French cuisine · Desserts & Sweets

Chocolate Éclair

Elongated choux pastry fingers filled with chocolate cream and coated in dark chocolate glaze.

Ingredients · for 6 servings

• 150 g flour
• 100 g butter
• 4 eggs
• 600 ml milk
• 120 g sugar
• 40 g cornflour
• 4 egg yolks
• 200 g dark chocolate
• 100 ml cream
• 1 pinch salt

Instructions

1. For the cream, bring 500 ml milk to the boil; whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour until smooth, stir in the hot milk and bring everything to a boil, stirring, for 2 min until thickened.
2. Melt 100 g of the chocolate in the hot cream, cover the surface directly with cling film and chill for at least 2 hours.
3. Bring the remaining milk with 100 ml water, the butter and the salt to the boil, stir in the flour all at once and cook, stirring, for 2 min until a white film forms on the base of the pan.
4. Let the dough cool for 5 min, then beat in the eggs one at a time until it turns glossy and falls from the spoon in a broad ribbon; fill into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.
5. Pipe 12 fingers, each 12 cm long, onto a tray and bake at 190 °C top/bottom heat for 30–35 min without opening the door, until firm and deep golden brown.
6. Let the éclairs cool, fill them from underneath with the chocolate cream, melt the remaining chocolate in the heated cream and dip the tops into the glaze.