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The PERFECT Eclair recipe (FOOLPROOF)

This is seriously the BEST eclair recipe that will take you through how to make classic French eclairs at home step by step. A foolproof eclair recipe that works even in home kitchen environment, besides, I am also including a detailed Troubleshooting Guide! 
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Waiting time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time2 hours 30 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: French
Servings: 14
Calories: 64kcal
Author: Katalin Nagy

Equipment

Ingredients

For the eclairs

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

  • Sift flour then measure and set aside
  • Place butter, water, milk, salt, and sugar into a saucepan over medium heat
  • As soon as the mixture starts to boil remove from heat, add the flour in one go, and whisk vigorously with a Rubber spatula until it forms one smooth ball and flour bits are not visible
  • Place the saucepan back to the stove and cook the dough for 3-5 min over medium heat mixing constantly. During this time water will evaporates from the dough and there should be a thin skin formed on the bottom up the saucepan
  • Transfer the dough into the bowl of your Stand mixer and start whisking on low seead for a minute for the dough to cool a bit (use the paddle attachement)
  • Start adding lightly whisked eggs onto the dough while the mixer is on. Only add a small amount of egg at a time and let the mixer incorporate the egg before adding in more. The dough will come together and should reach a glossy, pipeable consistency.
  • The dough is ready when it slowly falls down from the paddle attachment in a V shape. Slowly is key here, it should not be too runny. Depending on how much you dried the dough at the previous cooking stage and the flour you use, the exact quantity of egg will need somewhat your judgement
  • Move the dough into a pastry bag fitted with French star nozzle tip (0.5cm / 1.3cm in diameter) and rest the dough in the fridge for 1-2 hours
  • Once the dough is rested, with the help of the French star nozzle tip pipe 14 equal size eclairs on Perforated "air" baking mat leaving enough space in between them as they will puff.
  • Alternatively, cover a baking sheet with parchment paper, and pipe the choux dough onto the paper.
  • Dust the piped dough with icing sugar, that also helps to avoid cracks. Place the tray into the freezer for 30 min at least before baking you can also freeze the dough at this point for a longer time
  • Pre-heat oven to 200 C / 392 F (no fan)
  • Lower oven temperature to 170 C / 338 F (no fan) and bake the eclairs for 40 min. Do not open the oven door in the first 30 min. If you are baking it the first time it is a good idea to take one eclair out of the oven at 40 min and check its consistency. If it is golden in colour, nicely puffed up, does not deflate on room temperature and the middle of the eclair is not raw (it is ok if it's a bit wet, it will dry while cooling down) then it is considered to be done
  • Cool the eclairs on the perforated air mat
  • Fill with chocolate or vanilla bean pastry cream. Use my recipes in here

Notes

INGREDIENT NOTES:
  1. Measure your ingredients with a Digital scale for accuracy
  2. Use high protein content bread flour for the best results, I am using 12% protein content flour
  3. Do not skip the salt, it has a special function while baking eclairs
  4. Use lightly whisked room temperature eggs
TECHNIQUE NOTES:
  1. Make sure you read my Expert tips section above to maximize your success. A short recipe alone is not able to cover all the necessary details, and science behind baking. Consider this recipe more like an in-depth tutorial, literally the only recipe you will ever need to make eclairs
  2. While heating the milk, water, butter, salt, sugar mixture make sure that sugar and salt fully dissolves
  3. Do not skip sifting flour as you don´t want to deal with flour lumps while making this recipe
  4. Please note that you might need slightly more or less egg - and that is normal - depending on the flour you use and how much you dried the mixture while cooking it. Pay very close attention to the consistency while mixing the egg in and apply the V shape test. 
  5. There are 2 chilling times involved - one fridge resting before piping, and one freezing before baking. Both of them are important to achieve neat, crack-free results
  6. Use a star nozzle tip so your eclair will puff neat
  7. If you have never used a piping bag and piping nozzle before, it is worth practicing before
  8. I strongly advise using a Digital oven thermometer to be able to measure your exact oven temperature
  9. While baking, do not use fan in your oven, it can encourage cracks on your eclairs
 

Nutrition

Calories: 64kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 55mg | Potassium: 23mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 157IU | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg