Eclairs are French pastries made from choux pastry, typically filled with whipped cream, custard, or fruit. Choux pastry is a combination of eggs, water, butter, and flour. Eclairs can also be filled with savory ingredients and can be piped or cut for filling. American versions may use cake batter instead of choux pastry. They can be purchased at European-style bakeries.
Eclairs are pastries made from choux pastry, the same traditional dough used for cream puffs. They are usually piped in logs about 3-4 inches (7.62-10.16 cm) long and cooked. Once baked and cooled, the cream puffs can be filled with whipped cream, a variety of creams, mousses or fruit. Traditional beignets tend to be filled with whipped cream or custard and topped with chocolate ganache.
French chefs are credited with inventing eclairs over 300 years ago. Choux pastry is typically French, although it was soon adopted by British countries and quickly spread to other European countries. There are New World recipes for choux dating back to the early 18th century. Choux is essentially a combination of eggs, water, butter and flour, which is stirred over low heat to melt the butter. The eggs had to be added carefully so as not to make scrambled eggs in the process.
Choux dumplings dropped from spoons make delicious shells for beignets or for savory fillings like chicken salad. Usually the shape of the eclairs requires you to pipe the dough to get the long shape. Eclairs can also be filled with savory ingredients and could make perfect appetizers.
Some cooks fill the eclairs by cutting them lengthwise and removing some of the dough. This gives more space for the filling. Others poke a small hole in one side of the eclair and simply pipe the filling into the eclair. The preference for both methods varies.
Some American recipes don’t rely on the typical choux pastry for eclair-type pies. These may be referred to as eclair cakes rather than eclair pastries, since they are typically made with cake batter. It’s actually quite common to see donuts that look a lot like eclairs, although they will taste quite different given the sweeter batter and cakey texture. Also, donuts that look like cream puffs can be greasy because their cooking process involves frying rather than baking.
If making eclairs daunts you, they’re easy enough to get them in most ovens. One might want to use a European-style bakery to be sure of getting the traditional choux pastry puffs. Also, you can consult the bakery regarding different fillings, although most people are quite happy with the regular chocolate eclair.
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