Homemade eclairs with custard: recipe with photo

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Light, airy eclairs with the most delicate custard and unobtrusive vanilla aroma - this is a taste that is well known to everyone since childhood. Today, these cakes can be seen in every self-respecting bakery.

Despite the fact that recipes for eclairs with custard differ only in minor details, the appearance and taste of finished products can be completely different. This unusually refined, delicate delicacy deservedly conquered a huge number of sweet teeth from all over the world.

Description

In literal translation from French, the name of the eclair sounds like "lightning". There is an opinion that such a name was given to cakes because of the ability to almost instantly increase in volume.

Eclairs are easily recognizable due to their characteristic elongated shape. Real French cakes are prepared exclusively on the basis of choux pastry made from milk or water. The classic filling for eclairs is sweet, the ideal option is to use vanilla or chocolate cream.

The top of traditional eclairs must be covered with icing sugar, and sometimes sprinkled with chopped nuts, wafflecrumbs or other tasty treats.

Describe the unsurpassed taste of French cakes is probably endless. But why do it when you can try it yourself? Despite some difficulties, if you arm yourself with a normal recipe, even a novice pastry chef can bake eclairs with custard at home. It's actually not that hard if you know and follow a few rules.

Cooking technology

Even at home, home-made eclair cakes with custard (of course, if natural, high-quality products are used for cooking) come out unusually tasty. Although, perhaps, for beginners in cooking, it will not be so easy to bake them. But even if you have to tinker a little, know that the result is worth it.

The main difficulty lies in the preparation of the basis for future cakes. First, the dough must be brewed on fire, then cooled a little and only then put eggs in it, the amount of which must be felt almost intuitively. If you add this product more than you need, the dough will simply have to be redone. After all, you can’t add flour to the mass after brewing.

To make the process easier, follow this simple step-by-step recipe for éclairs with custard. In it you will find detailed instructions for making dough and toppings for the famous French pastries. In general, get all the necessary products and start the process!

Featurescooking

If you are dealing with custard dough for the first time and are afraid to spoil it, listen to the simple advice of experienced confectioners. Do not neglect these secrets, and you will be able to easily prepare a truly delicious and high-quality product.

• Be sure to sift the flour you use. Otherwise, the dough may come in lumps, and the cakes themselves will turn out to be uneven and inhomogeneous.
• All flour should go into the container at once. It is most convenient to add all the powder, after sifting it on a sheet of paper.
• Eggs should be driven into the mass only after it has cooled to 60-70 degrees. Otherwise, they will simply boil, and the dough will be spoiled. But it is not necessary to completely cool the mixture. So you only complicate your task, because it is difficult to stir the cold dough and form cakes out of it.
• The eggs used must be warm. If you forgot to take them out of the fridge beforehand, rinse them with hot water.
• Refrain from using a mixer. Indeed, because of it, the dough may come out too liquid, and the eclairs will not keep their shape well. This mixture should be handled with care.
• Add eggs gradually. Of course, any recipe indicates a certain number of products. But choux pastry is just the case when you should rely on your intuition. If you notice that the mass becomes too liquid, stop adding eggs to it. The consistency of this dough depends a lot on the other ingredients.
• Cook cakes in a hot oven. Take care to maintain the necessarytemperature preset.

As you can see, there are a lot of subtleties in the process of making a French delicacy. But do not be afraid! After all, a step-by-step recipe for eclairs with custard will help you cope with the task, the photo for which will allow you to easily understand all the nuances.

Essential Products

Delight your family with an exquisite French dessert - delicate, soft eclairs in chocolate icing. To make the cake base you will need:

• 100g butter;
• a pinch of s alt;
• 150 g flour;
• 4 eggs;
• 250 ml of water.

To make custard, use:

• 0.5L milk;
• 180g sugar;
• a teaspoon of vanilla;
• 200g butter;
• 2 eggs;
• 3 tablespoons of flour.

If you want to treat your loved ones with a full-fledged dessert, also prepare for decoration:

• 4 tablespoons cocoa powder;
• 50g butter;
• 2 tablespoons of milk;
• twice as much powdered sugar.

This recipe for delicious custard eclairs will help you prepare your favorite treat as quickly and easily as possible. Your household will surely be satisfied!

Don't forget to lay out all the necessary products from the refrigerator in advance. By the beginning of the process, they should be at room temperature.

Step-by-step recipe for homemade eclairs with custard

Step 1. Pour the water intosaucepan, s alt it and add the diced butter to it. Place the container on the stove, bring to a boil and reduce the heat. Wait until the butter has completely melted, and add all the sifted flour at once. Try to knead the dough as quickly as possible so that there are not the slightest lumps left in it.

Step 2. Now start beating eggs into the mixture one at a time. Stir the dough thoroughly after each new portion and be sure to monitor its consistency. As a result, you should get a rather viscous, smooth, not too dense mass that slowly slides off the spoon. Keep in mind, whatever the recipe, custard eclairs are delicious only if you can handle the quality dough.

Step 3. After the mixture becomes homogeneous, boil it for a couple more minutes on minimum heat and remove from the stove. At the same time, constantly stir the mass so that it lags behind the walls of the pan. Leave the finished dough aside for 10-15 minutes to cool to room temperature.

Baking eclairs

Step 4. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with baking parchment and start shaping future cakes. To do this, transfer the prepared dough into a pastry bag and make neat strips, about 7-8 cm long. Do not forget to leave a small distance between the blanks - they will increase in size during baking.

If you don't have a specialbag, you can use a homemade device. To do this, transfer the dough into a regular tight bag and cut off one of the corners. At the very least, working this way is much more convenient than spreading eclairs with a spoon.

Step 5. Send the baking sheet with the blanks to the hot oven. Bake cakes for 15 minutes at 220 degrees. Then lower the temperature to 150 degrees and leave the eclairs inside for a while longer. Readiness can be determined by the golden hue of products. Leave the finished cakes to cool.

Making filler

Step 6. Now it's time for the toppings for French pastries. In a deep bowl, combine the sifted flour and half of the prepared sugar. Crack the eggs in here as well. Whisk all ingredients intensively with a whisk until a fluffy foam appears.

Step 7. Pour milk into a saucepan, add vanillin to it and put on fire. Bring the mixture to a boil and remove from the stove. Pour about a third of the hot milk into the egg mass, mix quickly and pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Cook the cream until thickened, while constantly stirring it. Then take the mixture off the heat and let it cool down a bit. Now it remains only to add soft butter and whip the lush cream.

Decoration of cakes

Step 8. In a saucepan, first mix the dry ingredients: cocoa powder and powdered sugar. Thoroughly stir the mixture, add to itwarm milk and put on the oven. After the mass becomes hot and homogeneous, send softened butter into it and continue cooking. Bring the mixture to maximum temperature without boiling, stir well and remove from heat.

As a result, you should get a very viscous, smooth and fragrant glaze. Allow it to cool to room temperature before using it to coat products.

Assembling and serving cakes

Step 9. Carefully cut the side of each cooled cake and fill with the prepared cream. If you have a pastry syringe at your disposal, the process will be much faster and more convenient. Cold cakes can only be covered with sweet icing.

Step 10. Now the final touch in the form of decoration and addition of eclairs with custard. According to the recipe, each cake should be carefully dipped halfway into the prepared glaze and placed on a wire rack. After the decor has hardened, the eclairs can be served at the table. By the way, if you want to sprinkle your products with nuts, chocolate or coconut, then you need to do this before the glaze hardens.

Now you know how to make delicious French pastries with your own hands. Follow the recipe exactly, and you and your loved ones will definitely like eclairs with custard. Enjoy your creation!