Eclairs
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Eclairs are made with cream puff pastry dough (pâte a choux) and are essentially the same thing as cream puffs, except that éclairs are long, filled with pastry cream, and glazed with fondant; cream puffs are round, filled with whipped cream, and not glazed. You can fill éclairs in one of two ways - by cutting them in half lengthwise, piping in the filling, and replacing the top; or more elegantly by piping the mixture through holes cut in the bottom. Instructions for the second method are included here. You can flavor the pastry cream for éclairs however you like: by simmering a vanilla bean, split down the middle, with the milk used to make the pastry cream (or you can add vanilla extract to the milk); by adding instant coffee to the hot milk (or you can infuse fresh ground coffee into the milk); by combining cocoa powder with the egg-cornstarch mixture at the beginning of making the pastry cream; or by adding a liqueur or fruit brandy to the finished pastry cream after it has cooled. Two cups fondant are called for - you'll only use 1/2 cup, but it's hard to work with that small an amount. The excess drips off and can be scraped up with a spatula and reused. The fondant can be flavored with chocolate, coffee, or vanilla, depending on the flavor of the pastry cream, but they don't have to match.
ingredients
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serves: 12
1 1/2 pounds dough (cream puff pastry dough)
Egg wash
2 1/2 cups pastry cream (flavored with vanilla, coffee, chocolate, or fruit brandy)
2 cups liquid fondant (flavored with chocolate or coffee)
Nutrition Facts
Eclairs
Servings Per Recipe: 12
Amount per Serving
Calories: 305
- Total Fat: 15.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.1 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Cholesterol: 35.1 mg
- Sodium: 280.1 mg
- Total Carbs: 36.9 g
- Dietary Fiber: 0.4 g
- Sugars: 12.3 g
- Protein: 3 g
preparation
1. Draw twelve 4 1/2-inch lines on a sheet of parchment paper. Turn the parchment paper over and place on a sheet pan.
2. Pipe a small dollop of batter under each corner of the parchment paper to hold it in place.
3. Pipe the batter along the lines, pulling the pastry bag back along the line and squeezing as you go. When you reach the end of the éclair, move the bag quickly in the opposite direction (toward the end where you started) without squeezing, to detach the batter from the tip.
4. Brush the strips with egg wash and smooth out any irregularities with the brush.
5. Bake the éclairs and let them cool. Using a small fluted tip, make two holes, one on each end, in the bottom of each éclair.
6. Use a pastry bag to fill the éclairs, using the holes at each end. Use the side of a knife to wipe away any excess filling.
7. Dunk the tops of the éclairs in the liquid fondant.
8. Carefully wipe away excess fondant with your finger.
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comments
arlene
May 9, 2012