Skip the fancy French bakery, Tartlets: we’re making Classic French Éclairs at home.
It’s easy. REALLY. It’s super easy. If you’ve made my Raspberry Rose Profiteroles (or any other kind of choux pastry), these eclairs will be a walk in the park for you.
If you haven’t, well… it’s time to learn some new (easy!) skills.
Why are Classic French Éclairs the book-inspired recipe for Everyone Is Lying To You?
I was tempted to make a cherry pie for Everyone Is Lying to You. The book cover alone just screams “Get in the kitchen and make me a pie!” (Insert South Park Carmen’s obnoxious voice here.)
Plus, the author/book signing party I attended last year included a pie baking contest. (I won. With this recipe. Obvs.)
But I really wanted the book-inspired recipe for Everyone Is Lying to You to be a love letter to main character Bex.
Before she made it big as a influencer, Bex used to bake eclairs from scratch in her pastry shop. She had to give up her beloved bakery once she made it “big,” and one of my favorite parts of this book was when Bex reminisced about her pre-influencer life.
I’m making Classic French Eclairs today as a throwback to Bex’s good ol’ days.
Why I love Classic French Éclairs
Even though I think of éclairs as a French pastry, I grew up eating ones bought from local Italian bakeries. And they were pretty darn good. Honestly, there are so few ingredients in an eclair that it’s hard to screw them up.
But homemade éclairs are now my favorite kind.
You’ve got choux pastry, which is kinda like a cross between bread dough and a doughnut. Nothin’ wrong there.
Then you’ve got smooth, shiny chocolate ganache that coats the top of the éclair in a rich, thick ribbon. Also good stuff.
Finally, there’s the pièce de resistance – what I could eat a gallon of, all by itself – pastry cream. Crème pâtissière, if we’re being French and fancy. (I mean, always.)
Classic pastry cream is like a thick, decadent version of vanilla pudding, or vanilla custard.
All of these things are delicious separately. Smack ‘em all together, and you have one ultra-indulgent dessert.
If you’ve never tried an éclair before, think of it as a super elevated Boston Cream Donut. Yeah. Yeah.
Don’t be afraid of choux pastry. Or pastry cream. Or ganache.
I know the idea of making eclairs from scratch is a little daunting. I, too, was intimidated before I started.
I’ve made plenty of cream puffs, or profiteroles, before, but, eclairs? I was like, OMG I NEED TO USE A PASTRY BAG.
I did, and it went well.
I even used two pastry bags! One to pipe out the eclairs onto the baking sheet, and one to fill the baked eclairs with the pastry cream.
Each seperate component for an éclair – choux pastry, ganache, and pastry cream– requires very little effort. I was surprised at how quickly this dessert came together.
It was well worth the (minimal) effort to make these treats from scratch. I can’t wait to serve these at parties, and to experiment with different flavor combinations now that I’ve mastered the classic version.
What do you serve with Classic French Éclairs?
Serve up a French-inspired meal of Steak au Poivre, Coq au Vin, Baked Sea Scallops, Grand-Mere’s Friday Night Chicken, or Soupe au Pistou, then wow your guests with a tray of homemade éclairs for dessert.
Éclairs are a great treat for an elevated afternoon tea along with slices of Apple Almond Tart, a few Lemon Sablé Cookies, and Chocolate Orange Truffles.
Classic Cream Eclairs
Ingredients
PASTRY CREAM INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups milk
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 3½ tbsp cornstarch
- Pinch of salt
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter cold and cut into cubes
CHOUX PASTRY INGREDIENTS
- 4-5 eggs at room temperature
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
CHOCOLATE GANACHE INGREDIENTS
- 1/3 +1/8 cups heavy cream
- 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
PASTRY CREAM PREP INSTRUCTIONS
- Make the pastry cream first since it needs to chill for a few hours.
- Place a large bowl on your work surface and cover it with a mesh sieve.
PASTRY CREAM COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
- Whisk the egg yolks and milk together in a medium saucepan.
- Whisk the cornstarch, sugar, and salt into the saucepan.
- Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and let cook, whisking constantly, 2-3 minutes.
- Whisk in the butter and vanilla extract and let boil for 1 minute, whisking constantly.
- Strain the hot mixture into the bowl to remove any lumps.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap directly onto the hot surface of the pastry cream to make sure a skin doesn’t form.
- Refrigerate pastry cream for 2-3 hours (best if overnight) before using.
CHOUX PASTRY PREP INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Bring your eggs up to room temperature. If cold, place them in a bowl filled with warm water for 5-10 minutes.
- Cut the butter into cubes and set aside.
- Measure out your flour and set aside.
- Crack the room-temperature eggs into a small pitcher/small bowl and set aside.
- Set up your stand mixer with a mixing bowl and paddle attachment. If you’re using a hand-mixer, attach your beaters and have a large mixing bowl ready.
- Have a clean pastry bag and large piping tip (or scissors) at the ready.
CHOUX PASTRY BAKING INSTRUCTIONS
- Bring the water and the cubed butter to a rolling boil in a large saucepan over medium heat, about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure the butter melts before the mixture begins to boil.
- Add the flour into the saucepan and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until clumps of flour have disappeared and a small ball of dough has formed. Turn off stove and remove saucepan from heat.
- Immediately turn out the hot dough into the mixing bowl of the stand mixer. Beat the paddle through the dough for 30-30 seconds to release steam.
- Beat in the eggs on low, one at a time, until the dough is shiny and smooth. You might not need all the eggs.
- Scoop the choux pastry into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip (or cut the end off the pastry bag). Pipe dough onto the prepared baking sheet in a line about 3” long. Leave about 2” between each éclair.
- Bake eclairs for about 40 minutes, until they’re deep golden brown and make a hollow sound when you tap them. (Careful! Hot!)
- Remove eclairs and immediately poke a slit on the bottom of each with a sharp knife to release steam. Transfer eclairs to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once eclairs are completely cooled, fill each éclair with prepared pastry cream and coat in chocolate ganache.
CHOCOLATE GANACHE COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
- Pour chocolate chips into a small bowl.
- Heat the cream and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat until boiling.
- Pour the boiling cream over the chocolate chips. Use a spoon or spatula to ensure all chips are completely covered by the cream, then let mixture sit undisturbed for one minute.
- Use a rubber spatula to slowly stir the cream and chocolate chips together into a smooth, shiny ganache. This will take a few minutes.
- Once smooth, stir in the vanilla extract.
- Cover ganache with plastic wrap and let cool for about an hour. Ganache should be thick, shiny, and pourable.
- Dip tops of cooled, filled eclairs into cooled chocolate ganache, then let sit to harden on a cooling rack.
