An éclair is a long pastry made from choux dough, cut in half after baking and filled with pastry cream or whipped cream.
Ingredients
Pastry
- butter, 125 g
- water, 1 cup
- flour, 1 cup
- eggs, 5 small
- baking powder, 1 teaspoon
Filling
- whipped cream with powdered sugar / pastry cream
- powdered sugar for dusting or chocolate glaze
Preparation
Melt the butter in a saucepan, add water, and bring to a boil. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until a thick, smooth dough forms that pulls away from the sides of the pan. Transfer to a bowl and let cool.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing with a wooden spoon or a mixer on low speed until a smooth dough forms. Finally, add the baking powder and mix thoroughly.
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the dough in a piping bag with a large 2 cm tip. You can also spread the dough with a spoon. Pipe 7-8 cm strips of dough onto the baking sheet, leaving a few centimeters of space between them as they will expand during baking. Bake for about 22 minutes until golden. Do not open the oven door during baking as the dough may collapse.
Remove the baked eclairs from the baking sheet and let cool. Bake another batch if needed.
Cut the eclairs lengthwise, fill the bottom half with whipped cream or pastry cream (using a piping bag and nozzle if desired), cover with the top half, and dust with powdered sugar or drizzle with chocolate glaze.
