Chocolate eclairs
This might appear to be a straightforward recipe: choux pastry, chocolate confectioner's custard and fondant icing, but in practice it is quite technically tricky and all three stages need care to produce a perfect result.
But don't let that discourage you; there are demonstration videos and I will take you through the whole process, paying particular attention to the most difficult stages.
But don't let that discourage you; there are demonstration videos and I will take you through the whole process, paying particular attention to the most difficult stages.
3 hours 55 min.
Average
20 eclairs
14 IngredientsLast modified on: February 6th 2011
For 20 eclairs, you will need:
- 1
250 ml Milk - 2
3 egg yolks - 3
20 ml caster sugar - 4
19.4 ml cornflour - 5
100 ml dark chocolate - 6 70 ml Milk
- 7
70 ml water - 8
61.92 ml butter - 9
109.2 ml flour - 10
2 eggs - 11
½ teaspoon salt - 12 1 teaspoon caster sugar
- 13
250 ml fondant icing - 14
1 teaspoon powdered cocoa
Change these quantities to make:
Change measures:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 2 hours 40 min.
Resting: 50 min.
Cooking: 25 min.
All in all: 3 hours 55 min.
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - 35 min.
Prepare a confectioner's custard (crème pâtissière) with 250 ml Milk, 3 egg yolks, 20 ml caster sugar et 19.4 ml cornflour. Stop cooking as soon as it begins to thicken, there's no need to overcook it.
You will notice that this recipe is less sweet than the usual version. This is because we will be adding chocolate.
As soon as the custard is cooked, tip in 100 ml dark chocolate broken into small pieces (you can also use chocolate chips).
You will notice that this recipe is less sweet than the usual version. This is because we will be adding chocolate.
As soon as the custard is cooked, tip in 100 ml dark chocolate broken into small pieces (you can also use chocolate chips).
Stage 2 - 20 min.
Mix thoroughly until you have a prefectly smooth chocolate custard.
Cover and leave to cool with the base of the pan standing in cold water to speed this up.
Set aside.
Cover and leave to cool with the base of the pan standing in cold water to speed this up.
Set aside.
Stage 3 - 35 min.
Prepare a choux pastry with 70 ml Milk, 70 ml water, 61.92 ml butter, 109.2 ml flour, 2 eggs, ½ teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon caster sugar.
Stage 4 - 5 min.
Cut a sheet of cooking parchment to the size of your baking sheet, and mark lines with a ruler about 8 cm (3 inches) long, a few centimeters apart.
These are to help you pipe the eclairs to the right length.
These are to help you pipe the eclairs to the right length.
Stage 5 - 2 min.
Stage 6 - 10 min.
Using a forcing bag with a n°10 (10 mm diameter) nozzle, pipe "sausages" of choux pastry 8 cm long following the marks you have drawn.
Stage 7 - 5 min.
Round off the inevitable imperfections with the back of a small spoon dipped in milk.
Stage 8 - 20 min.
Continue until all the choux pastry has been used up, preparing more sheets if necessary. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the eclairs are golden.
Stage 9 - 30 min.
Remove from the sheet and leave to cool on a rack.
Stage 10
Now comes the first tricky stage: filling the eclairs with the chocolate custard.
Use a new forcing bag with a special "filling" nozzle.
Use a new forcing bag with a special "filling" nozzle.
Stage 11
When you have filled the bag with custard, take an eclair in your hand and at one end on the top surface, push the nozzle the full length (in the direction of the arrow).
Note: By piercing the top with the nozzle, the hole will be covered by the icing, leaving a perfectly smooth eclair.
Note: By piercing the top with the nozzle, the hole will be covered by the icing, leaving a perfectly smooth eclair.
Stage 12
Press on the bag to inject the custard, and at the same time, withdraw the nozzle gradually while continuing to fill.
Stage 13
Finish by removing the nozzle when the eclair is completely filled with custard (if it overflows a little, that's normal and shows that it is properly filled).
Stage 14
The short video opposite shows how to fill your eclairs.
Stage 15 - 30 min.
Do this for all the eclairs.
Stage 16 - 5 min.
Melt 250 ml fondant icing in a bain-marie while stirring. If you have a thermometer, check that the temperature does not exceed (or barely) 40°C (104°F).
Stage 17 - 5 min.
At this point add 1 teaspoon powdered cocoa and continue stirring until you have a smooth brown icing.
Stage 18
Now comes the second tricky stage: icing.
Remove the bowl of icing from the bain-marie and place on a tea-towel folded in 4.
Take an eclair and dip the top in the icing.
Remove the bowl of icing from the bain-marie and place on a tea-towel folded in 4.
Take an eclair and dip the top in the icing.
Stage 19
Lift the eclair and turn it to remove any excess icing, then stand it level immediately as the icing sets very quickly.
Stage 20
The short video opposite shows how to ice your eclairs.
Stage 21 - 30 min.
Do this for all the eclairs.
Keep in the fridge, but take them out an hour before serving so that they are not too cold.
Keep in the fridge, but take them out an hour before serving so that they are not too cold.
Remarks
You might well be surprised to see that your icing doesn't have the same deep chocolate colour as on eclairs that you buy, but I think commercial bakers must use a special colouring to achieve this (too) rich colour.
You can vary the flavours and make classic coffee eclairs, of course, but give your imagination free rein. I recommend you try lemon eclairs (lemon-flavoured custard and yellow icing), surprising with their yellow colour and, above all, their distinctive taste.
You can vary the flavours and make classic coffee eclairs, of course, but give your imagination free rein. I recommend you try lemon eclairs (lemon-flavoured custard and yellow icing), surprising with their yellow colour and, above all, their distinctive taste.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
| Proteins (gr) | Carbohydrates (gr) | Fats (gr) | Energy value (in k-calories) | Energy value (in k-joules) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole recipe | 50 RDI=20 % | 400 RDI=40 % | 120 RDI=20 % | 2,920 RDI=150 % | 12,220 RDI: 150 % |
| Per 100 g | 4 RDI=2 % | 40 RDI=4 % | 10 RDI=2 % | 270 RDI=10 % | 1,150 RDI: 10 % |
| Per eclairs | 2 RDI=1 % | 20 RDI=2 % | 6 RDI=1 % | 150 RDI=7 % | 610 RDI: 7 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 20 eclairs : 3.25 €
- Per eclairs : 0.20 €
Change currency: 
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Fondant icing
Like these other recipes: Chinois, Fondant-iced pithivier, Arizona cupcakes, ... See them all 3
Milk
Like these other recipes: How to heat milk without it catching on the bottom of the pan, Little vanilla, clementine and chestnut verrines, Chocolate sauce, Pesto crackers, Pancake batter, ... See them all 59
Dark chocolate
Like these other recipes: Viennese Shortbread, Flaky brownie brioche, Half-cooked chocolate cake with raspberry coulis, Bounty-style tart for Alison, Mint and chocolate cream, ... See them all 36
Water
Like these other recipes: Toffee apple upside-down cake, New leavened bread, Mushroom velouté, Paella, How to use gelatin, ... See them all 136
Other recipes you may also like
Flambéd bananas
The trick of this recipe is to end up with bananas caramelised on the outside, still firm on the inside, coated with a tasty syrup which is not 95% butter.February 21th 2011332 K 14 40 min.
Crème brulée
Crème brûlée (burned cream) is quite easy to prepare: it's a simple egg-cream dessert. The only difficulty is in making the delicious crunchy caramel layer on top. The perfect crème brulée (for me) is a cold and soft cream, with on top a nice hot caramel crust. This is a completely new version...December 31th 20111.67 M 74.3 4 hours 40 min.
Soft fruits in sabayon
This recipe is made by briefly cooking an assortment of soft fruits (raspberries, blackcurrants, blackberries, blueberries, currants...) with a little sugar to glaze them. They are served in a small dish, covered with a delicious sabayon which can be lightly "burned" on surface.February 21th 2011270 K3.9 50 min.
Blackcurrant liqueur
The fruit liqueurs (or "creams" in French) are a mix of neutral alcohol in which fruits are macerated, and sugar syrup. They are the basis of the very famous "Kir", mixture of dry white wine and blackcurrant liqueur. This recipe is for blackcurrant, but it can be made with other soft fruits like...August 3rd 2013860 K 44.7 55 min.
Pizza dough
Pizza dough is a lind of bread dough with olive oil, which make it softer. This is the same dough that I use for pizzas and flammenkuches, this is no doubt incorrect, but it's very good nevertheless. At home we used to make pizza dough quite thick, and flammenkuche as thin as possible.September 22th 2024512 K4.6 1 hour 60 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-07-06)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Follow this recipe (as 3 people already do)
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.
The 3 comments already posted on this recipe