Café Gramercy · Annette’s Recipe Box

Annette's Chocolate Éclairs

Let the choux cool completely before you fill it, and the cream stays where it belongs. Cool means cool all the way through.

Makes about 12 · Active 1 hour

Ingredients

Choux: as for the cream puffs, above

Pastry cream: 500 ml (2 cups) whole milk · 100 g (½ cup) sugar · 4 egg yolks · 40 g (⅓ cup) cornstarch · 1 teaspoon vanilla

Glaze: 120 g dark chocolate · 80 ml (⅓ cup) cream

Method

Make the choux and pipe it into fingers about 12 cm long. Bake as for the cream puffs, until deep golden and dry. Cool them completely; when they are cool all the way through and no longer warm in your hand, they are ready to fill.
For the cream, warm the milk. Whisk the yolks, sugar, and cornstarch, pour in the hot milk, then return it to the pan and cook, whisking, until thick. Stir in the vanilla. Press paper to its surface and chill.
Make a small hole in each end of the éclair and pipe the cool cream in until it feels full and heavy.
Warm the cream, pour over the chocolate, stir smooth, and dip the tops. Let the glaze set. Serve the same day, when the shell is still crisp.