From The Straits Times    |

Dessert receipe chocolate eclairs

By Winnie Goh, pastry chef from Pan Pacific Singapore

Makes about 30 eclairs 

INGREDIENTS
For the eclair dough:
250ml milk
250ml water
25g sugar
¼ tsp salt
250g butter
300g plain flour
7 medium-sized eggs

For the chocolate cream:
4 egg yolks
100g sugar
30g cornflour
300ml milk
100ml fresh cream
1/2 vanilla pod or 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
A pinch of salt
25g butter
350g baking chocolate, chopped

For the chocolate glaze:
100ml whipping cream
100g dark chocolate, chopped
20g butter

DIRECTIONS
1 To make the eclair dough, cook the milk, water, sugar, salt and butter in a pot over low heat until the butter melts and the mixture boils.
2 Add the plain flour gradually, stirring constantly for 10min.
3 Transfer the mixture into a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. At medium speed, beat in the eggs, one at a time, until they are completely incorporated and the mixture is smooth, for 8-10min.
4 Preheat the oven to 190 deg C. Using a 16mm piping tube* (or a smaller one), pipe finger-length portions of the eclair dough onto a tray lined with a silicone baking sheet or baking paper. Bake for 25min.
5 Reduce heat to 160 deg C and bake for 15min.
6 To make the chocolate cream, mix the egg yolks, 30g of sugar, cornflour and 50ml of milk.
7 In a pot, combine the remaining sugar and milk, and fresh cream, vanilla and salt, and bring to a boil.
8 Pour the first chocolate mixture into the hot one and continue to cook it. Stir until the cream thickens and becomes smooth. Add the butter and baking chocolate. Mix well and cool.
9 To make the chocolate glaze, bring the whipping cream to a boil. Add the dark chocolate and butter. Stir well until mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool.
10 Make a slit at the side of the eclair and fill it evenly with the chocolate cream.
11 Top the eclair with the chocolate glaze. Chill for at least an hour for the glaze to harden before serving. Chilled eclairs can be kept up to a week.

*Available at Sun Lik Trading (33 Seah Street, tel: 6338-0980) and Chefs’ Warehouse (Block 148 Toa Payoh Lorong 1 #01-927, tel: 6252-2260). Both stores are in Singapore.

This article was originally published in Simply Her June 2012.