A very popular treat, invented by the famous chef Marie-Antoine Karem. There are several interpretations of its name. In translation, the word "eclair" means "flash, lightning."
Some explain this by the fact that the cake has a very brilliant appearance, while others talk about how lightning-fast eclairs “scatter” from the table. Both of these assumptions have a right to exist. A delicious culinary invention leaves no one indifferent.
Eclairs step by step recipes - the basic principles of making custard dough
In the classic version of the preparation, the cake has an oblong shape, 14 cm long, filled with custard, vanilla or chocolate cream and sprinkled with icing on top. Over time, eclairs began to cook in various variations, and now shu and profiteroles are widespread.
The principle and technology of making custard dough for these varieties is no different from the classical method. The only difference is in form and filling. Profiteroles are oval in shape with a diameter of 2-3 cm and can be filled with any filling, but shu differs in that the upper part is cut off from it, spread cream in it, which also lubricate the top of the head, and cover.
We suggest considering several recipes for step-by-step cooking of eclairs. The recipes include your favorite classic dessert and great toppings for eclairs eateries.
Step-by-step recipe for eclairs with custard
This recipe is classic, and it will not create difficulties in cooking for housewives who want to pamper the household with something tasty. The main principle for the preparation of any confectionery product is strict adherence to technology, and then the cakes will be excellent.
Ingredients:
Butter 360 g
Wheat flour 225 g
Water purified 1 tbsp.
First grade eggs 6 pcs.
Milk 3.2% 550 ml
Sugar 180 g
Vanillin 1 sachet
Salt 5 g
Powdered sugar 280 g
Cocoa 60 g
Cooking:
1. Take 100 grams of butter and cut it into small pieces; put in a pan. Add salt to it, pour in water, then put the pan on a small fire.
2. While the butter is melting, sift the flour.
3. As soon as the mixture of oil and water begins to boil, turn off the heat and immediately add 150 grams of flour to the pan. Take a wooden spatula and mix the dough thoroughly to make it homogeneous and without lumps. It is very important to add flour to the hot mixture, as it must be brewed in it.
4. After mixing the mass well, put it back on a slow fire. Continue to grind and mix the dough continuously - otherwise it may burn. Warm up for 2-3 minutes. Properly prepared dough can easily be separated from the sides and bottom of the pan.
5. Transfer it to a cold container and give a little.
6. When the dough has cooled to room temperature, beat 4 eggs into it one by one, thoroughly mixing the mixture after each egg is introduced.
It should be borne in mind that the quality of the flour used in the test and the size of the eggs have a direct effect on the consistency. The finished choux dough should keep its shape well, have a viscous and smooth consistency and be moderately liquid, therefore, driving in eggs, make sure that the dough does not turn out too liquid or thick - it should drain smoothly from a spoon with a heavy, thick strip. If the eggs used are too large, a smaller quantity may be required.
7. Preheat the oven to 220 ° C, and cover, suitable for baking, a baking sheet with parchment paper. Take the cooking syringe and fill it tightly with the dough. In order for the eclairs to get a beautiful, regular shape, there should not be any empty space in the syringe. Squeeze the dough onto the baking tray spirally: you should get a cone 3-4 cm high. Remember that the distance between the workpieces should be at least 2 cm, since during baking, the size of the eclairs will increase significantly.
8. Place the pan in the oven for 20 minutes. The dough should become rosy in appearance and increase in size. Do not open the oven during baking - the dough will not rise due to air. Remove the finished eclairs from the oven and let them cool completely.
9. While the eclairs are baking, start cooking the cream. Put 3 tablespoons of flour and 180 grams of sugar in a clean, dry stainless steel container. Add 2 eggs to them and beat until foamy.
10. Pour milk into the resulting egg mass and pour a bag of vanillin. Mix well and place on low heat.
11. Continuously stir the mass so that it does not burn. Once the cream is thick and begins to boil, remove the pan from the heat, and let cool slightly.
12. Take 200 grams of room temperature oil, add it to the cooled cream. Stir the mixture with a whisk until a homogeneous mass is obtained, then send the cream to the refrigerator for half an hour.
13. Put the chilled and frozen cream in a cooking bag with a narrow and long nozzle. Make small holes on the side of the eclairs and fill with a syringe with cream.
14. Put the filled eclairs in the refrigerator, and proceed with the preparation of the glaze. To make chocolate icing, sift and pour cocoa and 4 tablespoons of the powder into a small saucepan. Add 50 grams of softened butter and 4 tablespoons of milk, mix well.
15. Put the container on a small fire and, not ceasing to stir, bring to a boil. The icing should not be too liquid, like melted chocolate. Powdered sugar can be added to the excessively liquid mixture to thicken it. Add a little milk to the thick glaze.
16. To obtain a white glaze, mix the remaining milk with butter and place on a stove. Add the icing sugar to the melted butter and carefully move. The consistency of the glaze should be creamy.
17. Apply icing to the eclairs.
There are several options for applying icing on pastries. The simplest one: completely cover the upper half of the eclairs with one kind of glaze and the other with another. You can cover the cakes with a spoon, with which the icing will drain, forming a certain pattern, or cover part of the cake with white icing, and part dark.
18. Stand the eclairs in the refrigerator for several hours before serving.
Step-by-step recipes for eclairs toppings
There are many options that radically change the taste of semi-finished choux pastry - it all depends on the filling that they are filled with. Eclairs can be completely unsweetened cakes and served with soups, main dishes or as an independent snack.
Choux pastry
Ingredients:
Wheat flour 200 g
Water purified 1 tbsp.
Eggs (1-s) 4 pcs.
Butter 100 g
Salt 3 g
Cooking:
1. Melt the sliced butter, add salt and water to it. When the butter has completely melted, and the water is just starting to boil, remove the pan from the heat.
2. Gradually pour the sifted flour into the resulting liquid, thoroughly mixing with a mixer or whisk. There should be no lumps in the test.
3. Begin to beat in the eggs one by one, without ceasing to mix the mass. You should not add all at once. Each egg must be mixed evenly with the dough. The result should be a dough resembling thick sour cream. It must not lose shape.
4. Starting to form eclairs, preheat the oven to 220 degrees and prepare a baking sheet by slightly moistening it with water and placing parchment on top. Spread a thin layer of butter on the paper and place the dough in the form of small cones on a parchment sheet.
5. Spread the workpieces with a pastry bag on a baking sheet. The diameter of each cake should be approximately 3-4 cm. Make sure that the size is the same, and the distance between them is at least 2 cm.
6. Bake in the oven without lowering the temperature for 10 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 150 ° C, and bake the eclairs for another 15 minutes. Well-baked blanks should be dry and have a golden color. Do not open the oven during baking, otherwise they will not work.
Step-by-step recipe for cheese filling for eclairs
Ingredients:
Gouda cheese 100 g
Feta Cheese 100 g
Mozzarella Cheese 200 g
Boiled shrimp, peeled 200 g
Sour cream 20% 150 g
Parsley
Cooking:
1. Grate all three types of cheese in a bowl on a fine grater.
2. Add shrimp and sour cream. Stir well.
3. Cut along the already baked custard dough pieces by 2/3 so that they easily open like shells.
4. Fill the semi-finished products with the filling, leaving them slightly ajar.
5. Garnish each eclair with a small sprig of parsley and serve.
Egg and fish liver stuffing for eclairs - a step-by-step recipe
Ingredients:
4 eggs
Pollock liver 1 can
Onion 1 pc.
Lemon juice
Vinegar
Water
Cooking:
1. Finely chop one medium-sized onion. Pour it with water at room temperature, add vinegar and squeeze lemon juice. Let the onion marinate well so that the bitterness goes away.
2. Boil the eggs, peel and chop them.
3. Mash the pollock liver and mix it with eggs. Drain the onion and pour it into the resulting mixture. Stir well until smooth.
4. Lightly cut pre-prepared semi-finished products of custard dough and fill them with filling.
Step-by-step recipe for eclairs: useful tips
- So that the eclairs get right and rise well, do not use any substitutes. All products must be natural.
- When preparing the choux pastry, remove the eggs from the refrigerator and let them heat. It should be remembered that eggs for eclairs should be as fresh as possible.
- To shape the dough when placing it on a baking sheet, use a pastry bag. If it is not, make a small incision in the corner of a dense plastic bag, insert a cone made of foil. To cook round eclairs, you can even lay out the dough with a spoon, because during baking the dough will rise, and all the bumps in such laying out will separate.
- In no case do not open the oven when baking - this will cause the eclairs to fall.
- Regardless of which filling you choose to fill, the main thing to remember is that it should not be too wet, otherwise the eclairs will get wet.
