Desserts
French
FrenchChocolate Eclairs
Classic choux pastry fingers filled with cream and topped with chocolate, shown three ways. The basic tier keeps it simple with squirty cream and a quick icing, while the ultimate folds in a proper creme patissiere and a glossy chocolate ganache.
Vegetarian
Budget version
Simple choux filled with squirty cream and a quick icing sugar glaze.
Per serving£0.43
Total cost£3.40
Time55 min
Ingredients for 8
- Choux
- 65 g plain flour
- 50 g block margarine , cubed
- 125 ml water
- 2 medium eggs , beaten
- 1 pinch salt
- Filling
- 250 ml aerosol cream
- Topping
- 120 g icing sugar , sifted
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
Method
- Heat the water and margarine until the fat melts and the mixture boils.
- Beat in the flour and salt off the heat to form a smooth ball, then cool slightly.
- Gradually beat in the eggs until you have a glossy piping consistency.
- Pipe finger lengths onto a lined tray and bake at 200C for 25-30 minutes until risen and golden.
- Pierce each eclair to release steam and cool on a rack.
- Fill the cooled shells with aerosol cream and dip the tops in a cocoa icing made from the sugar, cocoa and a little water.
Equipment
- saucepan
- piping bag
- baking tray
The three ways, side by side
Budget
Simple choux filled with squirty cream and a quick icing sugar glaze.
Better
Butter-rich choux, whipped double cream filling and a real chocolate glaze.
Ultimate
Craquelin-topped choux, vanilla creme patissiere and a mirror-shine dark ganache.
