Skip to main content

Chocolate eclairs

Photo source by BarelyDevi / Pixabay / Virginia Watkins/ Desygner

Chocolate eclairs

In 1884, the first learned recipe for the chocolate eclair appeared in "The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book". The chocolate eclair is similar to a cream puff. The only difference is that a cream puff is round, filled with thick cream, then dusted with powdered sugar, with no chocolate added. Whereas the chocolate eclair is piped oblong, cream-filled, and normally frosted with a chocolate frosting or chocolate glaze dripped over it. 

For this chocolate eclair recipe, the pastry dough is piped out of a pastry bag, then baked, cooled, and sliced to pipe in the filling. The filling of the chocolate eclair can be a vanilla pastry cream or whipped cream. This recipe uses both an instant vanilla pudding mix, and heavy whipping cream. When the thick vanilla cream is prepared it's then piped onto the center of the sliced bottom layer, then the tops of the eclairs are placed back on. Then the chocolate frosting and powdered sugar are added. I know most people scoop the interior of the eclairs out before adding the filling, but I don't. I don't like wasting ingredients.


If you don't have a pastry bag, this recipe can still be made. Just spoon the pastry dough on a baking tray, then with a spatula smear the pastry dough out in an oblong shape. Form the pastry dough into eight 4 inches long, 1-1/2-inches wide. When filling the chocolate eclairs with the cream (after pastries are baked) simply spoon the cream filling on the sliced bottom half, and use a spatula to smear the cream.

Ingredients for the eclair pastry dough:

  • 1 cup of water

  • 1/2 cup of butter or margarine, sliced

  • 1 cup of self-rising flour

  • 4 large eggs

Ingredients for the eclair filling:

  • 2-1/2 cups of cold whole milk

  • 1 package of instant vanilla pudding mix

  • 1 cup of heavy whipping cream

  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar

  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

Ingredients for the chocolate eclair frosting:

  • 2 ounces of semisweet chocolate chips

  • 2 tablespoons butter

  • 1-1/4 cups of powdered sugar

  • 3 tablespoons of hot water

 

Instructions for the pastry dough:

First, preheat the oven to 400°F. 


Add water, butter, to a large saucepan and bring it to a boil on top of the range. Next, add the self-rising flour into the pan, stir until the dough forms a ball. Then remove the pan from the heat; allowing it to stand for 5 minutes. Now, with a mixer beat in the eggs, slowly one at a time. Beat the dough mixture until it becomes extremely smooth, and shiny.


Using a pastry bag with a large tip, pipe the pastry dough into eight 4 inches long, 1-1/2-inches wide strips on a well-buttered baking tray. Bake for about 35 minutes or until the dough is puffed up and golden. Remove from the oven, onto a wire cooling rack. Instantly slice the eclairs in the center; place the tops aside. Allow the eclairs to cool.

Instructions for the eclair filling:

In a large bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form. Now, beat in the sugar and pure vanilla. Set aside. In a separate bowl add the milk and instant vanilla pudding mix and beat until the pudding becomes thick; fold into pudding. 


Next, spoon the cream into a pastry bag and pipe it onto the center of the bottom layer of the eclairs.

Instructions for the frosting:

Now, in a microwavable bowl add the chocolate chips and sliced butter; place the bowl in the microwave for 20 seconds intervals, stir the chocolate mixture until it is smooth. Next, add in the powdered sugar and about 3 tablespoons of hot water. Stir the frosting until it is smooth and creamy. Allow the frosting to slightly cool. Then drizzle or spread the frosting over the eclairs. Allow the chocolate eclairs to cool. Serve and enjoy!


Notes: 

The eclairs will need to be kept cold in the refrigerator until

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

I tried Martha Stewart's slow-cooker triple chocolate brownies recipe- this is how they turned out

I tried Martha Stewart's slow-cooker triple chocolate brownies recipe- this is how they turned out There's one lady on this earth (besides mom) that I have always simply adored; Martha Stewart. Anyone who knows me knows that Martha has been my lifelong hero since I was a teenager. She's witty, beautiful, and exceptionally talented in so many various ways. Such as DIY home and land renovations to whipping up any tantalizing masterpiece in her kitchen.  Even though I have a multitude of recipes, I had never made  slow-cooker triple chocolate brownies  before. That's until I came across Martha Stewart's recipe for this delightfully delicious, gooey chocolate treat. I followed Martha's techniques and her recipe to the tee, and ooh-la-lah! Her slow-cooker triple chocolate brownies are sinfully exquisite. They are a chocolate lover's dream come true. Martha's slow-cooker brownie recipe takes 3-1/2 hours to bake. While some people may think that is too long to ...
Read more

American pokeweed

American pokeweed  American pokeweed is a perennial, and it's commonly known as a survivalist plant. The plant is often referred to as poke salad, poke sallet, pokeweed, poke, among a few others. During the first days of spring, purplish shoots of pokeweed emerge from the soil. The plant will often pop up as a volunteer, and depending on the location, pokeweed can grow anywhere from 6 feet to 20 feet tall. The stalks and stems of pokeweed are an attractive purplish plum color. The leaves are a beautiful green color, and they can grow as big as 14 inches long by 7 to 8 inches wide. The plant's leaves will be tapered at each end. By summer, pokeweed begins producing long clusters of green and white flowers. The flowers turn into green berries that then transition from a light pink to a dark plum color. Pokeweed grows flowers and berries often at the same time and will continue to grow until the first frost. I have never pulled a pokeweed plant up from its roots, but I...
Read more

Vegetables that contain protein

Vegetables that contain protein If food prices have you scrambling down the aisles of the grocery store trying to find something that's more affordable than meat but still has protein, know that you're not alone! Back in the days when my grandparents went through the Great Depression, it was really tough times, but they survived through the hardships by growing their own food. There are a lot of veggies that actually do contain protein, and they're packed full of additional nutrients that our bodies all need. Vegetables highest in protein: Vegetables high in protein include artichokes, asparagus, beans, bean sprouts, and beans in general: broccoli, Brussel sprouts, chickpeas, green peas, kale, mushrooms, mustard greens, spinach, sweet corn, and turnip greens. For a few examples: Black beans contain 15 grams of protein in just a 1-cup serving. In fact, a 1/2 cup of cooked beans provides close to 7 grams of protein, which is the same as eating one ounce of meat. As for collar...
Read more