Double chocolate eclairs

Tam West

With the many patisserie and chocolate shops in Paris, I always found it hard to walk past that perfect chocolate eclair. This filling of chocolate pastry cream makes them all the more appealing and indulgent. I like to cut the eclairs open so they can be filled with a generous amount of the cream. They are the ideal morning or afternoon treat.

Choux pastry

125 ml	Milk
125 ml	Water
100 g	Butter, diced
¼ tsp	Salt
150 g	Flour
4	Eggs

Chocolate custard creme

300 ml	Milk
1 tsp	Vanilla extract
4	Egg yolks
50 g	Caster sugar
1 Tbsp	Cornflour
1 Tbsp	Flour
1 Tbsp	Cocoa powder
75 g	Dark chocolate, chopped or buttons, 70% cacao (Main)

Chocolate glaze

100 ml	Cream
1 Tbsp	Sugar
1 tsp	Vanilla extract
100 g	Dark chocolate, chopped, 70% cacao (Main)

Directions

Choux pastry

1. Heat the oven to 210C. To make the choux pastry, heat the milk, water and butter gently until the butter melts. Bring to the boil then stir in salt and flour. Stir until the mixture is smooth, glossy and comes away from the sides of the pan. Allow to cool.
2. Lightly whisk the eggs, then gradually add a quarter of the egg mix at a time mixing well between each addition. The final mix should just be dropping off the end of a wooden spoon.
3. Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper, then spoon the mix into a piping bag fitted with a 2cm plain nozzle. Pipe even eclairs, about 10cm long and 2cm wide, leaving space between each one for expansion. Bake for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 180C and cook for a further 15 minutes, until golden brown and doubled in size. Allow to cool completely before filling.

Chocolate custard creme

1. Heat the milk and vanilla and bring to the boil.
2. Whisk egg yolks and sugar until pale, then stir in cornflour, flour and cacoa. Pour the hot milk over the egg yolk mixture and whisk until smooth. Return to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until thick.
3. Transfer custard to a clean bowl, add the chocolate and mix until melted. Cover the surface with cling film and leave to cool completely.

Chocolate glaze

1. Heat the cream, sugar and vanilla to boiling point. Put the chopped chocolate in a bowl and slowly pour over the cream mixture, whisking until smooth and glossy.
2. Cut the eclairs in half lengthways and pipe in the chocolate custard filling. Spread the chocolate glaze over the top of each eclair, then assemble and serve.

More chocolate recipes from Geoff

• Hokey pokey chocolate bar
• Milk chocolate caramel praline tart