- Prep Time:20m
- Cook Time:30m
- Total Time:50m
- Serves: 2
- Yield: 4 eclairs
Ingredients
For the Pate Choux
- 32 g all-purpose flour
- 17 g butter
- pinch of salt
- 62 mL water
- 1 egg (52g), beaten
For the Vanilla Custard
- 200 mL 2% milk
- 1 1/2 tbsp. Vanilla Custard powder (I use Brown n Polsen brand)
- 3 tbsp. sugar
- 1/4 tsp. vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
Chocolate topping
- 1/2 c bittersweet chocolate (60% cacao)
Instructions
Make the custard
- Dissolve the custard powder in a few tablespoons of milk.
- Combine the remaining milk with sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle boil, stirring continuously.
- Add the vanilla bean paste and the dissolved custard powder to the boiling milk and keep stirring as the custard thickens.
- You'll know the custard is ready when it coats the back of a spoon evenly and a line drawn through the spoon stays clean. (see image above)
- Transfer to a small bowl, and cover with cling-film, making sure it touches the surface of the custard. This will prevent a film forming as it cools.
- Refrigerate until you are ready to fill the eclair shells.
Make the Paté Choux
- Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C. Line a small baking tray with parchment paper.
- In a small saucepan combine water, butter and salt. Place over gentle heat till the butter melts, then increase heat and let it come to a boil.
- Remove from heat, add all the flour at once and using a spoon, mix it all together. Return back to the stove and stir (pressing down) till the dough separates from the sides and lumps together in a ball.
- Remove from heat, and add the beaten egg in 4 additions, stirring between each addition until you get a smooth, soft, creamy dough.
- Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle. Pipe 4 lines of dough about the length of a finger each on the prepared baking tray. Space them out well, because they do rise a lot.
- Bake in the preheated oven at 375°F/190°C for 20 minutes. The eclair shells must have risen and sound hollow.
- Make a slit on the side of the eclair shells for the steam to escape and let cool completely on a wire rack.
Melt the chocolate for topping
- Over a double boiler, melt the chocolate until it is molten. Let cool.
Assemble
- Spoon the custard through the slit you made in the eclair. If you made a hole, you'll need to pipe the custard using a round nozzle. Use a spoon to drizzle the molten chocolate on top of the filled eclair. Repeat with the remaining eclairs.
- Serve immediately. Unfilled shells can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for upto 3 days. You may refrigerate filled (but not chocolate coated) éclairs for 1-2 hours. Do not refrigerate after coating with chocolate, as the coating will harden when cooled.
