- 1
Ingredients
- Pastry Shells:
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 5 large eggs, beaten
- confectioner's sugar for dusting
- Filling:
- pastry cream:
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- pinch table salt
- 2 cups whole milk
- 4 large egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- seeds of 1/2 vanilla bean pod (or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract)
- Ganache Topping:
- 8 ounces dark chocolate (really good quality)
- 8 ounces heavy cream
Preparation
Step 1
In a 4-quart nonstick saucepan, heat the milk, water, butter, salt, and sugar until it boils.
Immediately add the flour and stir vigorously until all the liquid is absorbed by the flour and a paste forms; continue stirring constantly until the paste dries out and forms a ball that cleans the sides of the pan.
Transfer the paste to the bowl of a stand mixer or food processor and allow it to cool for a couple of minutes.
Add the eggs, mixing one at a time, until no traces of raw egg remains.
Transfer the mixture to a large pastry bag fitted with a large star tip (like this one). I like to use disposable bags (like these). Using a star tip helps the pastry dough expand evenly in the oven.
Pipe the eclairs on a silpat lined sheet pan.
Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar and bake.
They'll puff up during baking, which creates a hollow space in the center.
That hollow space is the perfect excuse to fill with pastry cream (recipe here).
But before we can fill the pastry shells, we need to turn them upside down and poke a few holes in the bottoms. I used a chopstick to poke the holes. The holes will allow excess steam to escape as the shells cool, and they'll be where we pipe the pastry cream filling inside.
Place the pastry cream in a large pastry bag fitted with a bismark tip. Squeeze the filling into room temperature shells - fill them up completely.
Use an offset spatula to scrape away any excess pastry cream.
Directions
In a 2-quart heavy bottom saucepan over medium-high heat, cook all ingredients, stirring constantly, until it begins to boil; continue whisking for a full minute.
Remove from heat and strain through a sieve.
Cover pastry cream with a layer of plastic wrap directly on the surface; chill completely before using.
To make the ganache, heat cream and chocolate together, whisking to combine. Dip the tops of each eclair into the ganache and allow to set.
Serve them as is, or place them in paper wrappers. Just grab a standard cupcake wrapper and flatten it out a bit.