Chocolate Éclairs
 
Ingredients
Custard:
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup cornstarch
  • pinch of salt
  • 3 cups whole milk (don't try to use anything different)
  • 3 egg yolks, beaten
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 Tablespoons salted butter
Shells:
  • ½ cup salted buttter
  • 1 cup hot water
  • 1 cup flour
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 4 large eggs (do not use extra-large eggs because the dough will be too thin)
Chocolate Glaze:
  • 4 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
  • ½ cup heavy cream
Instructions
For Custard:
  1. Fill a large bowl halfway with ice cubes and add enough cold water to cover the ice. Set aside. I use the top of a cake carrier for this.
  2. In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt.
  3. Gradually stir in the whole milk.
  4. Cook over medium-low head stirring constantly with a spatula for 10-15 minutes or until it starts to boil. If it starts to stick to the bottom of the pan, lower the heat.
  5. Ladle some of this mixture into the egg yolks and whisk until combined to temper the eggs.
  6. Pour the eggs into the pan with the rest of the milk mixture.
  7. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes or until it gets an almost pudding thickness. This is a fine line between curdling the eggs and getting thin custard. Do not let the custard boil.
  8. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla and butter.
  9. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and place in the ice water bath.
  10. Let it sit in the bath for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  11. Remove from the bath, place plastic wrap right on the surface of the custard, and refrigerate for at least an hour.
For Shells:
  1. Preheat oven to 425F.
  2. Place butter and water in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil.
  3. Add the flour and salt and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute or until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan.
  4. Remove from the heat and add the eggs one at a time, stirring until completely combined and the dough is completely consistent. You could also use a stand mixer to get it really combined.
  5. Pipe the batter onto an ungreased baking sheet using a piping bag or a ziplock with a ½ to 1 inch opening. You need 12 shells that are 3 x 1 inch rectangles.
  6. Bake for 16-30 minutes or until lightly golden. If you make the full batch, it will be around 25-30 minutes; if you halve the batch, it will be around 16-22 minutes. I would recommend setting a timer for 15 minutes and checking on them every 5 minutes after that.
  7. Turn off the oven.
  8. Using a knife, poke a hole in one end of each shell.
  9. Put the shells back in the cooling turned off oven for 20 minutes.
For Chocolate Glaze:
  1. Simmer cream in a saucepan.
  2. Pour the cream over the chopped chocolate and stir until completely smooth and consistent.
For Assembly:
  1. Pipe the cold custard into the shells using a piping bag or a ziplock with a small opening.Tap the shell on the counter to get the custard to the bottom of the éclair.
  2. Dip the tops of the éclairs into the glaze.
Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator.
Yield: 12 éclairs
Recipe by Birch Tree Baking at https://www.birchtreebaking.com/chocolate-eclairs/