I think it’s pretty well established on here that we love French desserts, whether it is chocolate mousse, an authentic French fruit tart, macarons, or these wonderful eclairs. If you are in France and looking for these in a French bakery (or patisserie), they are called eclair au chocolat. We absolutely love our cheater no-bake chocolate eclair cake which has the same flavors, but I wanted to make real homemade eclairs myself at home. They are every bit as delicious (honestly, more so) than any I have ever had at any high-end bakery. The choux dough is a simple, classic French recipe that is way less intimidating to make than cooking shows on TV will lead you to believe. What is so unusual about it is that the dough is first cooked on the stove, then eggs are added to the warm flour/water/butter mixture before transferring the gloppy stuff to a piping bag and squirting it out onto a silpat mat or parchment paper to bake. It’s not exactly a normal dough or approach for most home bakers, but that doesn’t mean it’s difficult. I have every confidence that you can get it right on your first try and will share my best tips and tricks for making that happen! It’s amazing how something as simple as choux pastry can be the basis for such wonderful desserts! I use this same recipe in my Easy Classic French Cream Puffs and Homemade Churros!
Eclair Ingredients
Flour: All-purpose flour is perfectly fine for making the choux pastry used to create the eclair shells. Eggs: These are critical for achieve the signature puff that hollows out the choux pastry. Plus, they add richness and flavor to the eclairs and are also used in the pastry cream filling to help thicken it. Butter: I always use salted butter in my recipes unless I specifically note otherwise. You will need this in both the shells and the filling. Water: This liquid provides the moisture needed for making the sticky choux pastry. You need just the right amount so the dough is sticky, but not overly wet. Some choux pastry recipes use half water and half milk, but I find that water alone does the job just fine. Salt: This key ingredient boosts the flavor of the shell and the filling. Sugar: There is just a small amount of sugar in the choux pastry, and more in the sweet vanilla pastry cream. Granulated sugar will do the job. Heavy Cream: This is one of my favorite ingredients that I always have on hand in my kitchen. It makes for a wonderfully rich, creamy custard filling. Cornstarch: This ingredient, along with egg yolks, is what helps thicken our pastry cream so it isn’t a runny, soupy mess. Vanilla: You can’t really make vanilla pastry cream without some kind of vanilla, right? In this case, I used regular vanilla extract, although often I will opt for an equal amount of vanilla bean paste when making pastry cream, just for those beautiful little flecks of vanilla bean seeds. Chocolate: Milk chocolate, semisweet chocolate, or dark chocolate will all work for making your ganache. The choice is really up to you, although I love semisweet chocolate since the filling itself is plenty sweet.
How to Make Chocolate Eclairs
There are three components to this recipes: the shells, the filling, and the ganache. None of them are really too hard or time consuming and can all be made the same day. But this is also a good choice if you are looking to spread things out or make portions of dessert in advance and just assemble before serving for a party or a crowd.
Making the choux pastry
Make the Pastry Cream
Make the Chocolate Ganache
How do you get hollow eclair shells?
The secret to hollow eclair shells that are ready for filling with a delicious custard filling is in the eggs. Mixing the eggs into the warm pate au choux is the key to getting the dough to puff up in the oven and create that mostly hollow structure and crisp outer shell that is begging to be filled with something rich and wonderful like my classic French pastry cream.
What size to make your eclairs
I like a medium-size eclair, which is anywhere from 4-5 inches long, but you can make them larger or smaller, depending on your preference. Mini eclairs are fun for parties where you have a selection of desserts to choose from.
Small eclairs: Pipe 2-3 inches of eclair dough Medium eclairs: Pipe 4-5 inches of eclair dough Large eclairs: Pipe 5-6 inches of eclair dough
Make-Ahead, Storage, and Freezing Instructions
Eclairs really are best eaten the same day they are made when the pastry is crisp and fresh and at its best. But you can make them in advance if you need to. You can make the shells 2-3 days ahead and store them on the counter in an airtight container, then fill and dip them in ganache when you are about ready to serve them. You could even dip unfilled eclair shells in the ganache and refrigerate them, then fill with the pastry cream right when you plan to serve them. Filled eclairs are best enjoyed within 1-2 hours before the moisture from the filling starts affecting the texture of the shell, although really they are pretty darn delicious for about 1 day as long as they are stored in the fridge. You can freeze leftover filled eclairs and let them thaw for 15-30 minutes on the counter before enjoying, although they aren’t nearly as nice as fresh ones.
Other Eclair Filling Ideas
It’s traditional to fill eclairs with pastry cream, but really you could use any custard or curd-type filling that you like!
Chocolate Mousse Lemon curd mixed with 1-2 cups whipped cream Raspberry Mousse Pretty much any other puddings, custards, or curds (though you may want to mix any of these with some whipped cream for a light consistency)
More Recipes Like This
Authentic French Fruit Tart (with Video!) Classic French Chocolate Macarons (with Video!) Crepes Recipe (How to Make Crepes and Crepe Filling Ideas) Deborah’s Knotted Orange Sweet Rolls Chocolate Cream Pie
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