Mini éclair marathon

I don’t know why, but I always seem to wildly underestimate how long things will take to make. Hence what sounded like a very simple task, making three different flavours of mini éclairs, turned into a 6-hour baking marathon.

Luckily, I can’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday morning than up to my elbows in three different kinds of crème pâtissière.



I found the choux pastry surprisingly easy to make: the tricky bit was the piping. I wanted to make nice small thin éclairs, like scaled down versions of the classic éclairs seen in patisseries all over France (and the UK for that matter).



However, my finished éclairs looked more like elongated profiteroles. I used a 1.5cm plain nozzle for piping, and will try with a smaller one next time. Alternatively, I might make round choux buns (also known as popelini) which some sources claim to be the new macarons.

And there will be a next time, as the raspberry and rose, and the salted butter caramel crème pâtissières were far too liquid and leaked out of the éclairs, so those recipes both still need some work. I will update this page with those recipes as and when I get a chance to try them again.

The chocolate version worked really well, and was surprisingly chocolatey for the small amount of chocolate/cocoa added to the crème pâtissière.



Things I have learnt from making these éclairs:

Always pipe choux pastry much smaller than you think it should be.

Adding fruit purée/caramel sauce to a crème pâtissière makes a runny mess!

You should grease the baking parchment (I always try and get away without doing this, but it is necessary here).

A little rose water goes a very long way!

 

Chocolate éclairs - makes 70-80 mini éclairs or choux buns
(adapted from Nigella’s How to be a Domestic Goddess profiteroles recipe and Raymond Blanc’s chocolate éclair recipe from this article)

Choux pastry:
200g plain flour
350ml water
150g salted butter
4-5 large eggs

• Heat the butter and water in a pan over a medium heat until the butter is melted and the water is just beginning to boil.
• Take off the heat and dump in all the flour in one go. Beat with a wooden spoon until it forms a smooth dough.
• Return to the heat and beat until the dough comes away from the sides of the pan as you stir.
• Remove from the heat again and gradually add in the eggs very slowly, stirring vigorously after each addition. You may not need all the egg to get it to the correct consistency: it should drop off the spoon and leave a pointy bit of dough hanging off the spoon. This is called the bec, meaning beak in French.
• Put into a piping bag with a 1.5cm plain nozzle (this works well for choux buns or normal size éclairs) and leave to rest for 5-10 minutes whilst you pre-heat the oven to 200C.
• Pipe onto greased baking parchment on 2-3 baking trays.
• Bake for 20-25 until very crisp and golden.
• Switch the oven off and leave them to cool in the oven with the door slightly open.

Chocolate crème pâtissière:
8 large egg yolks
130g golden caster sugar
2 ½ tablespoons cocoa power
2 ½ tablespoons plain flour
400ml full fat milk
400ml double cream
130g dark chocolate, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Whisk the sugar and egg yolks together in a large mixing bowl. Add the flour and cocoa and continue whisking until well combined
• Heat the milk and cream in a saucepan, but do not allow to boil
• Pour the milk/cream mixture over the egg mixture, making sure that you continue to whisk all the time to prevent it turning into scrambled eggs
• Put this mixture back in the pan and bring to boil over a medium heat. Again, you need to stir this constantly to prevent it from curdling or catching on the bottom of the pan
• When it has become a good thick consistency, take it off the heat and stir in the melted chocolate and vanilla extract
• Pour into a bowl and place a piece of cling film over the surface of the crème pâtissière to prevent it from forming a skin
• Leave to cool to room temperature and put in the piping bag ready for filling the éclairs or put in the fridge until you want to use it (up to 2 days) 

To fill the éclairs:

• Make a small incision in the base of each éclair, either with a knife or a skewer
• Prepare a piping bag with a 0.5cm plain nozzle and fill with the chocolate crème pâtissière
• Pipe the filling into each of the éclairs by holding the nozzle up to the hole and squeezing the piping bag until the éclairs are full
• It is easier to tell when they are full if you hold the éclair in one hand and the piping bag in the other As you are piping you will notice that they start to expand, and that is when you should stop piping 

Fondant icing:
500g fondant icing sugar
30g cocoa
water

• Set aside 2 tablespoons of the fondant icing sugar
• Mix together the rest of the fondant icing sugar with 50ml of water, it will take some effort to incorporate all of the icing sugar, as you are aiming to create a stiff dough
• If necessary add a little more water a few drops at a time
• Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of icing sugar set aside earlier onto a work surface
• Tip the dough out onto the work surface and knead until smooth
• Put this dough along with 50ml water into a saucepan and heat very gently over a low heat until it melts to a glossy consistency (again you may need more water)
• The icing should be at 35°C (body temperature) when you ice the éclairs, otherwise it will lose it’s shine
• Dip the tops of the éclairs in to the fondant icing one at a time
• Leave to set before serving