Don’t be scared of making eclairs, they are deliciously easy and fairly simple to make! My step by step How to Make Eclairs (and How to Make Choux Pastry) method with photos is going to help you with these choux pastry bites of heaven!
Eclairs are a Classic French Pastry
Eclairs are classic French choux pastry cream-filled delights! Everyone has eaten them but did you know that they are SO easy to make at home? My mom and I used to make them all the time, read on to find out how to make eclairs on your own.
How to Make Choux Pastry
Eclairs. Profiteroles. Cream puffs. Those delicious bites of creamy , crispy heaven, whichever shape you prefer, are all made from a choux pastry base. Now stop right there and don’t leave me. Don’t let a French word combined with pastry make you turn tail and head for the hills. These are so easy to make it’s not even funny. This is the one pastry that anyone can master, even those who claim they can burn water. Unlike most pastries, there is no rolling with choux pastry. No chilling. Limited cursing. Choux pastry is essentially a blending of water, butter, flour and eggs. There is no raising agent, the steam is used to puff up the pastry. Ingenious, I tell you.
It is really so, so simple.
Ingredients in Choux Pastry
- 2/3 cup of all purpose white flour
- 1 tsp white sugar
- 2/3 cup of water
- 1/4 cup of butter, plus extra for greasing
- 2 eggs, beaten
How to Make Eclairs
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- Grease your cookie sheets.
- Sift your flour and sugar together in a bowl, I use a whisk to do this.
- Put your water and butter in a medium sized pot and place on the stove on medium heat. When the butter is melted and the mixture begins to boil, remove from the heat.
- Add the flour and sugar mix quickly and continuously beat until the pastry forms a smooth ball. Cool it for a couple of minutes.
- Add in your beaten eggs one at a time and though it may seem like they are going to just slide around the dough ball, they will mix in. Just keep on mixing until it’s a beautiful glossy paste.
To prepare your baking sheet, run it under cold water for a few seconds, then tap it a couple times to get the excess water off. You do want it slightly damp.
For profiteroles, drop the pastry mixture onto the sheet in walnut sized spoonfuls. Leave a lot of space between!
Bake them in the oven for 22-25 minutes, until the pastry is light, puffed up and golden brown. Remove from the oven and pierce the side of each with a fork or knife tip to let the steam out. This helps them stay puffy and not soggy. Cool completely.
How to Make Eclairs
- To make eclairs with the prepared choux pastry, cut the corner off a plastic ziploc bag or use a icing bag and pipe out small long lengths onto your prepared baking sheet, about 3-4 inches long, leaving a lot of space between them as well. Bake in the oven for 22-25 minutes until puffed up and golden brown. Remove, piercing the sides as well. Cool completely.
- When they are cooled, slice them carefully and fill them with plain whipped cream or as I did, my Strawberry Whipped Cream.
Chocolate Drizzled Eclairs
- If you want crunchy chocolate drizzles, melt 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips with 1/2 tsp butter in the microwave. Using again a bag with the corner cut off or an icing bag and tip, drizzle over the top.
- If you want more chocolate coverage, melt 1/2 cup of chocolate chips with 2 1/2 tbsp of butter for a softer, more glazed chocolate.
And for summertime desserts, nothing beats a profiterole filled with ice cream instead of whipped cream! Use the same process but fill with whatever ice cream you wish and then drizzle chocolate over the top.
Happy baking!
Love,
The Kitchen Magpie
How to Make Eclairs
Ingredients
Choux Pastry Ingredients
- 2/3 cup all purpose white flour
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 2/3 cup water
- 1/4 cup butter plus extra for greasing
- 2 eggs beaten
Whipped Cream Filling
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon white sugar ( or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
How to Make Choux Pastry
- Preheat your oven to 425 °F. Sift your flour and sugar together in a bowl, I use a whisk to do this.
- Put your water and butter in a medium sized pot and place on the stove on medium heat. When the butter is melted and the mixture begins to boil, remove from the heat.
- Add the flour and sugar mix quickly and continuously beat until the pastry forms a smooth ball. Cool it for a couple of minutes.
- Add in your beaten eggs one at a time and though it may seem like they are going to just slide around the dough ball, they will mix in. Just keep on mixing until it’s a beautiful glossy paste.
Baking Preparation
- Grease your cookie sheets.
- To prepare your baking sheet, run it under cold water for a few seconds, then tap it a couple times to get the excess water off. You do want it slightly damp.
To Make Profiteroles
- For profiteroles, drop the pastry mixture onto the sheet in walnut sized spoonfuls. Leave a lot of space between!
- Bake them in the oven for 22-25 minutes, until the pastry is light, puffed up and golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and pierce the side of each with a fork or knife tip to let the steam out. This helps them stay puffy and not soggy. Cool completely.
To make Eclairs
- To make eclairs, cut the corner off a plastic ziploc or use a icing bag and pipe out small long lengths onto your prepared baking sheet, about 3-4 inches long, leaving a lot of space between them as well.
- Bake in the oven for 22-25 minutes until puffed up and golden brown. Remove, piercing the sides as well. Cool completely.
Whipped Cream Filling
- Beat together the whipped cream ingredients. Slice the choux pasties and fill them with whipped cream. You can also use my Strawberry whipped cream as well.
Chocolate Drizzles
- If you want crunchy chocolate drizzles, melt 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips with 1/2 tsp butter in the microwave. Using again a bag with the corner cut off or an icing bag and tip, drizzle over the top.If you want more chocolate coverage, melt 1/2 cup of chocolate chips with 2 1/2 tbsp of butter for a softer, more glazed chocolate.
Nutrition
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Destiny Siefert says
Mine were super amazing 🙂
The Procrastobaker says
Ive wanted to make choux pastry for so so long, your tutorial style post is brilliantly clear and your resulting treats are so perfect i dont think i need look any further for my resource before i take the plunge and try my hand at them 🙂 Truly gorgeous, and so scrummy looking!!
Lael says
They really are super easy,I can attest to that. I made them for the first time when I was a 17 yr old goofball and they turned out great.