We are already over halfway through July, and I have some mixed feeling about it. On one hand, school starts soon and I don’t have a whole lot of time left to do the things I need to do. On the other hand, we’re getting closer and closer to fall which is extremely exciting.
I said in my last post that I want to have most of my September recipes done by the time I go back to school. And although I’ve been making good progress, I’ve had a few recipe failures that have put me behind schedule again. But I still have time to bounce back, and I have some pretty delicious recipes headed your way.
Although I enjoy not having school and being able to bake and dance and read all day, I do miss the schedule of the school year. I am a person who likes organization and concrete schedules, and when I don’t have them I tend to be much less productive. During the school year I have a very tight schedule which helps me get everything done, but that isn’t really the case over summer break. So I guess there are good and bad sides.
But enough about all of that, lets talk about this recipe. This is kind of my “fancy” recipe of the month. Sort of subconsciously, I tend to have one monthly recipe that is more complicated and ambitious than the other three. I think it’s a good way of testing myself and learning more, and it’s always fun to share it with other people. Anyway, this recipe is a little more complicated than some but very delicious and sophisticated.
Describe These Eclairs to Me
Taste: The pastry has a slightly sweet, buttery flavor that compliments the coffee, vanilla, and nutty caramelized white chocolate in the pastry cream. The ganache on top adds just the right amount of sharpness without overpowering the rest of the flavors in the eclair.
Texture: The pastry has a very slight crunch on the bottom, but it mostly has a soft and airy texture. The filling is perfectly buttery and creamy, which works perfectly with the pastry and sharper ganache.
Ease: As I said above, this is a more complicated recipe than some of my others. It has a lot of steps, and the pastry cream can be a little tricky and time consuming from both the chocolate and the custard itself. The pastry is actually much simpler than you might think, but it’s also a new skill that might take some practice. I would say this recipe is perfect for someone trying to challenge their baking abilities a little.
The Choux Pastry
Lets clear up what exactly an eclair is. It’s a French cream filled choux pastry topped with chocolate ganache. Choux pastry is a very light and delicate pastry made from butter, sugar, milk, flour, and eggs. It relies on moisture to puff up and has a lightly sweet and buttery flavor. Choux pastry is most commonly used in profiteroles and elcairs. Although it might sound fancy, Choux is actually one of the easiest and fastest pastries, so don’t be too intimidated. It comes together first on the stove, then in a mixer. We pipe the pastry into logs and bake them to make the perfect delicate pastry shells to fill with cream.
The Filling
Like most eclairs, these are filled with a homemade crème pâtissière, otherwise known as pastry cream. Traditionally, eclairs use a simple vanilla pastry cream but I like to shake up the flavors a little. This pastry cream is infused with melted caramelized white chocolate and coffee. I first used caramelized white chocolate in one of my most popular recipes, these rosemary cookies, a few years ago. Caramelizing white chocolate gives it a slight nuttiness and cuts down on the sweetness a little. When paired with the warm flavors of coffee and vanilla, this pastry cream is so much better then the traditional plain vanilla pastry cream.
Coffee Caramelized White Chocolate Filled Eclairs
Ingredients
Method
- Turn the oven to 240°F. Place the white chocolate on a baking sheet in an even layer (don't line or grease it with anything). Place the sheet in the oven and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir/re-spread it into an even layer using a rubber spatula .There may be lumps, that's ok! Place in the oven and cook for another 10 minutes. Repeat this cooking and stirring every 10 minutes process for a total of 6 times. The chocolate will turn a light brown color, this will take about an hour. Make sure you keep stirring/re-spreading or it will burn. Once finished pour the chocolate onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread it into an even layer and place in the refrigerator to harden completely before using in the pastry cream. Once fully hardened, chop/break the chocolate into smaller chunks.
- Fill a large bowl with water and ice to use as an ice bath for later. Set aside.
- In a medium sized saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk in the egg yolks until the mixture forms a pasty consistency. Whisk in the milk until combined.
- Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the custard begins to thicken, usually around 8 minutes. It won't look like it's doing much within the first five minutes or so, but it will thicken rapidly towards the end. Once thickened, continue to cook whisking constantly until it begins to boil and bubble. Once bubbling, cook for 1 minute, still whisking constantly.
- Remove the mixture from the heat immediately and whisk in the caramelized white chocolate chunks, butter, vanilla, and espresso powder. Whisk until the chocolate and butter have melted and the custard is smooth. Pour the pastry cream through a strainer and into a medium sized heatproof bowl. Cover the custard with cling wrap so that it is touching the surface of the custard. Place the bowl in the previously prepared ice bath to chill for 30 minutes. Then transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, water, milk, salt, and granulated sugar together over medium heat, stirring until the butter has melted. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and add the flour, stirring until the mixture forms a thick dough ball. Smush the dough against the bottom and sides of the pan and cook for 1 minute. This gently cooks the flour. Remove the mixture from the heat and place into a large heat safe mixing bowl. Let the mixture cool slightly for 5 minutes.
- After the dough has cooled slightly, begin adding the eggs. Using a hand or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, slowly stream in the eggs in 3-4 separate additions with the mixer running on low speed. The pastry will look curdled at first, but it will evenly form a shiny and pipeable consistency. Let the batter sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before piping.
- Preheat the oven to 400℉. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly brush the parchment with water, which will create a humid environment for the pastry shells to puff up.
- Transfer the pastry dough to a large piping bag fitted with a large round tip (I used Wilton 1A). Pipe the batter into logs, roughly 4 inches long, about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Dip your finger in water and slightly tap the peaks and ends of the piped pastry to smooth it out. Using a pastry brush, lightly and carefully brush the top of each pastry with the egg wash.
- Bake for 20 minutes before turning the oven temperature down to 350℉ while keeping the pastries in the oven . Cook for another 5-8 minutes or until golden brown and puffed. Try not to open the oven door as they cook, this might deflate them.
- Once baked, let the pastries cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before filling
- Whisk the chilled pastry cream until it forms a smooth, thick, and creamy consistency. Transfer the pastry cream to a large piping bag fitted with a small round tip (I used Wilton #12). Using a chopstick, poke a hole lengthwise through each pastry. Insert the piping tip into the pastries and fill with the pastry cream until right before you can start to feel pressure against the pastry. This may take some practice not to over fill the pastries. Once all the pastries have been filled, it's time to make the chocolate ganache topping.
- Place the chocolate in a medium sized heat proof bowl. Set aside. In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a simmer over medium heat. Once simmering, pour the warm heavy cream over the chopped chocolate. Let the mixture sit for 3 minutes or so to melt the chocolate before slowly and carefully stirring until a thick, smooth, and glossy ganache forms. Stir in the vanilla extract and salt. Carefully dip the tops of each eclair in the chocolate ganache before placing on serving plate. The ganache will firm up a little as it cools. Eclairs last up to 4 days sealed in an airtight container in the refrigerator.