When it comes to the Daring Bakers, I'm a big sucker for pictures. I'll keep this posting brief and get right to the action. To anyone who is considering making eclairs, go ahead and give them a try. You can find the Pierre Hermé recipe at Tony Tahhan and MeetaK blog (they hosted this month's challenge). They really aren't difficult to make at all. Regretfully I didn't think to take pictures until I got to the piping stage. I piped out 3" stripes and then gave them each a simple egg wash (1 whole + 1 tablespoon cold water).
I then used the back of a fork to simply shape and texture the tops of the eclairs. This helped to create a uniform shape and get rid of any unsightly tails on the ends.
...and dipped in dark, bittersweet chocolate. The chocolate that was used to enrobe the tops of the eclairs had a chocolate sauce component. The recipe makes about six times more than I needed so I used it to make some very grown up chocolate milk for my son. Yummmm!
Voila!!
Would I Make This Again? Yes, it was really simple and didn't require many exotic ingredients. I'd like to experiment with different flavors too, like an orange chocolate or mint.
those look awesome! the fork was a good iead.
ReplyDeleteYou got some serious puff going on here. Good job!
ReplyDeletehow lovely! ill bet they were delicious!!
ReplyDeleteVery nice! Many of the eclairs that I've seen online look overcooked yours look perfect. I can't stand pastries that are overly browned. You glazed yours so neatly and the consistancy of the glaze looked perfect as well.
ReplyDeleteHad you made these before?
~ingrid
Your chocolate glaze looks great! Mine was a little runny, a fairly common problem I think.
ReplyDeleteNow those are super puffy and wonderful looking!
ReplyDeletecourtney - thank you! Using the fork really helped to smooth out the dough.
ReplyDeleterebecca - thanks rebecca!
heather - thank you! Everyone really seemed to love them. I liked eating the choux sans filling.
ingrid - you must be my biggest fan! You're just so sweet. I did one thing a bit different than the DB recipe. I baked mine at 400F for 15 minutes and then lowered the oven to 350 (after rotating the pan once) and baked for 15-20 more minutes. I got that tip from my "Baking with Julia" cookbook :-) I haven't made eclairs before but have made choux before but that was for a cake. I made a big, round, eclair cake for my friend Erica. I called it "Eclairica Cake"
bahens - thanks! I used really good quality block chocolate. I'm not sure if that helped or not.
breadchicks - thank you! They sure did puff!
Nice spet-by-step and gorgeous perfect éclairs!
ReplyDelete