Homemade Eclairs

The best bakeries and patisseries make many things we ordinary home cooks cannot. But the one sweet treat we home cooks will always be able to do better than even a great patisserie is éclairs – those delicate glazed French choux buns stuffed with a rich, creamy filling.

It sounds unlikely but the reason is simple. Once you fill an eclair, within 15 minutes the delicately crispy surface of the choux pastry starts softening. What was initially light with a wafer-like exterior starts deteriorating to a more spongey texture as moisture gets absorbed by the choux.

This is inevitably the fate of all ready-to-eat pre-filled eclairs sold at patisseries. Of course they’re still totally delicious! But the experience of eating a homemade eclair in its optimum state of freshness is something else entirely – something everyone should try it at least once in their life.

Notes before making:

1. Eggs must be at room temperature, not fridge-cold. 55 – 60g/2oz each in the shell. If yours are much larger or smaller, crack the eggs into a jug, whisk, and measure out 200ml or 4/5 cup.
2. Chocolate – Use 70% cocoa baking chocolate (baking aisle) or 70% cocoa Lindt eating chocolate.

ADJUSTMENT for ordinary dark chocolate chips or melts, or semi-sweet chocolate chips: use 1 cup / 150g chocolate chips + 1/2 cup (125 ml) cream + corn syrup or glucose amount per recipe.Reason: The chocolate is only 40 – 45% cocoa so it’s softer which means you don’t need as much cream to achieve same consistency.

3. Cream – You need to use cream that is at least 35% fat, for both the glaze and whipped cream. Higher fat = richer result = ok! Lower fat = no good. If the fat % is too low, the glaze will be too runny and the cream won’t whip properly.

4. Glucose and corn syrup – Find glucose in the baking aisle and corn syrup in speciality shops. It makes the chocolate shiny, like éclairs at patisseries!

5. Stabilised cream has the same light mouthfeel as plain whipped cream, but it has more structure so it doesn’t squirt out as much when you bite into the éclair, and it won’t weep and collapse when stored overnight. There’s various ways to make stabilised cream. Using mascarpone is the most fitting method for eclairs, I feel. It will keep for 2 days without deflating or weeping like normal cream. Lots more details in the Chantilly Cream post. Super hand for getting ahead – whip the cream the day before, dollop on cakes, Pav, mini cheesecakes and demand!

6. Mascarpone is an Italian cheese/cream that tastes like a rich cream. It has a consistency like softened cream cheese, it’s not pourable. Be sure to get a reputable brand, not an economical house brand as cheap imitations are runny (pourable) so won’t work properly as a thickener to stabilise the Chantilly Cream. More info here.

7. Vanilla pod – To scrape the seeds out of a vanilla pod, cut the pot in half lengthwise using a small sharp knife. Then scrape down the split pod using the blunt side of the knife to scrape the seeds out.

Substitute with: 2 tsp vanilla bean paste (best sub) or vanilla extract.

8. Piping nozzle – A star tip piping bag makes nicer shaped eclairs with little authentic ridges running down its length. However, plain round ones work just as well! Just snip the end of the piping bag (2.3 cm wide).

9. Making ahead – Store cooled whole choux pastry in an airtight container for 3 days. Re-crisp in a 180°C (160°C fan) oven for 5 minutes. Stabilised cream can be kept in an airtight container or piping bag for 48 hours, and it will be fluffy like freshly made! Follow recipe to assemble. Assembled éclairs will keep for 2-3 days in the fridge but the pastry softens over time. It does not stop me hoovering them down.