Choux Pastry — Eclairs
Delicate, airy choux pastry filled with sweet cream – a classic French indulgence made accessible in your own kitchen.
30 min active, minimal dishes
Choux Pastry — Eclairs
Delicate, airy choux pastry filled with sweet cream – a classic French indulgence made accessible in your own kitchen.
30 min active, minimal dishes
Key move
Cook the panade properly until a film forms on the bottom of the pot, ensuring proper starch gelatinization.
Cook mode keeps your place
Larger text, ingredients in reach, and saved step progress while you cook.
The Setup
- Saucepanmedium
- Wooden Spoon
- Mixing Bowllarge
- Electric Mixer
- Piping Bag
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
The Mise en Place
5 of 9Your prep station before cooking begins
Choux Pastry (0/4)
Cream Filling (0/3)
Eclairs are not puffing up.
Make sure the oven temperature is correct and avoid opening the oven door during baking.
Eclairs are collapsing after baking.
Let the eclairs cool completely in the oven with the door slightly ajar.
Chef's Notes
Ensure your pan is evenly heated before adding the dough. This promotes consistent puffing and prevents pale spots.
For perfectly crisp shells, bake them until they feel light and sound hollow when tapped. Avoid opening the oven door too early.
Bake choux shells up to 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temp once completely cooled to maintain crispness.
Dust cooled eclairs with powdered sugar or drizzle with melted chocolate for a classic finish. Serve chilled.
The Method
PREHEAT
Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Uneven baking: Ensure the baking sheet is level to prevent the eclairs from lopsided rising.
Oven is preheated and baking sheet is lined.
COMBINE
Time-sensitiveIn a medium saucepan, combine water (1 cup) and butter. Bring to a rolling boil over medium heat.
Evaporation imbalance: If water boils before butter melts, the ratio of liquid to fat will be off, affecting the dough's rise.
Water and butter are boiling.
ADD
Time-sensitiveRemove from heat and add the flour all at once. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until a smooth dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the pan. This is the panade.
Lumpy dough: Add the flour all at once. Adding it gradually creates lumps that are difficult to smooth out.
Smooth dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the pan.
COOK
Time-sensitiveReturn the pan to low heat and cook, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes, until a thin film forms on the bottom of the pan.
Under-cooking: If the panade is not cooked enough, the eclairs will collapse in the oven due to excess moisture.
A thin film forms on the bottom of the pan.
TRANSFER
Transfer the dough to a mixing bowl. Let it cool slightly for 5 minutes.
Egg curdling: Adding eggs to dough that is too hot will cook the eggs prematurely, resulting in a dense, flat pastry.
Dough has cooled slightly in the mixing bowl.
ADD
Time-sensitiveAdd the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition until fully incorporated. The dough should be smooth and pipeable.
Egg separation: Adding eggs too quickly can cause the dough to break. Ensure each egg is fully absorbed before adding the next.
Dough is smooth, glossy, and pipeable.
TRANSFER
Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip.
Air pockets: Ensure no large air bubbles are trapped in the bag, or the eclairs will have gaps in their structure.
Dough is in the piping bag.
PIPE
Pipe 4-inch long strips of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
Uneven baking: Varying the thickness of the strips will cause some parts to burn while others remain raw.
Dough strips are piped onto the baking sheet.
BAKE
Time-sensitiveBake for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (175°C) and bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown and puffed up.
Premature collapse: Opening the oven door too early causes a sudden temperature drop, leading to deflated eclairs.
Eclairs are golden brown and puffed.
COOL
Turn off the oven, crack the oven door open slightly, and let the eclairs cool completely in the oven. This prevents them from collapsing.
Rapid temperature change: Opening the door fully will cause the steam inside to condense, leading to immediate collapse of the structure.
Eclairs have cooled completely in the oven.
MAKE
Prep aheadWhile the eclairs are cooling, make the cream filling. In a large bowl, whip the heavy cream (1 cup)heavy cream (2 tbsp) with powdered sugar (¼ cups) and vanilla extract (1 tsp) until stiff peaks form.
Over-whipping: Stop immediately once stiff peaks form; continuing will turn the cream into butter.
Cream filling has stiff peaks.
MAKE
Prep aheadMake the chocolate (½ cups) glaze. Heat the chocolate and cream in the microwave in 30 second intervals until smooth.
Seized chocolate: Do not let any water or steam touch the chocolate, or it will turn grainy and dull.
Chocolate glaze is smooth.
FILL
Once the eclairs are completely cool, use a serrated knife to slice them in half lengthwise. Fill the bottom halves with the whipped cream.
Soggy pastry: Wait until eclairs are completely cool; filling warm shells will cause the pastry to collapse.
Eclairs are sliced and filled with cream.
DRIZZLE
Drizzle the tops of the eclairs with the chocolate (½ cups) glaze. Let the glaze set slightly before serving.
Glaze consistency: If the glaze is too warm, it will run off the sides; if too thick, it will clump. Adjust temperature to achieve a pourable ribbon.
Eclairs are drizzled with glaze and glaze has set slightly.
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