Recipe: Mini Chocolate Eclairs

The coffee eclairs from Patisserie Valerie are just the best thing ever so when I received a copy of the Decorated Cakes and Sweets magazine (£5.99 each) which featured a recipe and products to make mini eclairs I was so excited and to be honest I didn't think choux pastry would be THAT difficult, oh boy was I wrong! 

The mini eclairs in the magazine looks so amazing and I knew I wouldn't be able to make anything close to that especially as before I received the magazine, I hadn't made choux pastry. The magazine has a recipe for choux pastry as well as the eclairs and the icing. The photographs and instructions are great and with this issue there is a silicone mini eclair mould as well as a piping bag and nozzle for the eclair filling which came in super useful. 

Here's the basic recipe:

- 50g unsalted butter (I used stock baking butter at room temp)

- 4 tablespoons of cold water

- 4 tablespoons of full fat/whole milk

- 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil

- 1 teaspoon of cater sugar

- 100g plain flour 

- 3 eggs

- pinch of salt

Step One: Add the cold water, butter, milk, vegetable oil, salt and sugar in a saucepan on a medium heat until the butter has melted. Bring to a fast boil, remove the pan from the heat as you add all of the flour in one go and stir very quickly until the mixture comes together in a ball.

Step Two: Place the pan back on the heat but at a lower temperature and stir for a couple of minutes, until the mixture is smooth and glossy - my mixture wasn't very glossy but only slightly and it still worked pretty well. 

Step Three: Add in the eggs one at a time, making sure that the egg is fully incorporated before adding in another - this part is crucial and affects the whole mixture and then the final product. The consistency of the pastry at this stage will determine if it comes out well at the end. 

Step Four: Transfer the pastry to a bowl, cover and leave to cool; then chill in the fridge for at least an hour. I found that the longer the better as the mixture will be thicker. 

Step Five: Preheat the oven to 160 fan or 180 Celsius, place the silicone mini eclair mould onto a baking tray. Spoon half the pastry mixture into a piping bag (not the one included with the magazine) and use a large star nozzle to pipe the pastry into the moulds. I didn't have a large star nozzle so I used a small one which I think made the eclairs drop so for my second batch I just cut the tip off my plastic disposable piping bags (super cheap from amazon) and it worked much better!

Step Six: Smooth down any points of the pastry with a wet finger (that sound gross and weird but it works) and then spray with vegetable oil. I didn't have a spray so I brushed it on which didn't work, I then used an olive oil spray which worked better but a spray can of vegetable oil would be best option as it prevents the pasty from cracking when baked. Bake for 35 minutes, until golden and brown. 

I found that they were so much harder to make than I thought and it doesn't help that google shows so many conflicting methods and tips on making choux pastry. I think leaving in the oven for slightly longer helps or crank up the temperature a little. 

The recipe then says to make creme patissiere but I hate the taste so I made thick whipped cream and used the piping bag and nozzle from the magazine to pipe into the mini eclairs. I then dipped them into milk chocolate so they became mini chocolate eclairs which I have to say were yummy - although I wish they had puffed up more but it was only my second time making them! 

Have you tried making eclairs? Any tips on making choux pastry?