Chocolate Eclairs

Ingredients for making Pate a choux dough ( light pastry dough ),
Milk - 1/2 cup ,
Water -- 1/2 cup ,
Butter -  3 oz or  85 gms - room temperature - cut into small cubes ,
All purpose flour - 1 cup ,
Egg - 4 ,
Granulated sugar - 1tsp
Egg wash - 1 egg with 1 tbsp of water .

For filling and topping
Pastry cream - 1 to 2 cup ,
Chocolate ganache - 1/2 to 3/4 cup .


Method :
Crack  all the eggs in a  bowl and keep aside .
Take a pan and add milk ,water and butter and keep on heat .

Keep stirring the milk  till the  butter melts and the milk reaches a boiling point .

Sieve  the flour add put sugar in it and keep aside .
As the milk starts to boil , add the flour and keep stirring till it forms a lump and forms a smooth dough .

Take the pan from heat and keep stirring with a wooden spoon till the dough is luke warm .

Add the egg one by one and keep beating till all the eggs are incorporated .
Beat till  the paste is smooth .( you can use a blender )

Fill the pastry  dough in  the piping bag with a straight  big size noozle .
Pre heat oven to 232 C
Line the tray with butter paper .
With the piping bag make 3 1/2 inch long eclairs  on the butter paper .
With the tip of your finger  using water, tap the ends if sticking  out .
Brush the bars with egg wash .

Transfer the tray to oven and let it bake for 10 minutes in 232 C .
Turn the tray to 180 degree and change the temperture to 190 C.
Bake for 15 minutes more .
Take out the tray and leave to cool for 5  minutes on tray.

Transfer  the butter paper  with the eclairs on wire rack and leave it to cool for 15 minutes .

Gently remove the eclairs from the butter paper  and put on wire rack .
You will see split or holes in the eclairs .

These hole will help in filling the eclairs with pastry cream .
Let the eclairs come to room temperature than only can we pipe in the sweet pastry cream .


Sweet pastry cream 
Egg yolk - 2 ,
Sugar -  half of 1/4 cup ,
Corn starch - 1/2  tbsp ,
Milk - 3/4  cup ,
Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp .

Method - 


Put milk in pan to boil ,add vanilla essence .

Take a bowl and whisk egg yolk ,sugar and cornstarch till light and pale  .

As the milk come to a boil ,remove the pan  and add few tbsp of the hot milk to the the  beaten egg yolk  mixture  and keep whisking till  2/3 of  the hot milk is poured  into the bowl   .

Transfer  the whisked egg milk mix  to the 1/4  hot  milk pan and whisk and put on heat again .
Keep stirring .
As  it comes to a boil  , the cream will thicken .

Close the gas. 
 Sieve  the pastry cream through a strainer if there are any lumps .

Cover with a cling film and let it come to room temperature .Keep the cream pastry in the fridge to cool till the eclairs are ready to be filled.

Transfer  the cream to a piping bag to fill the eclairs .




Chocolate Ganache 


Dark chocolate - 125 gms ( into very small pieces  with a knife  
Heavy cream - 1/2 cup .

Pour the milk in a measuring cup and microwave for 30 seconds  .Then again microwave for 30 seconds more .
Pour the boiled  cream over the chocolate and whisk until the chocolate melts and the ganache is smooth .

Allow the ganache to sit for 5 to 10 minutes before using .
As it cools it will thicken so you can just micro wave for 10 seconds if you think the ganache is too thick or add a few tbsp of hot milk or cream .
Once the eclairs are cool make holes on both the ends of  eclairs or use the holes which are already in the eclairs  to fill in the pastry cream .
You can make slits in the sides of the eclairs as i find  it easier to pipe the pastry  cream .


Once the pastry cream is  pipped in the eclairs ,than just dip the top upper  part of eclairs in the chocolate ganache and keep aside in a plate  .

Once all the eclairs are dipped with the chocolate ganache , keep in the fridge to cool for half hour  .

It is very delicious dessert and very light to eat .

Makes 18 eclairs.