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Chocolate Éclair Recipe
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Chocolate Éclair Recipe

A classic dessert and sweet treat for Afternoon Teas. Vanilla Cream Chocolate Eclairs topped with a good layer of chocolate.
This recipe for choux pastry uses 4 essential ingredients, butter, milk, bread flour and eggs.  The pastry rises due to the steam created from the high moisture dough leading to a delicate pastry, crispy on the outside, soft and almost hollow on the inside.
Cook Time45 minutes
Mixing15 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: afternoon tea, Dessert
Cuisine: American, British, French
Keyword: chocolate eclairs, choux patry eclairs, easy choux pastry, easy choux pastry recipe, eclairs, how to make eclairs, recipe of chocolate eclairs
Servings: 14 eclairs

Equipment

  • 1 heavy base saucepan
  • 2 piping bags
  • 1 large star nozzle 13mm
  • 2 silicone mat or baking paper
  • 2 baking trays
  • 1 Cooling Rack
  • 1 wooden spoon

Ingredients

Ingredients for choux pastry

  • 50 g salted butter
  • 150 ml room temperature milk
  • 65 g white bread flour
  • 2 medium beaten egg

Vanilla Cream Filling for Eclairs

  • 300 ml double cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 1 tbsp icing sugar

Chocolate topping

  • 80 grams chocolate I use a mixture of milk and dark to get about 50% cocoa content

Instructions

How to make the choux pastry for the eclairs

  • Preheat oven at 200 degrees Celsius
  • Melt butter and milk in a pan and bring to boil
  • Remove the pan from heat once the mixture starts to boil
  • Quickly add flour and beat /mix to form smooth dough with a wooden spoon. The dough should form a ball. You need some strength to do it and ensure it is well combined.
  • Leave for 1-2 mins to cool
  • Add in beaten eggs a bit at a time and beat vigorously until you get a smooth glossy mix (about 6-8 mins). If you put it in all the eggs at once it may be too wet. Small – Medium eggs tend to be the right amount.
  • At first the dough will be loose and will not look like it will combine but as you mix it will come together. The dough should form a ‘v’ shape on the spoon that will hold when lifted. It should not be runny, flow like thick lava nor should it be really thick. When you lift the wooden spoon it should leave a V shape on the spoon and it should not be dripping off.
  • Get a silicone baking sheet ready and place on your baking tray.
  • Place the éclair dough in a piping bag which has a star nozzle. Use a star nozzle ( around 1/2 inch diameter)
  • Pipe the eclairs 3.5 cm long. Leave about 1 cm gap in between to allow them to rise and not stick together.
  • Place the tray in the preheated oven. As soon as you close the oven door reduce heat to 180 degrees and bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown.
  • Once they are baked, carefully poke a hole on each end so the air is released . Let them totally cool on a rack

How to make the filling and topping for the eclairs

  • Add vanilla essence and icing sugar to your cream and whip. Place this in a piping bag with a long round nozzle.
  • Melt your chocolate in a shallow bowl. I always prefer the Bain Marie method and like to use 54% cocoa content in the chocolate.
  • Make 2 small holes using a sharp pairing knife at the bottom of each eclair and then pipe the cream in here so it equally spreads inside
  • Dip each eclair, front side down into the chocolate and place back on the rack.
  • Chill the eclairs for at least an hour/ until the chocolate on top has hardened