Eclairs

Cream Puff Dough:
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup water
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
Pinch of sugar
Pinch ofsalt
1 cup all-purpose flour
5 large eggs, at room temperature

Vanilla Pastry Cream or Coffee Pastry Cream

Coffee Fondant, or
Chocolate Ganache, or
Chocolate Sour Cream Icing

To make and bake the cream puff dough:
Position the rack to divide the oven into thirds and heat the oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and keep them close at hand. Fit a large pastry bag with a large star tip and keep this nearby as well.

Bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to a rapid boil in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan over high heat.  Add the flour all at once, lower the heat to medium-low, and quickly start stirring energetically with a wooden spoon.  The dough will come together and a light crust will form on the bottom of the pan.  Keep stirring - with vigor - for another 2 minutes to dry the dough.  The dough should now be very smooth.

Turn the dough into the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or, if you're feeling strong, continue by hand.  Add the eggs one by one and beat, beat, beat, until the dough is thick and shiny.  Don't be concerned if the dough falls apart - by the time the last egg goes in, the dough will come together again.  Once the eggs have been incorporated, the still-warm dough must me used immediately.

Spoon half the dough into the pastry bag and pipe out thin fingers of dough that are each about 5 inches long and 1 inch wide onto the lined baking sheets, making sure to leave about 2 inches puff space between them.  Repeat with the remaining dough.

Slide the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 8 minutes before slipping the handle of a wooden spoon into the oven to keep the door slightly ajar. When the éclairs have baked for 12 minutes, rotate the pans front to back and top to bottom.  Continue baking until the éclairs are golden, firm, and, of course, puffed, another 8 minutes or so (the total baking time is about 20 minutes).  Transfer the éclairs to a rack and cool to room temperature. (The éclairs can be kept in a cool, dry place for several hours before filling. Alternatively, you can pipe out the éclairs and freeze them for up to 1 month before you bake them. There's no need to defrost the frozen éclairs; just bake them for a couple minutes more.)

To fill the éclairs:
Carefully cut the éclairs horizontally in half (a natural line can be found at the puff point of each éclair); lift off the tops.  Spoon the pastry cream into a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip and fill each éclair base with cream, or do this with a spoon. (You will have pastry cream left over; it can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)  Tuck the filled bases into the refrigerator, covered lightly with wax paper.  

To finish:
One by one, hold the éclair tops over the bowl of fondant or ganache or icing,and, working with a small icing spatula, spread them with fondant/icing. (If using ganache, dip the éclair top into the room temperature ganache.) Settle each éclair top on a filled base and refrigerate the éclairs for at least 1 hour before serving.

Note: The cream puff dough can also be used to pipe round cream puffs to be filled with pastry cream or ice cream.

Makes 20 to 24 éclairs.


From Paris Sweets by Dorie Greenspan