Angie makes Éclairs au Chocolat!!

I tried my hand at an éclair recipe that my french teacher gave me last year. They are surprisingly easy to make (easy enough that I managed to make them).

1 c. flour

1 c. water

1/2 c. butter/margarine

4 eggs

Heat water and butter to a boil. Reduce heat; stir in flour. Cook 5 minutes on medium heat until it forms a ball.

Let cool a few minutes and add in beaten eggs. Form into éclairs or puffs (see below: puffs on left, éclairs on right). Bake 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees.

The Crème

2/3 c. sugar

1/4 c. cornstarch

1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups milk

4 egg yolks, beaten

1 Tbs. butter

1 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. vanilla

Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt in a pot on medium heat. Add milk gradually; stir until thick, boil for 1 minute. Stir in eggs yolks, boil and stir for 1 minute (don't stop stirring!!). Remove from heat, add butter and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Now is the fun part: getting the cream inside the éclairs. Most of the éclairs will develop small holes during the baking process (see the photo below).

Pick one of the holes, and poke a straw/stick inside to clear the way for the cream. The éclair will be hollow, so you don't need to remove the inside stuff. If you don't have a pastry syringe, you're gonna have to get creative. I cut the corner of a ziplock bag (tiny, tiny hole), filled it with the cream, and used it to inject the cream into the éclairs. It was very messy.

The next step is optional, but highly recommended: the chocolate topping!!

1/2 bag of chocolate chips

1/4 c. milk

I didn't follow this recipe exactly; I just melted a handful of chocolate chips and added some milk. Make sure you melt the chocolate chips evenly (double boilers). You want the chocolate to be thick enough that it can be spread over the éclairs. Put on as much as you WANT!

Voilà!

Vous allez manger comme un vrai français!

Mangez bien! Bon appetit!!