Vanilla eclairs
Description
Delicious baked treats for the whole family. Preparing exquisite French pastries—vanilla éclairs—is quite easy if you follow this step-by-step recipe. Whether or not to cover them with chocolate glaze is up to you; you can simply dust them with powdered sugar. In any case, they will turn out fantastically tender and delicious. A very successful recipe, where the amount of cream matches the number of pastries exactly. Serve cooled or slightly warm.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Prepare the ingredients.
- 2
Step 2
Start by preparing the custard vanilla cream. To do this, whisk 4 egg yolks with sugar and starch.
- 3
Step 3
Bring 150 grams of milk and 200 ml of cream to a boil.
- 4
Step 4
Slowly pour the hot cream and milk into the egg yolk mixture in a thin stream, continuing to whisk.
- 5
Step 5
Pour the mixture back into the saucepan, place it over medium heat, and heat while stirring constantly until it thickens.
- 6
Step 6
As soon as the mixture starts to thicken, immediately remove it from the heat.
- 7
Step 7
Transfer the cream to a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap directly touching the surface, and cool to room temperature.
- 8
Step 8
While the cream is cooling, start preparing the pastries. In a saucepan, combine 125 grams of milk and 125 grams of water. Heat to a boil, then melt 100 grams of butter in it.
- 9
Step 9
Add all the flour to the saucepan at once and stir vigorously, keeping the saucepan over low heat.
- 10
Step 10
The dough in the saucepan should come together into a ball and pull away from the sides. Remove the dough from the heat and let it cool slightly.
- 11
Step 11
For convenience when working with the dough, crack all the eggs into one container.
- 12
Step 12
Add the eggs to the dough one at a time, mixing each egg in vigorously. Mix in each subsequent egg only after the previous egg has been fully incorporated.
- 13
Step 13
The dough should slide slightly off the silicone spatula in a "triangle." If the dough is thick (when using smaller eggs), beat in one more egg or half of one.
- 14
Step 14
Transfer the dough to a piping bag and pipe eclairs onto a silicone mat or parchment, about 12 cm long, spaced apart from each other. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees.
- 15
Step 15
Bake the éclairs at 190°C for 30–35 minutes, then lower the temperature to 160°C and bake for another 10 minutes.
- 16
Step 16
To apply the filling, slit the eclairs lengthwise or make 2 punctures on the bottom.
- 17
Step 17
Add 1 tsp vanilla extract to the cream cooled to room temperature, and beat it.
- 18
Step 18
Add 120 grams of room-temperature butter.
- 19
Step 19
Beat the cream with the butter until smooth. Place the cream in a cool place for 20–30 minutes to stabilize.
- 20
Step 20
Using a pastry bag, fill the éclairs with vanilla cream.
- 21
Step 21
To make the chocolate glaze, melt the white and milk chocolate in the microwave or in a double boiler.
- 22
Step 22
Mix the chocolate mixture and apply it to the éclairs using a silicone brush, or simply by dipping the éclairs in the chocolate.
- 23
Step 23
After the chocolate glaze has fully set, they can be served to the table. It's pure delight, believe me!