I have never been to France, but my mom has. And she could not stop sending me unsolicited pictures of all the amazing pastries she ate or the scenic attractions she visited when she was there. She took photographs of everything--from croissants and pâté to pigeons and snowflakes--but I only vividly remember one from the dozens of pictures she spammed my inbox with that instantly grabbed my attention.
The image showed a glass display case filled with various brightly-colored logs, bite-size spheres topped with gold leaf and price tags informing the customer that each bite of these desserts is a luxury. Later on, I found out that these were called éclairs and Choux à la Crème. I have always wanted to experience the grandeur of eating such French specialties, but because I cannot fly to Paris nor do I have enough money to afford even half a bite, I decided to take on the challenge and create a homier version of this pastry.
Éclair translates to “lightning” which is what the pastry is called because it is eaten quickly. It is made out of a versatile dough called pâte à choux (choux pastry) which is the same dough used in making profiteroles, churros and religieuses. Filled with pastry cream and topped with a glaze or ganache, the éclair is a perfect blank canvas for bakers to experiment on with different flavor combinations. This delicacy originates from France whereas Tiramisu comes from Italy and is usually made from layers of ladyfingers soaked in coffee, Mascarpone or cream cheese filling and cocoa powder. I decided to combine both desserts into one mouthwatering treat to take me on a tour of Europe despite having to stay at home due to the pandemic.
Recipe
Yields 26 éclairs
~ Ingredients ~
Pâte à Choux
185 grams milk
85 grams butter
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
115 grams all purpose flour
10 grams sugar
3 large eggs
Cream Cheese Pastry Cream
1 large egg
3 egg yolks
30 grams cornstarch
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
300 grams milk
75 grams sugar
30 grams unsalted butter
1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract
100 grams cream cheese
Chocolate and Coffee Ganache
50 grams dark chocolate
50 grams heavy cream
1 teaspoon coffee powder
50 grams cocoa powder - for dusting
~ Procedure ~
Pâte à Choux
Preheat the oven to 350°
Combine the milk, butter and salt into a saucepan on medium heat and bring them to a boil.
Once the mixture boils, remove the saucepan from the heat and mix in the flour and sugar until smooth.
Transfer the mixture into the electric mixer with the paddle attachment and mix the eggs one at a time into the mixture.
* You can also whisk the eggs in using an electric hand mixer or a regular whisk. Just make sure that the eggs will not cook in the dough.
Scoop the choux pastry into a large piping bag with a 1/2 inch round tip.
Pipe the dough into 3 inch logs with even spacing onto a lined tray.
Wet the tip of your finger with water and use it to gently pat down the imperfections or point left by the piping tip. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
Once done, let the eclairs cool down.
Cream Cheese Pastry Cream
Boil some water in a medium saucepan.
Combine the large egg, egg yolks, cornstarch, salt, milk, sugar, unsalted butter and vanilla extract into a bowl.
Place the bowl on top of the saucepan with boiling water and lower the heat to create a makeshift Bain-marie or double boiler. Using a spatula, constantly mix the pastry cream until thick. This took me around 4 minutes.
Remove the bowl from the saucepan and mix in the cream cheese.
Put the mixture through a sieve, so it will become smooth.
Place a plastic cover directly onto the pastry cream to prevent it from forming a skin. Keep the cream inside the refrigerator until needed.
Chocolate and Coffee Ganache
Boil some water in a medium saucepan.
Mix the chocolate, heavy cream and coffee powder into a bowl.
Place the bowl on top of the saucepan with boiling water and mix until smooth.
Assembly
Place the pastry cream inside a piping bag with 1/4 inch round tip.
Cut the eclairs horizontally in half.
Pipe the pastry cream onto the bottom side of the eclair.
Dip the top of the eclair into the ganache and carefully place it above the half with the pastry cream. Dust the eclairs with cocoa powder.
Refrigerate and enjoy!
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