Double Chocolate Eclairs

Directions

• Pate a Choux
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper. Measure out flour into a bowl.
• In a medium, heavy bottomed saucepan, over medium heat, combine milk, water, butter, salt, and granulated sugar. Bring the ingredients to a boil.
• Remove pan from heat and add all the flour at once, stirring with a wooden spoon. Mix the flour in, stirring from the outside, inwards, until it’s coming together, about 1-2 minutes.
• Return the pan to medium heat, continue stirring until the dough forms a ball and is leaving some residue on the bottom of the pan, about 2-3 minutes.
• Place the dough into a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and set it to low for 2 minutes to cool with dough slightly.
• Add 1/3 of the (already lightly beaten) 4 eggs and allow to fully incorporate before repeating. Add the remainder in two more parts, mixing well after each addition. You’ll know it’s fully incorporated if it makes an upside down triangle when you spoon it out with a spatula.
• Fit a large round tip into a large pastry bag, and add dough.
• Hold the tip at a 45 degree angle as you pipe strips onto the prepared baking sheets to form the eclairs. If you want cream puffs, pipe the dough like you would a macaron.
• Moisten your finger with water to smooth down any tips or oddities. Brush with the remaining beaten egg, and put in the preheated oven.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 360 degrees and allow to bake for 20-25 minutes. (DON”T OPEN THE OVEN IF YOU CAN AVOID IT!) You want the eclairs to be darker than you think at first. If you take them out to early, they will collapse.
• Once removed from the oven, allow to cool on the sheets until you are ready to fill them.
• To fill the pate a choux, use a small pastry tip to poke 2-3 holes in the bottoms of your eclairs. Put the pastry cream in a pastry bag, fitted with a small star tip. Stick the tip into the premade holes and push the pastry cream into the eclair. You’ll see and feel it plumping up in your hand.
• Dip the filled eclairs in the chocolate glaze. Allow to sit in the refrigerator until firm before piping on the whipped cream and decorating with sprinkles, chocolate curls, fruit, or whatever you like!
• Chocolate Pastry Cream
• Put milk, half of granulated sugar, and the vanilla into a heavy bottomed medium saucepan to gently boil.
• In a bowl, whisk the other half of the sugar, flour, cocoa powder and cornstarch to combine. Add the egg yolks and whisk to create a paste.
• Once the milk is boiling, remove from heat. Add small amounts of the very hot milk to the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Repeat in small amounts until you have added all the hot milk to the yolk mixture.
• Return the pan to low/medium heat and continue whisking constantly until just past boil and the mixture is getting thick like pudding.
• Remove from heat and add the chocolate, whisking constantly to combine.
• Use an immersion blender to blast the custard for an even creamier texture and to remove any lumps.
• Optional: Strain the mixture through a mesh strainer to ensure there are no lumps.
• Place plastic wrap or parchment paper directly on top of the pastry cream and chill until ready to use.
• Chocolate Glaze
• Heat the cream on the stove or in the microwave just to simmering.
• Pour over the chopped chocolate and butter. Allow to sit for 1-2 minutes.
• Using a silicone spatula, begin stirring from the inside out to combine. Once combined, dip your eclairs while the glaze is still relatively warm.
• Whipped Cream
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream, powdered sugar and vanilla until soft-medium peaks form.
• Place the whipped cream into a pastry bag fitted with the large star tip to decorate your eclairs.