Eclairs basic recipe. Choux pastry for eclairs

10.03.2024

How to properly make homemade choux pastry for eclairs - What are your favorite cakes from childhood? I am sure that the majority will answer: eclairs! Of course, who doesn't like light, crispy cakes with a delicate cream inside, covered with shiny icing? Yummy, and that’s all!

Eclair - what kind of cake is it, where and when did it appear?

Eclairs are French pastries that have been widely known throughout the world since the late nineteenth century. They are elongated choux pastry pies with light cream inside.

Ideal eclairs should be smooth, even and uniform, with a length of 10 to 14 cm.

Many people do not dare to cook them at home, but prefer to buy ready-made ones in the store. It seems that such a delicious dessert must have a complex, multi-step recipe with a long list of ingredients. But in reality it turns out to be just the opposite.

The ingredients are very affordable and can be found in any refrigerator, and the preparation method is quite simple if you strictly follow the instructions. Believe in yourself and be sure to try cooking. I think the result will exceed all your expectations!

Basic rules for preparing dough for eclairs

Proper eclairs are made only from choux pastry. What is it really? The basic principle is that a mixture of flour, butter and water is “brewed” and then, after cooling slightly, the eggs are added. The result is a sticky, thick dough that does not spread, so to speak, holds its shape.

The increase in dough volume occurs due to the formation of steam inside the eclairs during baking at high temperatures.

Proper cakes do not tear because they are made only from dense, strong dough.

Classic recipe

Ingredients:

water - 250 ml;
butter - 100 g;
flour - 200 g;
eggs – 4 pieces;
salt.

Choux pastry recipe for eclairs step by step:

Melt the butter. You can use a water bath and a microwave;
Add water and salt;
Pour into a small saucepan and place on heat;
Start “brewing” the dough: gradually add flour, actively stirring the mass with a spoon until smooth for a couple of minutes to “dry” the custard;
Cool for 10 minutes;
When the mass has cooled down a little, start adding eggs one at a time; at this stage it is convenient to use a mixer;
The dough is ready! Place it on a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes at 180-200°C, then another 20 minutes. at 150°C.

Choux pastry for eclairs: recipe according to GOST step by step

The recipe is designed to make 20 cakes. Please note that water for cooking must be measured in grams, and not, as usual, in milliliters.

Ingredients:

wheat flour – 200 g;
large chicken eggs - 5 pcs. (or 6 pieces of medium size);
butter – 100 g;
pure water – 180 g;
table salt - a pinch.

How to cook:

In a saucepan, bring a mixture of diced butter, water and salt to a boil;
Sift the flour thoroughly. It is advisable to do it a couple of times so that the baked goods are airy and fluffy;
Pour the flour into the pan and mix thoroughly with a spoon or spatula;
The dough will begin to brew and stick together into one lump. Let it brew thoroughly, continuing to stir quickly right on the burner;
Transfer to a bowl and let cool;
Beat eggs in a separate container;
Add them gradually to the dough, gently kneading it with a spatula or using a mixer;
Line a baking tray with baking paper;
Using a cooking bag or a regular plastic bag, squeeze the dough onto a baking sheet in the form of sticks about 12 cm long and 18 mm in diameter (you can also in the form of circles, then you will get round eclair balls);
Bake in a preheated oven first for 10 minutes at 220°C, then another 25 minutes at 180°C;
Prepare your favorite cream and fudge, fill and decorate the eclairs according to your own preferences.

How to prepare lean choux pastry for eclairs

If you adhere to a vegetarian diet and exclude animal fats from your diet, then this is not a reason to deny yourself such wonderful and tasty desserts as eclairs.

The following recipe is just for you: it does not contain eggs, milk or butter!

Ingredients:

2 stacks flour;
2 table. spoons of vegetable oil;
1 stack boiling water;
salt.

How to cook:

Mix the flour with salt, fold it into a mound and make a depression in the middle;
Pour boiling water and vegetable oil into the center of the well;
Stir the dough slightly and leave to cool until warm;
Now you can knead it with your hands until it has a homogeneous consistency, this will take about 10 minutes;
Let the dough rest for 25 minutes;
Knead lightly again for a couple of minutes;
That's it, the lean dough for eclairs is ready, you can make cakes from it and bake them as usual.

How to make choux pastry for eclairs with milk and dry yeast

Choux pastry does not tolerate experiments with the composition and stages of preparation. However, you can try to prepare another time-tested variety of it. Here the water is replaced with milk and dry yeast, and the result is almost better.

Keep in mind when you start baking that milk gives the products a darker color.

Therefore, make sure that the ruddy color of the eclairs does not confuse you, and they are well baked.

Ingredients:

200 g of premium flour;
200 g cow's milk;
4 medium chicken eggs;
70 g plums oils;
10 g dry yeast;
20 ml water;
salt and sugar - a pinch each.

How to cook:

Boil the milk and pour it over the sifted flour;
Beat the resulting mixture with a mixer until smooth;
Melt butter;
Dissolve dry yeast in warm water and mix it with sugar, add to the custard mixture;
Beat the eggs thoroughly until a thick foam forms;
The eggs should be poured a little at a time into the main dough, stirring constantly;
Add salt, add oil and mix again until a viscous state of fatty sour cream;
It is better to let the dough rise for one hour, then shape it into sticks and bake for 30 minutes in a hot oven at 200°C.

How to form and what to bake eclairs from choux pastry

The easiest way to form eclairs is to use a piping bag. You can use a variety of attachments, especially beautiful eclairs are obtained using “round” or “open star” attachments with a diameter of 10-12 mm.

There is a little trick to quickly fill such a bag: you need to place it in a tall glass and straighten the edges. Then the dough will fill it evenly, without voids, and you won’t stain anything.

If you don’t have a cooking bag yet, then you can use a regular plastic bag, cutting off one of its corners to the desired diameter. This method is less convenient, but economical.

Eclairs are placed on a baking sheet covered with cooking paper in a checkerboard pattern, obliquely, diagonally. The preferred length is 10-14 cm. Try to leave enough distance between them, at least 3 cm, because they will increase in size during baking.

To ensure that the eclairs are the same size, you can make some kind of marks on the baking sheet for your convenience using a ruler and flour.

The best filling options for custard cakes: recipes

There are a great variety of fillings and creams for filling eclairs. The most common options are vanilla, coffee and chocolate, the most unusual are caramel, pistachio, coconut. But everyone has the right to choose their favorite, especially since there is plenty to do here!

Eclairs are filled with cream using a pastry syringe.

If you don’t have one, you can simply carefully cut the cake from the edge and spoon in the filling.

Classic custard

Ingredients:

400 ml milk;
150 g plums. oils;
2 table. l. Sahara;
1 ½ table. l. flour;
2 whole eggs and 1 yolk;
1 table. l. powdered sugar.

How to cook:

Add sugar to milk, bring to a boil. Check that the granulated sugar is completely dissolved;
Let the resulting mixture cool slightly;
Mix the flour with all the eggs and powdered sugar, add to the sugar-milk mixture;
Put on fire and stir;
Cook until the cream thickens. Make sure that it does not boil;
Cool, add soft butter and beat with a mixer into a fluffy mass;
You can play with the shades of flavor of the cream, adding vanillin, vanilla essence, citrus zest or cocoa powder if desired.

Curd cream

Ingredients:

200 g cottage cheese;
1 stack granulated sugar;
200 ml cream;
1 packet of vanilla sugar.

How to cook:

Mix low-fat cottage cheese with granulated sugar well by hand with a fork or spoon, and then beat with a mixer or blender;
Add vanilla sugar and cream, beat thoroughly again;
The delicate and airy cream is ready. Very simple and fast!

How to make chocolate glaze

Glaze applied to eclairs , while it's still warm. It is convenient to spread it with a pastry brush. There is another way: carefully prick the bottom of the cake with a fork and dip the top into the liquid glaze.

By adding butter, the glaze for this recipe becomes smooth and shiny after hardening.

The top of the glaze can be sprinkled with nuts, confectionery powder, caramel, decorated with fresh berries or fruits, mint leaves, and chocolate figures.

Ingredients:

4 table. spoons of milk;
100 g butter;
4 table. spoons of cocoa;
150 g sugar.

Recipe step by step:

Mix milk with sugar and cocoa powder in a suitable container;
Put on fire;
When granulated sugar dissolves, add butter;
Cook until thickened, stirring constantly and making sure the glaze does not burn.

For the successful preparation of eclairs, proportions are very important, so it is advisable to use a kitchen scale when measuring the weight of the desired products;
In the choux pastry recipe, substitutions of products are not allowed; you cannot even replace butter with spread or margarine - you won’t get eclairs;
Eggs should only be used at room temperature for cooking; the fresher the better. Therefore, remove them from the refrigerator in advance, at least 1 hour before cooking;
Strive for the ideal dough consistency - viscous thick sour cream;
It is more convenient to prepare the cream in advance so that you have time to cool it before filling the eclair;
You need to leave enough space on the baking sheet: in order for the eclairs to rise well, they need free air circulation;
Eclairs need to be baked while the dough is still warm;
The cakes should be kept in the oven until golden brown, then they will be drier and stronger. Cream will give the eclairs the necessary juiciness;
To prevent your cakes from falling off during baking, never open the oven ahead of time;
The eclairs should cool slowly, preferably about an hour, so that they do not fall off. You can leave them in the oven, especially if the kitchen is a little cool.

And the main advice: cook with love and in a good mood, then you will definitely get an elegant, delicious dessert on the level of the famous French confectioneries!

Eclairs are a delicacy familiar to everyone since childhood. They are oblong-shaped cakes filled with cream and topped with icing. The dough for this dessert needs choux, prepared with butter or margarine, eggs, water and flour. But you can experiment with fillings and use different compositions, depending on personal preferences. Let's look at the most common recipes for eclairs with different fillings.

In the classic version, eclairs are made with custard filling.

To prepare the treat you will need:

For the test:

4 eggs;
half a stick of fatty oil;
0.25 l of water;
150 g good quality flour;
5 g granulated sugar;
2 g salt.

For filler:

a carton of milk;
a pair of eggs;
200 g granulated sugar;
150 g flour;
a piece of butter 40 grams;
a little vanilla.

For the glaze:

half a lemon;
20 ml water;
50–70 g of powdered sugar.

Operating procedure:

First you need to prepare the custard for the eclairs. When it's time to fill the cakes, it should have cooled down. The first step is to boil 2/3 of the above volume of milk.
Then combine the remaining milk with the eggs, add flour and vanillin. Mix the whole mass thoroughly.
Pour the boiled milk into the resulting mixture in a thin stream, without stopping stirring. Bring the mixture to a boil over low heat.
As soon as the first bubbles appear, remove the container from the burner and transfer a piece of fatty oil into it.
While the cream is cooling, prepare the choux pastry for the eclairs. Fill a saucepan with water, add sugar and a little salt. Place butter cut into pieces here (you can also use high-quality margarine) and place on the stove.
When the mixture becomes homogeneous, slowly add flour with a spoon, stir the base with a spatula, and then let cool.
Place eggs one at a time into the base. Each subsequent one can be added only when the dough has completely “eaten” the previous one.
Place the creamy base inside a pastry bag with a star-shaped nozzle and squeeze strips of dough up to 7 cm long into a mold lined with tracing paper. It is important that there is room for them, since the cakes will “grow” significantly during the baking process.
Place the baking sheet in the oven, bake the eclairs and let them cool slightly. Afterwards, fill them with cream using a syringe.
When the portions are ready, make the glaze for the eclairs: squeeze the juice from half a lemon, add water and powdered sugar, stir until smooth and pour over the portions.

Important! In order for the cakes to turn out fluffy, you can put the baking sheet in the oven compartment only after it has warmed up to 180–200 degrees.

Traditional French eclairs

Since France is considered the birthplace of eclairs, one cannot ignore the method of preparing the cream for such a dessert, which is used by the confectioners of this country.

During the work you will need:

choux pastry;
6 egg yolks;
2 tablespoons starch;
400 ml milk;
100–120 g sugar;
vanilla.

Sequence of work:

Bake the cakes and leave them on a tray to cool.
Mix the yolks with starch, then add 100 ml of milk and beat the mixture with a whisk.
Pour the remaining milk into a saucepan, add sugar and vanilla, and boil.
Carefully pour the boiling milk into the prepared egg-starch mixture, stirring constantly. Place on the stove, bring to a boil, and then remove from heat.
Cool the mixture, transfer it to a bag and fill the pre-baked eclairs.

Cakes made with this filling will not lose their freshness and airiness for 36 hours.

The perfect choux pastry for eclairs

What is the ideal dough for eclairs? Every cook understands this in his own way, but in this section we will look at a recipe for the base, which even an inexperienced housewife can prepare. In addition, this composition does not contain eggs and people who, for one reason or another, are prohibited from consuming this product will be able to enjoy this dessert.

To create the base you will need:

400 ml milk;
a pack of butter or margarine;
60 g sugar;
3–4 cups flour;
10 g pressed yeast;
5 g baking soda.

Sequence of work:

Heat the milk in a saucepan until the first bubbles appear, and then add butter or margarine and granulated sugar to it. Continue cooking until the ingredients are dissolved.
Cool the mixture and then mix with a glass of flour until smooth.
In a separate bowl, combine the compressed yeast with a small amount of milk and wait a quarter of an hour until a light foam appears.
Mix the yeast with the cooled base, add baking soda, stir and leave to rise for half an hour. The dough should not stick to your hands.

When the base is ready, all that remains is to place the portions on a baking sheet lined with tracing paper and place them in a hot oven to bake.

Eclairs with condensed milk

Another popular filling for eclairs is condensed milk.

cake base;
a can of boiled condensed milk;
80–110 g butter;
a teaspoon of cognac or liqueur.

Work process:

Prepare the eclairs, carefully transfer to a plate and leave to cool.
Cut the butter into pieces and place in a warm place to melt.
Transfer the condensed milk into a blender bowl, add the fat mixture, cognac or liqueur and beat until the mass becomes homogeneous.
Fill a pastry syringe with cream and insert the filling into the cakes.

If the dessert is being prepared for children, it is better not to use alcohol, but to make the cream only from condensed milk and butter.

Dessert with butter cream

You can prepare buttercream for eclairs in different ways by adding fruit or berry puree, condensed milk, cocoa, cottage cheese or soft cheese to the main ingredient. Consider a dessert recipe with butter and cheese filling.

For cooking you will need:

custard base;
100 g butter;
100 g soft cheese;
sugar.

Sequence of work:

Bake the eclairs and place them on a plate to cool.
Soften the butter, mix with cheese and granulated sugar, stir until smooth.
When the sugar is completely dissolved, transfer the cream into a syringe or pastry bag and fill the portions.

In a similar way, you can make an oil filler with other additives.

Chocolate eclairs

Not only children, but also adults love chocolate, and therefore cakes with such filling will not leave anyone indifferent.

To create the dessert you will need:

choux pastry;
boiled condensed milk;
100 g butter;
tablespoon cocoa;
vanilla.

Procedure:

Bake the cake base and cool.
Soften the butter, mix with condensed milk and beat with a mixer until smooth.
Add cocoa powder, a pinch of vanilla and mix the cream.
Using a syringe or pastry bag, inject the filling into the cakes.

Attention! If it was not possible to purchase boiled condensed milk and you had to bring the product to readiness yourself, you must ensure that the jar is constantly covered with water, and promptly add liquid to replace the evaporated liquid.

Otherwise, the container will explode, and instead of drinking tea and dessert, the hostess will have to start cleaning the area.

Homemade eclairs with cream

Quite often, cream for eclairs is prepared on the basis of cream and the flavor of the filling is enhanced with fruits or berries.

For this dessert you will need:

custard base;
250 ml heavy cream;
fruit puree or fresh berries;
50 g powdered sugar.

Preparation procedure:

Bake the eclairs, place on a tray and let cool.
Beat the cream with a mixer until a stable foam appears.
Add fruit puree or berries, add powdered sugar and bring the mixture until smooth.
Transfer the filler into a syringe or bag and fill the finished cakes.

You should only attempt to prepare such a dessert if you have a mixer, since whipping the cream to the desired consistency by hand is quite difficult.

Custard cakes with curd filling

As mentioned above, the filling for eclairs can be different, and these cakes with curd cream are especially delicious.

For dessert you will need:

eclair dough;
cottage cheese;
fat sour cream;
sugar;
a pinch of cinnamon and vanilla.

Operating procedure:

Bake the eclairs, place them on a tray and leave to cool.
Using a mixer, beat cottage cheese and sour cream until smooth. If it is not possible to use special equipment, it is permissible to pass it through a meat grinder or grind it using a sieve.
Mix the curd and sour cream with sugar, add cinnamon and vanilla, place the mixture in a pastry bag and fill the finished cakes with it.

Advice. To make the dessert less high in calories, it is better to use low-fat cottage cheese and replace sour cream with kefir.

Cakes with protein cream

Eclairs with protein cream turn out unusually tender, airy and very tasty.

To create a dessert you need:

choux pastry;
5 egg whites;
180–220 g sugar;
30 g cream;
a pinch of vanilla.

Preparation procedure:

Bake the cakes and let them cool.
Beat the whites with sugar into a strong foam, leaving 30–40 g of sand.
Dissolve the remaining sugar in cream, warmed to room temperature.
Mix the prepared parts of the cream, transfer to a syringe and fill the cakes.

Attention! You need to add the filling to the eclairs as soon as it is ready, otherwise the protein mixture will lose its airiness.

Delicacy with caramel filling

A wonderful addition to the airy dough will be caramel filling.

To prepare the dessert you will need:

custard base;
50 g butter;
150–180 ml milk;
180 ml cream with a fat content of at least 30%;
120 g granulated sugar;
15–20 gelatin granules;
2 tablespoons of water;
a few drops of lemon juice.

Cooking procedure:

Bake portions of choux pastry and cool.
Boil milk and water in separate saucepans.
Pour sugar into a saucepan with water, add lemon juice and cook over low heat until the sand melts.
Pour the milk into the mixture in a thin stream, stirring continuously. Add butter and gelatin and cook until the latter dissolves.
Whip the cream until fluffy, mix with the cooled caramel, and then fill the cakes with the mixture.

On a note. You can decorate the finished eclairs not only with glaze prepared according to a traditional recipe, but also sprinkle with powdered sugar or simply pour melted chocolate over them.

How to fill eclairs with cream with and without a syringe?

To fill eclairs with cream, it is better to use a syringe. To do this, a small hole is made in the central part at the bottom of each portion, through which the filling is introduced. But some housewives prefer to fill the cakes by making a small cut on top.

But what to do when there is no special device at hand?

In this case, you can fill eclairs in the following ways:

Use a large medical syringe, remove the needle from it and put the cream inside.
Fill the dessert using a pastry bag. If you don’t have it on hand either, you can use any empty packaging with a dispenser spout (for example, mayonnaise or condensed milk). Cut off the bottom and remove any remaining product that was previously there and wash it thoroughly from the inside.
Cut off the top of the cakes, put a teaspoon of cream inside, and then return the “lid” to its place.

To disguise the hole through which the filler was introduced, eclairs are generously sprinkled with powdered sugar or glaze is used.

"Eclair" translated means "lightning, flash." Some explain this by saying that eclairs were swept off the table with lightning speed, others claim that the name comes from their shiny appearance. Most likely, both of these versions are reliable.

The history of the famous cakes

Eclairs with excellent custard are truly considered one of the world famous cakes. The history of eclairs dates back to the 18th century. The idea was invented and personified by the French pastry chef Marie-Antoine Carême. The famous culinary specialist of his era worked in the kitchens of George IV, Talleyrand and the All-Russian Emperor Alexander I. His talent gave impetus to a new direction in cooking.

Classic eclair and its variations

Classic eclair- This is an elongated cake with custard inside. It is topped with either glaze or chocolate.

But there are also varieties of eclairs: shu and profiteroles. The contents of the cake have not changed, but in “Shu” they cut off the top, put cream inside, grease the top with cream and cover the cake. And “Profiteroles” are cakes with a diameter of 2-3 centimeters with filling or cream. French confectioners unanimously claim that the ideal eclair should be 14 centimeters long and perfectly even in shape, filled with vanilla or chocolate cream. The top is covered with icing or fondant.

A few rules for preparing classic choux pastry

To prepare classic choux pastry for eclairs, you need to remember the small rules:

The eggs should not be cold, so remove them from the refrigerator before cooking;
The choux pastry needs to be actively kneaded, so use a mixer;
Only natural ingredients must be used. No substitutes or vegetable fats. Cakes may not rise or come out thick;
The consistency of the preparation should be similar to homemade sour cream.

The correct step-by-step recipe for choux pastry with photos

For the correct recipe for choux pastry for eclairs you will need:

Water – 250 milliliters;
Butter – 100 grams;
Flour – 200 grams;
A pinch of salt;
Chicken eggs – 4 pcs. (as fresh as you can find).

Let's look at the preparations step by step with photographs.

Place the butter cut into squares in a water bath. Add 250 milliliters of water and a pinch of salt.

When the butter melts, add flour and mix the mixture with a mixer.

We obtain a homogeneous mass, which we continue to stir for 5 minutes, removing it from the water bath.

During this time, the dough will cool slightly and acquire the necessary elasticity. Eggs should be added to the brewed mixture one at a time.

There's no need to rush. Killed one egg, kneaded until perfectly smooth, then the next.

The dough should be thin and not too thin. It slides off the spoon easily and spreads slightly when trying to shape it into the desired shape.

Preheat the oven to 180-200 degrees. Moisten a baking sheet with water, place parchment paper on top and grease it with oil.

Using a pastry bag (or if you don’t have a pastry bag, use a plastic bag with the end cut off), lay out sticks the length of your index finger. You should leave at least 3-4 centimeters between the eclairs on the baking sheet.

Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven. After 10 minutes, reduce the temperature to 150 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes.

The oven must not be opened during baking; the cakes may fall. The finished dough should be golden brown and dry on all sides.

Choux pastry according to GOST (state standard)

This is a nostalgic recipe for choux pastry according to USSR GOST. It’s easy and quick to prepare, and the cakes turn out tender and tasty.

For the test you will need:

Flour – 200 grams;
Butter – 100 grams;
Eggs – 300 grams (5-6 eggs);
Water – 180 ml;
A pinch of salt.

The dough is prepared according to this simple recipe, like the classic choux, but with minor changes.

Place the pan on the fire and put butter in it. When the butter has melted, add water and salt.

Add the pre-sifted flour and quickly stir the dough. Keep on fire for about 1 minute, stirring continuously.

Remove from heat and let the dough cool slightly. We beat the eggs into a separate bowl and beat them a little.

Slowly add the eggs into the dough, stirring constantly until smooth. The consistency of the dough should be the same as in classic choux pastry.

Place the dough into a piping bag and squeeze out 10-12 centimeter sticks onto a baking sheet lined with oiled paper. Set the oven for 10 minutes at 220 degrees, and then reduce to 170 degrees and bake for another 20-25 minutes.

Option for preparing the base with milk

If you can experiment with the filling for eclairs and put inside from sweet to sour-salty, then the recipe for choux pastry does not allow liberties. The only thing you can replace water with is milk. And only if you are preparing the dough with yeast.

To prepare choux pastry with yeast, take:

Milk – 200 ml;
Flour - 200 grams;
Melted butter - ¼ cup;
Chicken eggs – 4 pcs.;
Dry yeast – 10 grams;
Salt – 5 g;
Sugar – 5 grams.

First, beat the eggs until foamy. Pour flour into a bowl and add milk, boil. Beat with a mixer until we get a homogeneous mass.

We dilute the yeast in a spoon of warm water and add it to the dough together with sugar. Add the eggs to the dough and beat until smooth without lumps.

Salt the dough, add butter and, if necessary, add flour, bring to the required consistency. Leave for one hour or a little more, the dough should triple in size.

Place the finished dough in the form of 8-12 centimeter sticks and bake for 30 minutes.

Basic recipe for airy eclairs

To make eclairs at home, you need to follow specific instructions for making the dough from which the cakes are formed in the process.

To prepare baked goods, you need to take the following products:

Flour – 200 grams;
Margarine – 150 grams;
Chicken eggs – 4 pieces;
Salt – ½ teaspoon;
Water – 200 ml

You will also need custard for the filling, glaze and eclair topping - powdered sugar.

To prepare the dough, you need to heat a glass of water over a fire, then add salt and softened margarine. Boil.

Reducing the heat, add flour little by little and mix thoroughly. Once the mass is homogeneous, quickly remove from heat and let it cool.

Beat the eggs one at a time and mix especially thoroughly.

Using a pastry syringe, make eclairs onto a baking sheet covered with oiled paper or parchment.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, set the temperature at 200 degrees.

Pipe the custard into the cakes.

Pour icing over the top and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

The best fillings for French cakes

The traditional filling for eclairs is white custard.

However, over time, they began to be filled with different creams. Chocolate, caramel, vanilla - this is just a small part of what the world famous dessert is now stuffed with.

To make classic custard, you need to take:

Granulated sugar – ½ cup;
Starch – 15 grams;
Butter – 150 grams;
Water – 150 milliliters.

Stir starch and then sugar in cool water. Place the container on low heat and very carefully, stirring, bring to a colorless jelly.

Remove from heat, let cool and add oil. Beat with a mixer until the desired thickness.

If you love eclairs with chocolate cream, then there is nothing easier than making it yourself.

Have to take:

Cream or milk - 2 cups;
Granulated sugar – 100 grams;
Chocolate – 50 grams.

Whip cold cream together with sugar until desired thickness. Having melted the chocolate, add it to the cream and whisk everything together.

You can experiment a little with caramel cream, for example, adding nuts or raisins.

Ingredients for making caramel cream

Honey – 70 grams;
Butter – 150 grams;
Granulated sugar – 250 grams;
Any nut (peanuts, almonds) – 200 grams;
Cream or milk – 250 grams;
Ginger – 0.5 tablespoon.

Lightly fry the nuts in a frying pan and then finely chop. Boil the cream and add ginger.

Remove the cream from the stove and let it cool well for about five minutes. Strain the cream, add salt and honey, bring to a boil.

In an empty saucepan, melt the sugar until caramelized. Slowly pour the creamy mixture into the caramel, stirring constantly, and reduce the temperature.

Add oil to the pan and stir. Remove from the oven. The filling is ready.

Preparing vanilla flavored frosting

To prepare the chocolate glaze, take:

Granulated sugar – 100 grams;
Water – 100 milliliters;
Cocoa – 25 grams;
Margarine – 50 grams.

Grind softened margarine with cocoa. Boil water and add granulated sugar to it, stir until completely dissolved. Add warm syrup to margarine and cocoa, stirring thoroughly.

To prepare classic glaze for vanilla eclairs you need:

Water – 5 large spoons;
Vanillin – 1 packet;
Crushed sugar – 150 grams.

Mix vanilla and crushed sugar. Then add 4 tablespoons of water and place on the stove.

When the glaze thickens, remove from the oven. Pour glaze over the top of the eclairs.

We offer you options for baking fillings. Curd cream recipes: wide selection and step-by-step preparation. Try it!

The recipe for classic custard can be found here. It differs from the modern one several times.

Now you can make pancakes, right at home. Get the recipes here! This easy dish is quick to prepare but so much fun!

More secrets for making eclairs

For the perfect dough, use only high-quality, fresh, natural products.

Special requirements for eggs: to get a good result, you need to use only fresh eggs. To check the freshness of the eggs, dip them in water. Stale eggs will float.

Both the dough and the cream contain only natural oil. Products with spread or margarine are significantly inferior in taste.

Taking all of the above into account, you can prepare excellent eclairs!

Cut the butter into small cubes and place in a saucepan along with salt and sugar. Pour in water, put on fire, melt butter and bring to a boil.

Stirring constantly with a whisk, pour all the flour into the saucepan at once. Continue kneading vigorously until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and comes together. Transfer it to a bowl, cover with a towel and cool to a temperature of 30–35°C.

Break the eggs into a bowl and beat lightly. Begin beating the dough with an electric mixer on medium speed or in a food processor. Add eggs to the dough 1 tbsp at a time. l., continuously whisking until the dough becomes smooth and homogeneous.

Preheat the oven to 190°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Place the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a 10mm smooth round tip for 7cm long cakes or 20mm for 15cm long cakes. Press out the dough, keeping the tip close to the baking tray. At the end, make a sharp movement in the opposite direction to break the dough. If you get a sharp tip, smooth it with a finger moistened with water.
Place the pan in the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Then open the oven door 1 cm (to allow steam to escape) and cook for another 30 minutes. The eclairs should increase in volume and become golden.

Cut the finished eclairs lengthwise in the middle. Cool. Fill the eclairs with cream and pour over the glaze.

Grind the yolks with 3 tbsp. l. milk and starch. Pour the rest of the milk into a saucepan, add sugar and vanilla seeds and bring to a boil. Pour 1/2 cup of boiling milk into the yolks in a thin stream, stirring constantly with a whisk. Then pour the yolk cream into a saucepan with boiling milk, stirring constantly, bring to a boil. Cook for 1 minute. Cool.

What are your favorite childhood cakes? I am sure that the majority will answer: eclairs! Of course, who doesn't like light, crispy cakes with a delicate cream inside, covered with shiny icing? Yummy, and that’s all!

Eclairs are French pastries that have been widely known throughout the world since the late nineteenth century. They are elongated choux pastry pies with light cream inside.

Ideal eclairs should be smooth, even and uniform, with a length of 10 to 14 cm.

Basic rules for preparing dough for eclairs

The increase in dough volume occurs due to the formation of steam inside the eclairs during baking at high temperatures.

Proper cakes do not tear because they are made only from dense, strong dough.

Classic recipe

Ingredients:

water - 250 ml;
butter - 100 g;
flour - 200 g;
eggs – 4 pieces;
salt.

Cooking time: 70 min.

Calorie content per 100 grams: 204 kcal.

Choux pastry recipe for eclairs step by step:

Choux pastry for eclairs: recipe according to GOST step by step

The recipe is designed to make 20 cakes. Please note that water for cooking must be measured in grams, and not, as usual, in milliliters.

Ingredients:

wheat flour – 200 g;
large chicken eggs - 5 pcs. (or 6 pieces of medium size);
butter – 100 g;
pure water – 180 g;
table salt - a pinch.

Cooking time: 1 hour. 10 min.

Calorie content per 100 grams: 210 kcal.

How to cook:

In a saucepan, bring a mixture of diced butter, water and salt to a boil;
Sift the flour thoroughly. It is advisable to do it a couple of times so that the baked goods are airy and fluffy;
Pour the flour into the pan and mix thoroughly with a spoon or spatula;
The dough will begin to brew and stick together into one lump. Let it brew thoroughly, continuing to stir quickly right on the burner;
Transfer to a bowl and let cool;
Beat eggs in a separate container;
Add them gradually to the dough, gently kneading it with a spatula or using a mixer;
Line a baking tray with baking paper;
Using a cooking bag or a regular plastic bag, squeeze the dough onto a baking sheet in the form of sticks about 12 cm long and 18 mm in diameter (you can also in the form of circles, then you will get round eclair balls);
Bake in a preheated oven first for 10 minutes at 220°C, then another 25 minutes at 180°C;
Prepare your favorite cream and fudge, fill and decorate the eclairs according to your own preferences.

How to prepare lean choux pastry for eclairs

If you adhere to a vegetarian diet and exclude animal fats from your diet, then this is not a reason to deny yourself such wonderful and tasty desserts as eclairs.

The following recipe is just for you: it does not contain eggs, milk or butter!

Ingredients:

2 stacks flour;
2 table. spoons of vegetable oil;
1 stack boiling water;
salt.

Cooking time: 65 minutes.

Calorie content per 100 grams: 198 kcal.

How to cook:

Mix the flour with salt, fold it into a mound and make a depression in the middle;
Pour boiling water and vegetable oil into the center of the well;
Stir the dough slightly and leave to cool until warm;
Now you can knead it with your hands until it has a homogeneous consistency, this will take about 10 minutes;
Let the dough rest for 25 minutes;
Knead lightly again for a couple of minutes;
That's it, the lean dough for eclairs is ready, you can make cakes from it and bake them as usual.

How to make choux pastry for eclairs with milk and dry yeast

Keep in mind when you start baking that milk gives the products a darker color.

Therefore, make sure that the ruddy color of the eclairs does not confuse you, and they are well baked.

Ingredients:

200 g of premium flour;
200 g cow's milk;
4 medium chicken eggs;
70 g plums oils;
10 g dry yeast;
20 ml water;
salt and sugar - a pinch each.

Cooking time: 2 hours.

Calorie content per 100 grams: 285 kcal.

How to cook:

Boil the milk and pour it over the sifted flour;
Beat the resulting mixture with a mixer until smooth;
Melt butter;
Dissolve dry yeast in warm water and mix it with sugar, add to the custard mixture;
Beat the eggs thoroughly until a thick foam forms;
The eggs should be poured a little at a time into the main dough, stirring constantly;
Add salt, add oil and mix again until a viscous state of fatty sour cream;
It is better to let the dough rise for one hour, then shape it into sticks and bake for 30 minutes in a hot oven at 200°C.

How to form and what to bake eclairs from choux pastry

There is a little trick to quickly fill such a bag: you need to place it in a tall glass and straighten the edges. Then the dough will fill it evenly, without voids, and you won’t stain anything.

If you don’t have a cooking bag yet, then you can use a regular plastic bag, cutting off one of its corners to the desired diameter. This method is less convenient, but economical.

To ensure that the eclairs are the same size, you can make some kind of marks on the baking sheet for your convenience using a ruler and flour.

The best filling options for custard cakes: recipes

Eclairs are filled with cream using a pastry syringe.

If you don’t have one, you can simply carefully cut the cake from the edge and spoon in the filling.

Classic custard

Ingredients:

400 ml milk;
150 g plums. oils;
2 table. l. Sahara;
1 ½ table. l. flour;
2 whole eggs and 1 yolk;
1 table. l. powdered sugar.

Cooking time: 40 min.

Calorie content per 100 grams: 215 kcal.

How to cook:

Add sugar to milk, bring to a boil. Check that the granulated sugar is completely dissolved;
Let the resulting mixture cool slightly;
Mix the flour with all the eggs and powdered sugar, add to the sugar-milk mixture;
Put on fire and stir;
Cook until the cream thickens. Make sure that it does not boil;
Cool, add soft butter and beat with a mixer into a fluffy mass;
You can play with the shades of flavor of the cream, adding vanillin, vanilla essence, citrus zest or cocoa powder if desired.

Ingredients:

200 g cottage cheese;
1 stack granulated sugar;
200 ml cream;
1 packet of vanilla sugar.

Cooking time: 20 min.

Calorie content per 100 grams: 112 kcal.

How to cook:

Mix low-fat cottage cheese with granulated sugar well by hand with a fork or spoon, and then beat with a mixer or blender;
Add vanilla sugar and cream, beat thoroughly again;
The delicate and airy cream is ready. Very simple and fast!

How to make chocolate glaze

By adding butter, the glaze for this recipe becomes smooth and shiny after hardening.

The top of the glaze can be sprinkled with nuts, confectionery powder, caramel, decorated with fresh berries or fruits, mint leaves, and chocolate figures.

Ingredients:

4 table. spoons of milk;
100 g butter;
4 table. spoons of cocoa;
150 g sugar.

Cooking time: 20 min.

Calorie content per 100 grams: 442 kcal.

Recipe step by step:

Mix milk with sugar and cocoa powder in a suitable container;
Put on fire;
When granulated sugar dissolves, add butter;
Cook until thickened, stirring constantly and making sure the glaze does not burn.

And the main advice: cook with love and in a good mood, then you will definitely get an elegant, delicious dessert on the level of the famous French confectioneries!

Another choux pastry recipe is very clearly shown in the following video.