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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 minutes
Cook Time50 minutes
Servings: 12

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.