mixture and add eggs 1 at a time until completely incorporated. Pipe 5 to 6 inch rods of the mixture onto a lightly greased sheet pan. Bake for 17 minutes. Turn oven down to 350 degrees for 15 more minutes.
• Pastry Cream: Scald milk with 3/4-cup sugar and salt. Whisk yolks and remaining 3/4-cup sugar until pale and ribboning. Whisk in flour and cornstarch. Slowly, while whisking, pour in scalded milk. Return all to stove and stir with wooden spoon until thick and 1 or 2 bubbles form. Put mixture in a bowl and add vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, about 1 hour.
• Ganache: Melt chocolate and butter together over low heat, stirring constantly.
• Using a paring knife, poke a hole into 1 end of each eclair shell. Put a small open tip on a pastry bag and fill bag with cream. Squirt cream into each shell until eclairs feel heavy. Dip top of each filled eclair into chocolate ganache. Serve cold or at room temperature.

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.

HEART-SHAPED CHOCOLATE ÉCLAIRS

Steps:

• Prepare the pastry cream: Cut vanilla bean in half crosswise, then cut a slit lengthwise down each half. Use the edge of the knife to scrape out all the seeds. Discard the pods or reserve for another use.
• Combine sugar, cornstarch, salt, egg, egg yolks, milk, and vanilla seeds in a saucepan; whisk until well combined.
• Place over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom surface of the pan, until thick, about 10 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and whisk to release some steam. Add butter and keep stirring until melted. Pass through a fine sieve to remove any fibrous bits from the vanilla pod. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pastry cream to cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 to 3 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone liner (such as Silpat®).
• Combine butter, water, and salt for the pate choux in a saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a simmer. Add flour and stir with a wooden spoon until a buttery dough forms. Continue to cook and stir until a starchy film forms on the bottom of the pan. Turn off the heat and continue stirring for 1 more minute.
• Transfer to a bowl. Add one egg and mix it in with a little dough. Once that's incorporated, mix it in with the remaining dough. Repeat with the second egg. Continue stirring until you have a very sticky dough. Use a spatula to clean off the whisk if necessary.
• Transfer the dough into a pastry bag and snip off the tip making a ½-inch opening. Pipe two 6-inch heart shapes on the prepared baking sheet. Start by making thin shapes and then pipe extra dough to make them thicker. To fine-tune the hearts, dip your fingers in water and fix any imperfections if desired.
• Bake in the center of the preheated oven until beautifully browned, about 30 minutes. Turn off the heat, leave the pastries in the oven, and prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon. Let sit until crispy and dried out, about 1 hour.
• Use a serrated knife to slice the hearts in half horizontally.
• Remove pastry cream from the refrigerator and transfer to a pastry bag. Generously pipe cream into the bottom half of each heart, then place the top halves on the cream.
• Heat cream in a saucepan until simmering.
• Place chocolate chips in a small bowl and pour hot cream over top. Let sit for 2 to 3 minutes, then whisk until chocolate has melted and ganache is thick and shiny. Let cool for about 5 minutes.
• Spoon ganache on top of each heart. Reserve any remaining ganache for another use. Refrigerate éclairs until the ganache is firm, about 15 minutes.
• Place éclairs on serving plates. Fill the center of each heart with raspberries and sift cocoa powder over top. Sift powdered sugar over just the raspberries and serve. (Each éclair is enough for two people.)

CHOCOLATE-FROSTED ECLAIRS

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, bring water, butter and salt to a boil. Add flour all at once and stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Add egg; beat well until dough is smooth and shiny. , Using a tablespoon or a pastry tube with a #10 or larger tip, form dough into two 5-in. x 2-in. strips on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 30-35 minutes or until puffed and golden. Remove to a wire rack. Immediately cut a slit in eclairs to allow steam to escape. , Place pudding in a small bowl; set aside. In a small bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla; beat until stiff peaks form. Fold into pudding. Split eclairs; remove soft dough from inside. Fill with pudding mixture. , For frosting, place chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover and microwave at 50% power for 30 seconds; stir. Microwave 15-20 seconds longer or until melted. Stir in confectioners' sugar and enough water to achieve a smooth consistency. Frost eclairs. Serve immediately.