Best French Eclairs Recipes

FRENCH PEACHES AND CREAM ÉCLAIRS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in upper third. Butter a large baking sheet.
• PASTRY:.
• Bring butter, water, and salt to a boil in a small heavy saucepan over high heat, stirring until butter is melted. Reduce heat to medium. Add flour all at once and cook, beating with a wooden spoon, until mixture pulls away from side of pan and forms a ball, about 30 seconds. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well with an electric mixer at high speed after each addition.
• Transfer mixture to pastry bag and pipe 8 (5-inch-long) strips (about 1 inch wide) onto baking sheet, spacing them at least 1 inch apart.
• Bake éclairs 15 minutes, then reduce temperature to 400°F and continue to bake until golden, puffed, and crisp, about 15 minutes more (leave oven on). Immediately pierce side of each éclair with tip of a paring knife and return to oven to dry, propping door slightly ajar, 5 minutes. Halve an éclair horizontally: If still moist inside, return éclairs to oven and dry 5 minutes more. Cool éclairs completely on a rack, about 25 minutes.
• SAUCE:.
• Make caramel sauce while éclairs cool:.
• Heat sugar in a 10-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring with a fork to heat sugar evenly, until it starts to melt, then stop stirring and cook, swirling skillet occasionally so sugar melts evenly, until it is a dark amber. Remove from heat and immediately spoon about 1 teaspoon of caramel along top of each éclair, spreading it with back of spoon. Add water and salt to remaining caramel in skillet and simmer, stirring occasionally, until all of caramel is dissolved. Add butter and bourbon, swirling skillet to incorporate. Remove from heat and keep sauce warm, covered.
• Make filling:.
• Cut peaches into thin wedges and toss with 1 tablespoon sugar. Let stand until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, beat cream with bourbon and remaining tablespoon sugar using cleaned beaters until it just holds stiff peaks.
• Assemble éclairs:.
• Halve éclairs horizontally. Put bottom halves of éclairs on plates and top with whipped cream and peaches, then cover with top halves of éclairs. Drizzle plates with caramel sauce.

TRADITIONAL FRENCH CHOCOLATE ECLAIRS (ECLAIRS AU CHOCOLAT) RECIPE - (4.2/5)

Steps:

• For the pâte à choux: Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and line a large baking sheet with baking paper. Put the water, milk, butter, sugar and salt in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. When it boils, remove it from heat immediately and stir in the sifted flour with a wooden spoon, stirring it in all at once and quickly, until the flour is incorporated. Put the pan back over the heat, and vigorously stir the dough, until it pulls away from the sides of the pan and no longer sticks to the spoon. Scrape the dough out into a bowl, and add the eggs one at a time, stirring constantly (or use a mixer with a dough hook attached) until the dough is glossy and smooth. Fill a pastry bag with a large plain tip and pipe out 8 4-5" lengths of dough. Bake for about 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375°F (190°C) and prop the oven door open with the handle of a wooden spoon and bake for about 25 minutes more, until golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack at room temperature. For the pastry cream: While the eclairs are baking, in a medium saucepan, bring the 2 cups of milk to a boil over medium heat, then remove from heat. In a mixing bowl, whisk the sugar and egg yolks together, until white and fluffy. Add the flour and corn starch, and mix thoroughly until combined and smooth. Whisk in about ⅓ cup of the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly as you pour it in. Whisk in the remaining hot mixture, then pour it back into the saucepan and cook again over medium high heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and begins to boil. Stir in the vanilla and butter and allow to cool. For the chocolate glaze: While the eclairs are cooling, put the cream, chocolate, and butter in a heat proof bowl over boiling water and as the chocolate melts, stir to combine. To assemble: Fill a pastry bag with the pastry cream, and use a medium/small tip to pipe the filling into the eclairs. You can do this from the bottom, making two holes. Do not over-fill. (You can also cut the eclairs almost in half and just pipe the cream into the middle of them.) Dip the top of the eclairs into the still warm chocolate glaze, then set on a sheet pan and chill in the fridge for about 1 hour to set the glaze.

FRENCH ECLAIRS

Steps:

• 1. French Eclairs Recipe Type: Dessert Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 30 mins Serves: 10 Instructions 1.Preheat oven to 400F. 2.In a medium saucepan, bring 1 cup water to a boil, stir in 1/2 cup butter and salt. Stir until melted. 3.Add the flour all at once and stir vigorously until mixture forms a ball. 4.Remove from heat and beat in eggs, one at a time, until smooth. Drop spoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet. 5.Bake 15 minutes at 400F, then reduce heat to 375F and continue to bake until golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely before filling. 6.For filling, prepare vanilla pudding with the 2 cups of milk. 7.Cut the tops off cooled pastry shells and fill, then replace tops (or fill with pastry tube). 8.For the icing, melt chocolate/strawberry syrup and 1 tablespoon butter over low heat in a small saucepan. 9.Remove the sauce from heat and, with an electric mixer, beat in confectioners' sugar and 2 tablespoons hot water. Beat until smooth. 10.Drizzle the icing over the filled eclairs and serve.