Chocolate Éclairs!

Chocolate Éclairs with Chantilly Cream Filling

Ingredients:

For Pate a Choux:

·       1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

·       1 teaspoon sugar

·       1/2 teaspoon salt

·       1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

·       4 large eggs, plus 1 large egg white

For Pastry Cream:

·       6 large egg yolks

·       1 large egg

·       3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

·       3 tablespoons cornstarch

·       3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

·       3 cups milk

·       3 tablespoons unsalted butter

·       2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For Éclair:

·       Vegetable oil, for plastic wrap

·       1/2 cup heavy cream

·       4 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Directions:

For Pastry Cream:

1) Prepare an ice bath; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine egg yolks, egg, and 2 tablespoons sugar. Add cornstarch and flour; whisk until smooth and pale yellow. Set aside.

2) In a medium saucepan, combine milk and remaining 3/4 cup sugar. Stir over medium-high heat until milk begins to steam. Whisking constantly, add half the hot milk to the egg-yolk mixture. Stir until smooth; add combined mixture back to remaining hot milk in the pan. Bring mixture to a boil, whisking rapidly to prevent scorching. Remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla. Strain through a fine sieve into a medium bowl.

3) Place over ice bath and let stand, stirring frequently, until cool. Remove from ice bath, and press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto surface until ready to use. 

For Pate a Choux:

1) Bring butter, sugar, salt, and 1 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Using a wooden spoon, quickly stir in flour. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture pulls away from sides and a film forms on bottom of pan, about 3 minutes.

2) Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until slightly cooled, about 1 minute. Raise speed to medium; add whole eggs, 1 at a time, until a soft peak forms when batter is touched with your finger. If peak does not form, lightly beat remaining egg white, and mix it into batter a little at a time until it does.

For Éclair:

1) Preheat oven to 220 degrees .with a rack in the centre. Line two untrimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or.

2) Fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch tip with pate a choux batter; pipe out oblong shapes, about 3 1/2 inches long and 1 inch wide, onto prepared baking sheets at 2-inch intervals. Gently run a fork dipped in water along each top, making straight lines to ensure even rising.

3) Cover one baking sheet with lightly oiled plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator. Transfer the second sheet to the oven. Bake 10 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes more. Turn off oven; prop door open slightly to let steam escape. Allow éclairs to dry in oven until centres are damp but no wet dough remain (test by cutting into the centre of one), about 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. Raise heat back to 425 degrees and repeat process with remaining batch. If serving immediately, fill éclairs while still warm so they can take more cream; if filling at a later time, insert a skewer into one end, and move it around to expand opening for cream; set aside.

4) Transfer pastry cream to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat until smooth and softened. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a coupler and filling tip with pastry cream. Insert tip into one end of each éclair; fill.

5) To make the glaze, heat cream in a small saucepan. Pour over chocolate in a small bowl. Let stand until chocolate is melted, stir until smooth. Dip top of each éclair into glaze; let excess drip off before turning over. Transfer to a wire rack to allow glaze to set. 

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