Eclairs or, as they are also called, custardCakes have conquered the world since their first appearance. The creation of this delicious dessert is associated with the name of the famous French chef Marie-Antoine Careme, who was one of the best cooks of his time (late 18th – early 19th centuries). Eclairs are rightfully considered the most popular dessert that is known, loved and cooked all over the world. And it is especially nice that these exquisite cakes can be cooked at home. The recipe for eclairs with custard, as well as some subtleties and secrets of their preparation will help you bake this delicacy without any particular difficulties. And a few words about the fillings. The classic version of the filling is custard for eclairs, but they are also prepared with butter and chocolate creams. And, to exhaust the topic, it must be said that custard cakes can be filled with savory fillings. These are the so-called profiteroles, which are very popular on festive tables, especially if the celebration is held in the format of a buffet.
The recipe for the test for eclairs
Ingredients:
- 100 grams of butter
- glass of water
- a glass of flour
- 3-4 eggs
- a pinch of salt
Method of preparation:Pour water into a saucepan, add a pinch of salt, put in the cooled butter and bring to a boil. The butter should completely dissolve. While stirring, pour in the sifted flour and cook the dough – it should be a homogeneous lump. When the dough has cooled (it should be slightly warm, but not hot), add the eggs one by one: beat in an egg and begin to rub it into the dough until it is completely absorbed. Then add the next one, etc. As a result, we get a smooth homogeneous mass, from which our cakes are baked. Cover the baking sheet with baking paper, lightly greased with oil, and lay out small round or oblong pieces of dough at a sufficient distance from each other, as they increase in size significantly during baking. To form the cakes, you can use a pastry bag, or you can do it by hand using a spoon. The cakes are baked in an oven preheated to 200 degrees for about 35-40 minutes. It is important not to open the oven for the first half hour, otherwise the cakes may "fall". When the eclairs have cooled down, you can start filling them.
Custard
Ingredients:
- 400 milliliters of milk
- 150 grams of good butter
- 2 tablespoons of sugar
- one and a half spoons of flour
- 2 eggs + 1 yolk
- 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar
- Vanillin, almond essence (optional and to taste)
Method of preparation:Mix flour with eggs, yolk and powdered sugar. Bring milk and sugar to a boil until sugar is completely dissolved. Cool slightly and gradually add to the prepared mixture. Mix everything well and put on the fire. Cook until thickened, without letting the cream boil. When the cream has almost cooled, add softened butter and beat everything together into a homogeneous fluffy mass. You can fill the eclairs with a pastry syringe, but this is an amateur's task. Another simpler way: cut off the top, fill the cake with cream and cover with the cut off cap. Note: If desired, you can add cocoa powder to the custard, the recipe for which is given above (this way we will get chocolate cream), lemon or orange zest.
Oily cream № 1 (on powdered sugar)
Ingredients:
- 200 grams of butter
- 8 tablespoons of powdered sugar
Method of preparation:Melt the butter over low heat (or in the microwave) until it reaches the consistency of thick sour cream and begin whipping, gradually adding powdered sugar. Bring to the consistency of a fluffy white mass. You can also make eclairs with butter cream using sugar syrup.
Oily cream №2 (on sugar syrup)
Ingredients:
- 200 grams of butter
- 6 tablespoons of sugar
- 8 tablespoons water
Method of preparation:Make a syrup from water and sugar and cool it. Melt the butter slightly and beat, pouring in a thin stream of cooled sugar syrup. When the mass increases in volume, the cream is ready. Chocolate glaze is traditionally used to decorate eclairs. To do this, you can simply melt a bar of chocolate, or you can make glaze from cocoa.
The recipe for glaze
Ingredients:
- 150 grams of sugar
- 3-4 tablespoons of cocoa
- 4 tablespoons milk
- 100 grams of butter
Method of preparation:Mix sugar, cocoa and milk and put on the fire. Stir until the sugar does not burn and completely dissolves. Add butter and cook until thickened. Dip each cake into the still warm glaze. You can put the eclairs in a pile on a plate and pour warm glaze over everything - you will get the so-called chocolate hill. Try making eclairs with butter cream, with custard, experiment with additives and enjoy this delicious dessert with your loved ones. Enjoy your meal! We recommend reading:
