A delicious eclair is one of my favorite things - although I rarely have them (mostly because I am far too tempted to eat them all and share with no one). This recipe is similar to my cream puffs and both the chocolate Paris Brest and caramel-vanilla Paris Brest pastries, with some slight modifications which I find work better for the eclair shape, taste, and desired fillings.
Had to sneak a bite of a yummy chilled eclair.
Delicious gluten-free eclairs!
Gluten-Free Eclairs!
Makes about 24 - 30 eclairs, depending on size
Make your cream filling first, so it has time to cool.
Creme Patissiere (Pastry Cream):
In a medium saucepan (avoid non-stick coated pans), heat over medium heat until just boiling:
2 1/2 cup half & half (10% cream) OR whole milk
1/3 - 1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla bean paste OR vanilla extract
1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt
In a small bowl, mix together:
1/4 - 1/3 cup cornstarch (extra cornstarch will make a bit of a thicker cream, which is helpful if you use milk vs half & half
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup half & half OR whole milk
Whisk the yolks/cornstarch mixture into the hot sugar/cream mixture. Increase the heat to medium-high to speed up the process, but whisk constantly and rapidly. Once the mixture thickens and starts to boil (I find it makes big, thick popping bubbles when done, and I quickly have to remove from heat to avoid getting burned), remove from heat and pour the pudding into a glass dish. (You can strain the pudding in a wire mesh strainer if you have any lumps or are worried about lumps).
Cover the pudding with plastic wrap pressed directly on the surface of the pudding. Let cool at room temperature until it's cool enough to place in the refrigerator to completely chill. (I like to make this in the morning if I need it chilled by evening, or you can make it the day before).
Choux Pastry (Pate a Choux):
Preheat oven to 375 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium sized saucepan (avoid non-stick coated pans), heat the following over medium heat just til starting to boil:
1 1/4 cup water
1/2 cup salted butter
1 tsp sugar
1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt
Remove from heat and stir in quickly with a wooden spoon:
1 1/2 cup Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour Mix
Put the pot back on the heat and stir vigorously over the heat for 2 - 3 minutes. It should smooth during this time.
Remove from heat and place the dough into a mixer. Turn on the mixer speed to low. Let it mix for ~5-10 minutes, scraping occasionally. Your dough should look nice and shiny and be quite thick.
Add to the dough (one at a time or just all together):
4 large eggs, room temperature
You want to let the dough mix on medium to medium-high speed until it's nice and smooth, scraping occasionally. Scoop the dough into two freezer ziplocs (not absolutely necessary, but it's quite a thick dough and I find this helps avoid having a bag split while piping). Snip ~1/2" - 3/4" from the corner of the bag.
Pipe thin éclairs onto one of the parchment-lined pans. Bake ~30 minutes until nicely browned. (Light brown can be a bit sticky inside, too dark and it'll be dry and prone to cracking when you go to slice and fill).
Immediately slice little 3 little holes along the side of each éclair after it comes out of the oven, then put it on a wire rack to cool. (This lets the hot air escape so the eclairs don't collapse on themselves). You could also poke holes in the bottoms if you'd prefer to pipe your cream in from the bottom. I recommend 2-3 holes in the bottom of each one.
Piped and ready to bake!
They end up a nice light to medium brown color. Often you brush choix pastry with an egg wash for a rich golden color, but since we're filling then topping with ganache, I don't do that for eclairs.
Pipe the second pan of éclairs and bake. Slice and cool, as above.
Once they are fully cool, I like to slice them carefully down the sides to fill. Make sure you have the appropriate metal piping tip if you plan to pipe in the filling from the bottom.
Chocolate Ganache Topping
I like the make the chocolate ganache then let it cool while filling the eclairs. Otherwise, the ganache will end up a bit too runny - like in these pictures. ha! Taste will still be delicious, but it won't be as neat as you may want.
In a saucepan over medium heat combine and heat until bubbling gently:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup whole cream/whipping cream
1/4 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
Remove from heat and stir in until smooth (this takes a bit of patience, usually a few minutes):
4-5 oz high quality semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate
Once the ganache is nice and smooth, you can let it rest to cool 5-10 minutes, then spoon it into a freezer ziploc. Just before assembling, snip a corner of the bag for piping your ganache.
Assembling the Eclairs
Scoop your pastry cream into a piping bag or freezer Ziploc. Snip the corner (or use a tip for a neater finish). Pipe filling evenly into your eclairs.
Sliced and filled with pastry cream. Yum!
Covered with ganache. When the ganache is a bit too warm, it will be a bit runnier and messier (like here). I'm usually too impatient to wait for it too cool and become a bit thicker, but if you're patient, you'll end up with really neat looking eclairs.
I ended up with two pans of eclairs. These are fairly small and thin eclairs.
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