Éclairs

These elegant pastries combine choux mastery with pastry cream skills and precise glazing.

Classic Chocolate Éclairs

Yield: 12 éclairs Prep time: 1 hour Total time: 3 hours

#### Ingredients

Choux (see basic recipe, page X)

Chocolate Pastry Cream: - 500ml whole milk - 6 egg yolks - 100g sugar - 40g cornstarch - 50g cocoa powder - 150g dark chocolate, chopped - 50g butter

Chocolate Glaze: - 150g dark chocolate - 150ml heavy cream - 2 tbsp corn syrup

#### Instructions

1. Make pastry cream: Heat milk to simmer. Whisk yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and cocoa until smooth. Temper with hot milk, return to heat. Cook stirring constantly until thick and boiling. Remove from heat, add chocolate and butter. Cover surface with plastic, chill.

2. Pipe éclairs: Using choux recipe, pipe 12cm lines on parchment.

3. Bake: 200°C (400°F) for 15 minutes, reduce to 180°C (350°F) for 20 minutes until golden and firm.

4. Fill: Poke three holes in bottom of each éclair. Pipe in pastry cream until full.

5. Glaze: Heat cream to simmer, pour over chocolate and corn syrup. Stir until smooth. Dip top of each éclair in glaze, let excess drip off.

6. Set: Refrigerate until glaze sets, about 30 minutes.

Variations: - Coffee: Infuse milk with coffee beans, coffee extract in cream - Vanilla: Omit cocoa, use vanilla bean in cream - Seasonal Fruit: Lighten pastry cream with whipped cream, add fruit

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