You will feel like a French baker when you make our classic chocolate eclair.
Instructions
1
Set up your tools
2
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Set up a pastry bag or a resealable plastic bag with a large (#10) pastry tip. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and draw out nine 4x1-1/2-inch rectangles with a black marker. Flip the parchment paper upside-down so the markings are facing the baking sheet. Editor’s Tip: We love the look that a round tip or French star tip give when piping eclairs!
3
Cook the water and flour
4
In a large saucepan, bring the water, butter and salt to a boil. Add the flour all at once, stirring vigorously for several minutes. Once everything is pulled away from the edges, a film forms on the bottom of the pan, and a smooth ball forms, remove the pan from heat. Let the dough stand for five minutes to cool down a bit. Editor’s Tip: Once you remove the dough from the heat, feel free to use a stand mixer or hand mixer going forward.
5
Add the eggs one at a time to the dough, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until the batter is smooth and shiny.
6
Pipe the eclair shells
7
Add the eclair batter to your prepared pastry bag. Pipe a small dollop of batter underneath each corner of the parchment paper to keep it in place while piping. With even pressure, pipe one long strip of batter inside each of the rectangles you outlined. Editor’s Tip: After piping each eclair, you can dampen a finger with water and gently tuck down any tail ends. This will give each eclair a more uniform look when baked and prevent any exposed tails from burning.
8
Bake the eclairs until they’re puffed and golden, 35 to 40 minutes. Editor’s Tip: We know it’s so tempting to open the oven door and peek, but the first 25 minutes of an eclair’s bake time is crucial for the steam to puff up the eclairs and form an aerated inside—so keep that door shut.
9
Split open the eclair shells
10
Place the baking sheet on a wire rack, and immediately split the eclairs open in half lengthwise with a small knife. Remove the tops, and set them aside.
11
Remove excess dough
12
Using a spoon, carve out the excess dough from inside the shells, and discard (or snack on!) them. Let the eclair shells cool completely to room temperature.
13
Whip up the eclair filling
14
In a large bowl, whisk together the milk and pudding mix according to the package instructions. In another bowl, whip the cream until soft peaks (not stiff peaks) form. Beat the confectioners' sugar and vanilla into the whipped cream mixture, then fold that into the pudding mixture. Spoon the filling into the eclairs, and replace the tops. Chill any remaining filling for a separate use.
15
Make the frosting
16
Place the chocolate and butter in a bowl, and microwave until melted, being careful not to burn the chocolate. Stir until smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar and enough hot water to achieve a glossy consistency. Let cool slightly. Editor’s Tip: There are many other ways to melt chocolate if you're averse to using a microwave.
17
Frost the eclairs
18
Using a spoon or offset spatula, frost each eclair with a generous amount of icing. Eclairs are best served right away but can be chilled in the fridge for an hour or so before serving. Editor’s Tip: This is a great time to add toppings to your eclairs if you want! After frosting one, immediately sprinkle it with nuts or decorate it with fruit or edible flowers.
