Chocolate Eclairs with Vanilla Pastry Cream
Piped choux batons filled with real stovetop pastry cream and dipped in a dark chocolate glaze, not the ice-cream-and-fudge version.
- Serves
- 6
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Written
Method
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Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and a pinch of salt in a bowl until pale and no lumps remain.
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Bring the milk to a bare simmer, then pour it slowly into the yolk mixture while whisking constantly so the eggs don’t scramble.
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Return everything to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking hard, until the cream thickens to a pudding-like consistency and holds a bubble for a few seconds — about 2 minutes past the first bubble.
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Off the heat, whisk in the vanilla and 2 tablespoons butter, then press plastic wrap directly onto the surface and chill at least 2 hours, until fully set.
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Bring the water, ½ cup butter, 1 tablespoon sugar, and ¼ teaspoon salt to a full boil in a saucepan.
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Dump in the flour all at once and stir hard until the dough balls up and a thin film coats the bottom of the pan, about a minute.
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Scrape the dough into a bowl and beat for a minute to cool it slightly, then beat in the eggs one at a time until fully absorbed — the dough should fall off the spoon in a slow, glossy ribbon.
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Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large round or star tip and pipe 4-inch batons onto a lined baking sheet, spaced well apart.
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Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes, then lower the oven to 350°F and keep baking until the shells are deeply golden, firm, and sound hollow when tapped, 20 to 25 more minutes.
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Pierce each end with a paring knife and let cool completely on a rack — this lets steam escape so they stay crisp instead of going soggy.
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Warm the ½ cup heavy cream in a small saucepan until it just simmers, then pour over the chopped chocolate and corn syrup and let sit a minute before stirring into a smooth, glossy glaze.
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Split the shells lengthwise, pipe in the chilled pastry cream, dip the tops in the warm glaze, and let set a few minutes before serving.
Notes
The pastry cream needs the full two hours in the fridge — pipe it in warm and it weeps through the choux and turns the shells soggy before anyone gets a bite. Make it a day ahead if that’s easier; it holds fine under plastic.
Same choux dough as a batch of profiteroles, piped into batons instead of mounds and dipped rather than sauced. Filled shells only keep their crunch for a couple of hours, so fill close to serving and store any extra pastry cream and unfilled shells separately.