Decadent Homemade Eclairs

5 from 1 vote

Delightful eclairs - a French elegant delicacy that can be made at home. Learn the secrets and subtleties of making truly mouth-watering, soft, and at the same time crispy deserts.

Prep Time30

Cook Time30

Total Time1

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Keyword: Choux Pastry, Choux Pastry recipe, eclair, eclairs recipe

Servings: eclairs

Calories: 215kcal

Author: Nata

Equipment

Saucepan
wooden spoon
stand mixer
baking sheets
disposable pastry bag

Ingredients

Ingredients for Choux Pastry:

1 cup water
3,5 oz unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
5 eggs

Ingredients for lime cream cheese filling:

2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp icing sugar
1 vanilla bean
16 oz cream cheese

For the Chocolate Ganache:

1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy cream

Instructions

How to Make Choux Pastry:

Preheat the oven at 450˚F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
Meanwhile, pour 1 cup of the water into a saucepan and add 3,5 oz of unsalted butter, 1 tsp of sugar, 1/4 tsp salt. Set on the stove at low heat. Stir constantly until the butter just melted. When you see the butter melted, stir in 1 cup flour all at once and mix vigorously with a wooden spoon. Cook for about 1-2 minutes until the mixture comes together into a smooth ball and doesn’t stick anymore to the sides of the saucepan.
Take the saucepan off the heat and transfer the dough to a stand mixer bowl fitted with the flat beater. Let the dough cool a little, then switch on the mixer on low speed. In 2-3 minutes gradually incorporate 5 eggs - one egg at a time, allowing each egg to fully incorporate between additions. Beat until dough is smooth, shiny, and it falls nicely when you lift it up with a scraper.
Then transfer the choux pastry dough to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2” round tip or a 16mm open star tip. Pipe 4-inch long strips keeping them 2 inches apart.
Just before you will send the eclairs shells to the oven, turn the temperature down to 375 °F. Bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the eclair shells from the oven and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

How to make the Eclair filling:

In a stand mixer bowl fitted with the wire whip combine 2/3 cup of heavy cream, 2 tbsp of icing sugar, and seeds from 1 vanilla bean. Beat until soft peaks form. Then add 2 cups of cream cheese and beat for 1-2 more minutes.

How to make chocolate ganache:

Put ½ cup of chocolate chips in a bowl. Then pour the ¼ cup of hot cream over the chips and whisk them together until a smooth ganache forms. Place the bowl with ganache over a simmering saucepan filled with 1-2 inches of water to keep it in liquid form.

Assembly the Eclairs:

Fit a piping bag with a medium-sized plain tip and fill it with lime cream cheese filling. Insert the tip of the bag into the end of an eclair shell and pipe filling into it. Then gently dip the top of each eclair into warm chocolate ganache and arrange on a serving plate.
Enjoy!

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