French Éclairs with Cream and Chocolate
Éclairs collapse or come out flat for two reasons: opening the oven door too early, and too much egg. The paste has to reach a consistency that leaves a V shape on the spoon, and the oven stays shut for the first 25 minutes, whatever happens.
- Prep
- 35 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Total
- 80 min
- Calories
- 290
An éclair is built on choux paste — the same paste as profiteroles and balah el sham. It rises on steam alone, and any steam that escapes finishes it.
Method
-
1
Crème pâtissière
Heat the milk, whisk the yolks with the sugar and cornflour, pour the milk over them gradually, then return it to the heat and stir until it thickens. Cover it with clingfilm touching the surface and chill.
⏱ 18 min -
2
Bring the liquid to a full boil
Boil the water, butter, sugar and salt to a full rolling boil. A partial boil means the butter has not fully combined with the water.
⏱ 6 min -
3
Cook the flour
Take it off the heat, add the flour all at once and beat hard, then return it to the heat for 3 minutes until the paste pulls away from the sides and leaves a film on the base.
⏱ 6 min -
4
Cool it, then add the eggs
Transfer the paste to a bowl and stir it for 5 minutes to cool, then add the eggs one at a time, beating hard. Eggs added to hot paste scramble.
⏱ 10 min -
5
The V test
Stop at 3 eggs and test: lift the spoon — the paste should leave a V shape and fall slowly. If it is still stiff, add half the fourth egg, beaten, a little at a time.
⏱ 4 min -
6
Pipe them
Fill a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe fingers 12 cm long onto a lined tray. The star nozzle prevents cracking and spreads the steam evenly.
⏱ 10 min -
7
Bake without opening
Bake at 200°C for 15 minutes, then drop to 170°C for 20 minutes. Do not open the door at all — steam is what lifts them, and any escape kills the éclair.
⏱ 38 min -
8
Dry and fill
Turn the oven off, prop the door slightly open and leave them 10 minutes to dry. Make three holes in the base, fill with the cream, and dip the tops in the chocolate melted with the cream.
⏱ 20 min
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Tips that actually matter
- Do not open the oven before 25 minutes — this is the first rule of choux.
- The V test decides the egg, not the count — egg sizes vary.
- The paste must pull away from the sides and leave a film on the base.
- Dry them in the switched-off oven for 10 minutes so they do not shrink.
People also ask
Why do my éclairs collapse?
You opened the oven door too early. Choux rises on steam, and the moment the steam escapes the structure falls before it has set. Do not open the door for at least 25 minutes.
Why are they solid inside?
The paste was not cooked enough on the heat before the eggs went in, or there was too little egg. It has to pull away from the sides and leave a film on the base, and the final consistency has to leave a V shape.
How do I know the right amount of egg?
By consistency, not by count. Lift the spoon — the paste should leave a V and fall slowly. If it falls quickly there is too much egg (fix it with a little more cooked paste); if it does not fall at all there is too little.
Cook mode
French Éclairs with Cream and Chocolate
-
1
Crème pâtissière
Heat the milk, whisk the yolks with the sugar and cornflour, pour the milk over them gradually, then return it to the heat and stir until it thickens. Cover it with clingfilm touching the surface and chill.
-
2
Bring the liquid to a full boil
Boil the water, butter, sugar and salt to a full rolling boil. A partial boil means the butter has not fully combined with the water.
-
3
Cook the flour
Take it off the heat, add the flour all at once and beat hard, then return it to the heat for 3 minutes until the paste pulls away from the sides and leaves a film on the base.
-
4
Cool it, then add the eggs
Transfer the paste to a bowl and stir it for 5 minutes to cool, then add the eggs one at a time, beating hard. Eggs added to hot paste scramble.
-
5
The V test
Stop at 3 eggs and test: lift the spoon — the paste should leave a V shape and fall slowly. If it is still stiff, add half the fourth egg, beaten, a little at a time.
-
6
Pipe them
Fill a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe fingers 12 cm long onto a lined tray. The star nozzle prevents cracking and spreads the steam evenly.
-
7
Bake without opening
Bake at 200°C for 15 minutes, then drop to 170°C for 20 minutes. Do not open the door at all — steam is what lifts them, and any escape kills the éclair.
-
8
Dry and fill
Turn the oven off, prop the door slightly open and leave them 10 minutes to dry. Make three holes in the base, fill with the cream, and dip the tops in the chocolate melted with the cream.
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