French Eclair
This is an excellent and very easy recipe I got from the pastry chef at The Bistro at the Village Green in Martinsburg, PA.
This is an excellent and very easy recipe I got from the pastry chef at The Bistro at the Village Green in Martinsburg, PA.
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1 stick butter
- 1 1/3 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup flour
- 1 2/3 cups milk
- pastry ingredients
- filling ingredients
- 2 boxes (3.4 oz) instant french vanilla pudding mix
- chocolate topping ingredients
- 4 tablespoons cocoa
- 3-4 tablespoons milk
- Carbohydrate 10.8764487545996 g
- Cholesterol 71.0824375052768 mg
- Fat 12.3824313768173 g
- Fiber 0.241350004076958 g
- Protein 2.86028012557345 g
- Saturated Fat 7.49254000115088 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (71g)
- Sodium 54.5628000177841 mg
- Sugar 10.6350987505227 g
- Trans Fat 0.904211075117086 g
- Calories 166 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Heat butter and water on stove until butter is melted
- Incorporate flour into the butter mixture before starting to add the eggs
- Add the eggs one at a time mixing well between each egg
- Spoon mixture (use a large or small cookie scooper) onto baking sheet with parchment paper
- Bake smaller scoops for 15 min (until turn slightly brown) and then turn off oven for additional 15 min
- Bake larger scoops for 24 min (until turn slightly brown) and then turn off oven for additional 24 min
- Mix together the pudding mix and the milk.
- Add the heavy whipping cream to the pudding mixture.
- Use the mixture to fill the pastry when the pastry is cooled.
- Mix the cocoa, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla together and cook on the stove until the butter is melted.
- Slowly add milk to get the desired consistency.
- Drizzle on top of filled pastry.
Swapping water for whole milk in the pastry dough creates a browner crust due to extra milk solids, but water produces a lighter, crisper shell that expands more predictably in a 400 degree oven.
- Incorporate flour into the hot butter and water mixture completely before adding eggs, cooking the paste on the burner for one minute to gelatinize starches and trap steam.
- Add eggs strictly one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition until the batter drops from the spoon in a thick, glossy V-shape.
- Bake small scoops for 15 minutes followed by 15 minutes in a turned-off oven to dry the interior cavity thoroughly.
- Whip heavy cream and fold it into the set pudding base to create a stable filling that will not liquefy inside the hollow shell.
Fat from the butter and cocoa solids balance the sweetness of the powdered sugar glaze during stovetop melting. Precision in egg incorporation determines whether the pastry rises into a hollow shell or bakes into a dense sphere.
