Last updated on June 18th, 2024

Here’s the printable recipe from the “Making Chocolate Éclairs from Scratch” video that was recently published on my YouTube channel. Composed of choux pastry, vanilla pastry cream and chocolate ganache, Éclairs are exquisite in every way imaginable. Lucky for us, these French pastries are easy enough to make at home.

You can make the pastry shells well ahead of time. Just bake them off, let them cool to room temperature, and then freeze in an airtight container. The pastry cream can — and should — be made a day in advance. This way, the pastry cream will be firm enough to pipe.

For detailed visual instructions, be sure to watch the video in which I make eclairs (click here to watch). Then proceed to the following printable recipe:

Print Recipe

Homemade Eclairs

This is the famous French bakery treat made with choux pastry dough, pastry cream, and chocolate ganache. The following recipe yields 12-14 eclairs.

Prep Time40

Cook Time50

Servings:

Ingredients

For the choux pastry:

1/2 cup (120ml) water
1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk
1/2 cup (114g) butter, salted or unsalted as you please
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (130g) all-purpose or "plain" flour
4 large eggs, at room temperature

For the pastry cream:

4 egg yolks from large eggs
1/3 cup (70g) sugar
1/3 cup (40g) cornstarch
2 cups (500ml) half-and-half (half whole milk, half cream)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the chocolate ganache:

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup (60ml) heavy cream, heated to a simmer
1 teaspoon corn syrup (optional for shine)

Instructions

Making the choux pastry:

Center the oven rack; preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
Put the water, milk, butter, sugar and salt in a heavy saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Off heat, add all of the flour, and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until thoroughly incorporated. Return the pan to the heat, and cook, while stirring constantly, until the dough becomes smooth and a thin film of dough appears on the bottom of the pan.
Transfer the dough to a medium bowl, and beat on high speed just to break up and slightly cool the dough. One at a time, add the 4 large eggs, beating well after addition. Continue beating until perfectly smooth. The dough will resemble a thick batter at this point.

Forming and baking the choux pastry:

Scoop the dough into a large pastry bag outfitted with a half-inch-round piping tip. Pipe out 3 1/2- to 4-inch long rectangles that are approximately 3/4 of an inch wide on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving 1 1/2 inches between each rectangle for expansion.
Bake the dough at 425°F for 10 minutes. Then, without opening the oven door, reduce the temperature to 325°F (160°C). Continue baking until the pastry puffs and turns golden brown -- about 30 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Making the pastry cream:

Put the egg yolks and sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk vigorously until the mixture turns pale and thick -- about 2 minutes. Whisk in the cornstarch.
Pour the milk into a medium saucepan, and bring to a simmer. While whisking constantly (to avoid scrambling the yolks), gradually add about 1/3 of the hot milk to the yolk mixture. Then pour the entire yolk mixture into the saucepan of milk. While whisking constantly, bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue whisking until the mixture thickens -- about 1 minute. Whisk in the vanilla extract.
Allow the pastry cream to cool for at least 10 minutes. To prevent a "skin" from forming on the cream, press a sheet of cling film directly onto the cream. Refrigerate until the cream becomes cold and firm -- several hours or overnight.

Filling the eclairs:

Use a piping tip to puncture 3 holes along the bottom of each eclair. This briskly whisk or stir the chilled pastry cream until it becomes smooth. Transfer the pastry cream to a piping bag outfitted with a 1/4-inch tip. Pipe the cream through each of the holes you've made, Use the flat of a knife to scrape off any excess cream on the bottom of eclair.

Making the chocolate ganache:

Tip the chopped chocolate into a heat-proof bowl that is only slightly wider than the length of an eclair. Pour the hot cream (and the corn syrup, if using) over the chocolate. Stir, with a spoon, until the chocolate melts completely and is smooth -- 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Dipping the eclairs:

Dip the top of each eclair into the melted chocolate, letting excess chocolate drip back into the bowl. Place each chocolate-topped eclair on a rack until the chocolate sets up -- about 30 minutes. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Eclairs are best enjoyed within 24 hours of making them.