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Home » European Desserts

Best Homemade Chocolate Eclairs

Last updated on August 21, 2022Originally published February 14, 201914 CommentsSabine

Jump to Recipe

Chocolate Eclairs are a classic French dessert and super delicious. It's a light and airy choux pastry, called Pâte à Choux, filled with a pastry chocolate cream filling and glazed with chocolate ganache. By the way, have you tried my chocolate cream puffs yet?

close up of a dozen chocolate eclairs
Jump to:
  • Photo instructions
  • Expert tips for pastry cream success
  • Why did my Choux Pastry collapse?
  • How to store them
  • Can I freeze them?
  • More European desserts to try
  • Recipe

Photo instructions

Chocolate pastry cream

In a medium bowl whisk egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch to combine.

yolks, sugar, and cornstarch in a bowl sitting next to a pot

Bring milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat to a simmer and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Slowly stir about ½ cup (120ml) of the hot milk into the egg yolks to slowly warm it. Stir until smooth and fully combined. 

Tempering egg yolks by adding hot milk with a measuring cup

Then slowly pour the warmed egg mixture into the saucepan. Whisk constantly.

Pouring egg yolks into saucepan filled with milk

Cook until the filling is thick and looks like pudding, for about 1-2 minutes. Whisk continuously.

cooking vanilla custard in a white pot

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in chocolate and salt until smooth and fully combined for about 1-2 minutes.

whisking chocolate pastry cream in a white pot

Pour the chocolate cream filling through a 6-inch (15cm) mesh strainer into a bowl and let cool for about 5-10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add butter and stir to combine. The best is when you cut the butter into a few pieces and add one at the time to the filling.

pressing chocolate cream through mesh strainer with a spatula

Cover the chocolate cream with plastic wrap to prevent forming a skin. Refrigerate at least 1-2 hours or overnight.

bowl filled with chocolate cream with a piece of plastic wrap on top

Pâte à Choux (Choux Pastry)

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan bring water, butter, sugar, and salt over medium-high heat to a boil.

cooking water, butter, sugar, and salt in a pot

Once it reached a boil, add flour and constantly stir with a wooden spoon. Cook for about 2-3 minutes until it starts to form a film on the bottom of the pan. Don't be scared if it looks lumpy when you start stirring the flour into the butter mixture. This is normal, see photo below.

mixing flour into liquid dough ingredients in a white pot

After 2-3 minutes of cooking, it will look like in the photo below. The dough is compact and lumpy but sticks mostly together. You can see that there is a film of dough on the bottom of the pan. Don't scratch it off.

cooked pate au choux in a pot pushed to one side to show the film that has formed in the bottom of the pot

Transfer to a large mixing bowl and let cool for about 2 minutes. Then add the first egg to the dough and stir to combine. It will be quite hard to whisk, and the dough will separate and be a lumpy mess. Don't panic that is absolutely normal. Just keep whisking until it comes together. 

whisking a shaggy looking dough in a bowl

Add the second egg. The dough will separate again, just keep whisking until it comes together. Continue until all eggs are incorporated. The dough will get smoother with every egg.

incorporating eggs into a sticky dough with a whisk

In the end, the dough will be very sticky and firm enough to hold a stiff peak.

sticky dough in a bowl that holds a stiff peak

Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a star tip (I used the Wilton 1M tip). The easiest way to fill the dough into the piping bag with the fitted start tip is to place the pastry bag over a tall glass. Overlap about 4 inches (10 cm) of the piping bag down the outsides of the glass. Then use a spatula and fill the bag about ½ to maximum ⅔ full that you can twist the ends and no dough is popping out at the top of the pastry bag while piping.

piping bag filled with pastry dough

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and stick a bit of dough in all 4 corners to fix the paper. Otherwise, it will move around while piping.

lifting up baking paper from the baking pan to stick a bit of dough in the corner

Pipe ten about 4-inch long and ½-inch wide (10x1.5cm) strips on the 2 prepared baking sheets with enough space in-between (about 2-3 inches) and spin the tip.

piped pastry dough on a baking sheet

Press down the tip with wet fingers so that they don't burn.

pressing down the tip of the piped choux pastry dough with wet finger

Lightly brush the tops with egg wash and bake until golden brown.

side-by-side comparison of baked and unbaked choux pastry dough

Let eclairs cool for 30 minutes then cut in half horizontally. 

baked choux pastry cut in half horizontally

Then fill the eclairs using a piping bag.

close up of a filled eclair

Chocolate ganache

Place chopped chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Microwave heavy whipping cream until very hot and simmering for about 1-2 minutes. Pour over chocolate and let stand 1-2 minutes. Stir until smooth, and the chocolate is completely melted.

chocolate ganache in white bowl

For a super glossy finish, you can add ½ tablespoon of corn syrup to the ganache. The corn syrup is completely optional. Then let stand for about 10 minutes. Place the filled eclairs on a wire rack and carefully spoon the chocolate ganache (about 1 tablespoon of ganache per eclair) on top of the eclairs and let dry.

half dozen eclairs on a rack

Expert tips for pastry cream success

  • It's important to temper the eggs before adding them to the simmering milk, otherwise you could end up with scrambled eggs if the eggs get too hot too quickly.
  • Remove the custard from the heat when it has thickened and coats the back of a spoon. If you cook it too short, the filling could end up runny.
  • For a super smooth choux filling, press the chocolate custard through a mesh strainer to remove any small lumps that may have formed while cooking the custard.
  • Cover the chocolate filling with plastic wrap to prevent it forming a skin as it cools.

Why did my Choux Pastry collapse?

  • Undercooking the dough - Cook the dough until a film forms on the bottom of the pan. If the dough is undercooked, it will be too moist and will cause your pastry not to puff properly.
  • Opening the oven door - Do not open the oven while baking. Don't be tempted to rotate the pan during baking. The temperature change from opening the oven door would likely cause your pâte à choux to collapse.
  • Not baking long enough: Bake the eclairs long enough until puffed and golden. If you remove them from the oven too early, they will deflate and become tough and chewy. They will sound hollow when they are done.
ready to serve chocolate eclairs on wire rack

How to store them

Store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Can I freeze them?

In my experience, they don't freeze well. The texture is not pleasant after freezing and thawing.

More European desserts to try

If you love European desserts, you've come to the right place. The following recipes are some of my favorites and are loved by family, friends, and readers worldwide.

  • Bee Sting Cake
  • Black Forest Cake
  • Panna Cotta
  • Croissant
  • Tiramisu
  • Chocolate Mousse

Recipe

close up of a dozen chocolate eclairs

Best Homemade Chocolate Eclairs

5 from 14 votes
Author Sabine Venier
Calories: 249kcal
Servings: 20 eclairs
Prep 25 minutes
Cook 1 hour 15 minutes
Chill Time 1 hour
Total 1 hour 40 minutes
Print Pin Rate
Chocolate Eclairs are a classic French dessert and super delicious. It's a light and airy choux pastry, called Pâte à Choux, filled with a pastry chocolate cream filling and glazed with chocolate ganache. 

Ingredients
 
 

chocolate pastry cream

  • 4 large egg yolks
  • â…œ cup granulated white sugar
  • 3 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 â…› cups semi-sweet chocolate, melted
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 ½ tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into a few pieces

Pâte à Choux (choux pastry)

  • 1 cup water
  • ½ cup unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
  • 4 large eggs

egg wash

  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablespoon water

chocolate ganache

  • 4.6 oz semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • â…œ cup heavy whipping cream
  • Optional: ½ tablespoon corn syrup (for extra gloss)

Instructions

  • Make the chocolate pastry cream: In a bowl whisk egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch to combine. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan bring milk over medium-high heat to a simmer. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir about ½ cup of hot milk into the egg yolks to slowly warm it. Then pour warmed egg mixture slowly into the saucepan, whisking constantly. Cook until filling is thick, for about 1-2 minutes. Whisk continuously. 
  • Remove from heat and stir in chocolate and salt until smooth and fully combined for about 1-2 minutes. Pour through a mesh strainer into a bowl and let cool for about 5-10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add butter and stir to combine. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent forming a skin. Refrigerate at least 1-2 hours or overnight.
  • Preheat oven to 375°F / 190°C. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
  • Make the Pâte à Choux: In a heavy-bottomed saucepan bring water, butter, sugar, and salt to a boil. With a wooden spoon stir in flour and cook for about 2-3 minutes until it starts to form a film on the bottom of the pan. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and let cool about 2 minutes.
  • Stir in one egg at the time. After every egg, the dough will separate. Keep stirring until the dough comes together again. In the end, the dough will be sticky and firm enough to hold a stiff peak.
  • Make the egg wash: In a small cup stir egg and water to combine. Set aside.
  • Transfer Pâte à Choux to a piping bag fitted with a star tip (I used the Wilton 1M tip). Stick a bit of dough on the baking sheets underneath the parchment paper to fix the paper. Pipe ten about 4-inch long and ½-inch wide (10x1,5cm) strips on the 2 prepared baking sheets with enough space in-between (about 2-3 inches) and spin the tip. Press down the tip with wet fingers that they don't get too brown or burn. Lightly brush with egg wash. 
  • Bake one baking sheet at the time for about 30-35 minutes until puffed and golden brown. They need to sound hollow when knocking on the bottom. Don't open the oven during the baking time or the eclairs will collapse. I baked mine for 33 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
  • Fill the cream puffs by cutting the eclairs in half horizontally. Pipe the chocolate filling into the eclairs. Set aside.
  • Make the chocolate ganache: Place chopped chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Microwave heavy whipping cream until very hot and lightly simmering for about 1-2 minutes. Pour over chocolate and let stand 1-2 minutes. Stir until smooth, and the chocolate is completely melted. Add corn syrup and stir until combined if desired (for extra gloss, totally optional). Let stand for about 5 minutes.
  • Place eclairs on a wire rack. Spoon chocolate ganache (about 1 tablespoon of ganache per eclair) on top of the eclairs and let dry. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days.

Video

You can find the video in the post above. If you don't see a video, please check your browser settings.

Nutrition

Calories: 249kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 5gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 108mgSodium: 91mgPotassium: 163mgFiber: 1gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 415IUVitamin C: 0.03mgCalcium: 58mgIron: 2mg
Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Keyword best homemade chocolate eclairs, how to make choux pastry
Did you make this recipe?Leave a feedback and rate this recipe!
« Homemade Glazed Doughnuts
Soft and Moist Chocolate Cake »

About Sabine

Sabine is a professional baker, cookbook author, and award-winning food photographer.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AK

    December 14, 2022 at 12:17 am

    5 stars
    We made this for Christmas last year... it was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! I have never made something like this, but the directions were easy enough to follow that my husband and I were able to make a delicious product on our first attempt! I would love to eat some of this right now! DELICIOUS!

    Reply
    • AK

      December 14, 2022 at 12:18 am

      maybe it was Christmas 2 years ago, but it was so delicious I still have the tab on my phone internet open so we don't loose it!

      Reply
  2. Siti

    October 26, 2020 at 4:30 pm

    Thank you so much for this. Just made these and this was my first time making choux pastry as well. They turned out rly great!!!!!! The instructions were easy to follow and the video and pictures really helped. This must have taken a lot of your effort to make this but thank you so much! It was so so so helpful for a beginner like me!

    Reply
  3. Brian

    August 25, 2020 at 4:59 pm

    Any chance you also made a video for this recipe? It look like there is a reference to it, but it's missing?

    Reply
    • Sabine

      September 08, 2020 at 10:00 am

      Yes, it's in the post very much at the top.

      Reply
  4. Charmaine

    July 02, 2020 at 6:44 am

    5 stars
    Awesome recipe! I cannot remember how many I got the last time I made this, but how many eclairs is this recipe supposed to make?

    Reply
    • Sabine

      July 07, 2020 at 5:07 am

      Thank you! I'm always ending up with about 20 eclairs.

      Reply
  5. A Thomas

    April 27, 2020 at 9:19 pm

    5 stars
    I am so happy I foudn this receipe! I was looking at another recipe on the site and i saw the video for these in the bottom corner. I never ever considered that I could make eclairs myself. The pictures and extra instructions were great and very much appreciated. They turned out perfectly. THank you!

    Reply
  6. Cindi

    April 29, 2019 at 4:40 am

    5 stars
    These were fantastic! I will definitely use this recipe again!

    Reply
    • Sabine

      April 29, 2019 at 2:27 pm

      Thank you so much! I'm so happy to hear that!

      Reply
  7. Audia

    March 08, 2019 at 7:50 am

    5 stars
    Must try

    Reply
    • Sabine

      March 08, 2019 at 8:41 am

      Absolutely! 🙂

      Reply
  8. Belgrade, Serbia

    February 14, 2019 at 6:11 am

    5 stars
    This is a great recipe! I always make them with vanilla filling, with the chocolate only in ganache on the top, but the next time it will be this filling (my husband loves his chocolate...)

    Reply
    • Sabine

      February 14, 2019 at 1:19 pm

      Yes, a vanilla filling is great too! Happy baking!

      Reply

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Hi, my name is Sabine Venier! I’m a cookbook author and food blogger. Here on Also The Crumbs Please you will find my collection of treasured family recipes.

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