Chocolate cherry éclairs

I've been on the hunt for the perfect éclair recipe ever since the pretty French pastries started popping up everywhere! It seems they're the next big baking trend after the macaron mayhem we're all recovering from! I got the old-school choux pastry training where we taught that the perfect puff is achieved with a 1:1:1:1 ratio of water, butter, flour and eggs. As long as they were light, it didn't matter if they were a bit wonky-looking. But just like Pierre Hermé, who created that perfect-looking macaron that we all do absolutely anything to achieve, someone somewhere created a perfect-looking éclair and now we're all doomed to do the same.

In swoops Kate to save the day! After much research and testing, I give to you.. The Secret of The Perfect Eclair! 

Resting. 

So flipping obvious when you think about it! You've whipped up all that gluten and to get a perfect shape, you need to rest the pastry so it rises evenly. Makes sense right?!

A modern, sleek-looking éclair deserves an updated filling, so I've plugged them with boozy whipped cream, and placed some beautiful plump amarena cherries inside (just to-die-for!). Pile the éclairs on top of each other croquembouche-style, add some chocolate shavings and a drizzle of that gorgeous cherry syrup and I challenge ANYONE to resist this as a dessert showstopper! 

Black Forest éclairs

Makes 20

350ml water

150g butter, diced

pinch of salt

200g cake flour

4 eggs, beaten

FILLING

500ml cream, whipped

1 tsp cherry liqueur (optional)

1 tbsp icing sugar, sifted

1 cup preserved cherries, in syrup, drained and halved

TOPPING

200g dark chocolate, melted

Preheat oven to 200C.

Place the water, butter and salt in a saucepan and heat gently until melted. Then bring the mixture to the boil. As soon as the water boils, remove from the heat and add the cake flour in all at once. Beat together with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes away from the sides of the pan.

Place the mixture into a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or you can do this b hand) and beat until smooth. Allow to cool slightly then beat in the eggs gradually until the mixture is thick and smooth. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Place the pastry into a piping bag fitted with a plain 2cm nozzle and pipe 10cm long eclairs onto a lined baking tray, making sure to leave enough space between to allow for rising.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the pastries are golden.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

Dip the tops in the melted chocolate and allow to set completely then cut the eclairs in half but not all the way through.

Make the filling by whisking the cream, liqueur and icing sugar together until stiff. Place in a piping bag and pipe the cream inside, arranging a few cherries inside each éclair as well.

Serve immediately.

Tiramisu chocolate éclairs

Photography and styling by Katelyn Williams

Baking captured my heart from a very young age and I can remember sitting on the floor in front of the oven watching the cupcakes steadily rise. It fascinated me and you'll still sometimes find me sitting and peering through my oven door! There is something just so enchanting about combining a few ingredients and then watching the sticky batter magically rise into a perfectly fluffy cake. 

Choux pastry is the most miraculous of all; with no baking powder or yeast, a gooey, tacky dough miraculously inflates to form a pastry so light and airy that it threatens to float right off your fork. It's hard to believe that choux pastry uses nothing but steam to rise to the occasion! 

I've given my good ol' chocolate éclair recipe a modern touch here and filled the little puffs with a tiramisu filling; lashings of whipped cream, rich mascarpone, a shot of espresso and a hint of vanilla. Tiramisu seems like such an appropriate match to these chocolate éclairs - and not just because the word means 'pick-me-up'!

Oh and if you would like a little more detail on the exact steps involved, see my previous post on choux pastry.

Photography and styling by Katelyn Williams

Tiramisu chocolate éclairs

Makes 24

1 cup cake flour

pinch salt

80g Stork Bake margarine, cut into small blocks

1 cup water

4 eggs, lightly beaten

For chocolate éclairs

200g dark chocolate, melted

½ cup cream, whipped

½ cup mascarpone cheese, softened

1 shot espresso coffee

½ tsp vanilla essence

1 tbsp castor sugar

Cocoa powder, for dusting

Sift the flour and salt together. Heat the butter and water until just melted then bring to a rolling boil.
Immediately remove from the heat and add all the flour at once. Mix until a smooth dough forms, place back on the heat and cook for about 1 minute or until the pastry pulls away from the sides of the pot. Allow to cool completely.
Beat the eggs into the pastry a little at a time until smooth, shiny and of a piping consistency. 
Place the pastry in a piping bag fitted with a large fluted nozzle. It is now ready to be used as desired.For éclairs, pipe long tubes of dough about 10 cm long. Bake at 200˚C for about 15 - 20 minutes or until puffed up and golden. Turn off oven, remove the puffs, pierce each with a skewer to allow steam to escape and immediately return to the oven to dry out for 15 minutes. 
To assemble chocolate éclairs, dip the tops in melted chocolate and allow to set. Whip the cream until stiff before folding in the mascarpone, espresso, vanilla and sugar. Place in a piping bag and fill the éclairs. Dust with cocoa powder, if desired.

TIPS

*  it is very important to beat the egg in a little at a time into the completely cooled dough

*  sprinkle a little extra water on the tray before baking – the extra steam helps the pastry rise even more, making it lighter.

*  don’t be tempted to open the oven and take a peak or your pastries may run out of puff!

STORAGE

*  unfilled choux pastries can be stored in an airtight container for no more than 2 days – just pop them into the oven for a few minutes to crisp them up again.

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Choux Pastry

It's my friends birthday tomorrow and I'm in a birthday cake mood - but I'm terribly over conventional cake so I dug up this recipe from my chef school days. When we shot this amazing cake for the magazine I work for, the entire office went nuts about it and it has become one of my favourites! And in case you're unsure of just how to make choux pastry, I've added a step-by-step how to as well. Enjoy!

Choux pastry
(makes 20)

1 cup cake flour
pinch of salt
80g butter, cut into small blocks
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk (or you can use water)
4 eggs, lightly beaten


1. Sift the flour and salt together. Heat the butter, water and milk until just melted, then bring to a rolling boil.

2. Immediately remove from the heat and add all the flour at once. Mix until a smooth dough forms, place back on the heat and cook for one minute or until the pastry pulls away from the sides of the pot. Allow to cool completely.

3. Beat the eggs into the pastry a little at a time until smooth and shiny.

4. Place in a piping bag with a large fluted nozzle. Pipe round profiteroles or elongated shapes for eclairs onto lined baking trays and bake at 200 degrees celsius for 25 minutes or until puffed and golden.

Photography by Angie Lazaro

Chocolate hazelnut choux ring
(serves 6)

1 x 400g store-bought short crust pastry
1 x basic choux pastry recipe (above)
1/2 cup readymade vanilla custard
1 cup cream, whipped
2T hazelnut liqueur
4T chopped hazelnuts
1 cup chocolate hazelnut spread
melted dark chocolate, for drizzling
extra chopped hazelnuts, to decorate


Roll out the pastry and cut out a large 20 cm disc. Prick with a fork and bake at 200 degrees celsius for about 15 minutes or until golden. Pipe the choux pastry into a 20 cm ring on a greased baking sheet and bake at 200 degrees celsius for 25 minutes or until golden brown and puffed. Turn oven off, remove the choux ring and cut in half horizontally. Return to the oven to dry out for 15 minutes. Fold the custard, whipped cream, liqueur and hazelnuts together and use to fill the ring. Spread the chocolate hazelnut spread on the short crust disc and top with the filled ring. Decorate with melted chocolate and extra chopped hazelnuts.