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ECLAIRS

Adapted from Richard Bertinet's Patisserie Maison
This is a recipe for the classic eclair, topped with a fondant icing and decorated with glazed fruit.
Prep Time 50 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Course Patisserie
Cuisine French
Servings 24

Ingredients
  

  • CHOUX PASTRY
  • 225 ml Water
  • 125 g Flour
  • 4 Eggs
  • 60 g Unsalted Butter
  • -------------------------------------
  • CHANTILLY CREAM
  • 300 ml Whipping Cream
  • 4 Tbsp Icing Sugar
  • 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1 Tsp Rum
  • -------------------------------------
  • FONDANT TOPPING
  • 300 g Royal/Fondant Icing
  • 2 Tbsp Water
  • Red Food Colouring
  • -------------------------------------
  • TO DECORATE
  • 100 g Apricot Jam/Puree
  • 2 Tbsp Water
  • Raspberries and Blueberries to decorate

Instructions
 

  • Begin by making the choux pastry, combine the water and butter in a pan and bring to a boil.
  • Sift the flour into a bowl and tip this into the boiling water and butter.
  • Take the pan off the heat and beat the flour, until it resembles scrambled eggs.
  • Place the pan back on the heat and beat the paste for 2-3 minutes until the dough dries out.
  • Tip the mixture into a food mixer and using the paddle attachment, add the eggs one at a time, until they are fully incorporated.
  • The dough should be thick and sticky, this means it is ready for piping.
  • Preheat the oven to 190 degrees and line two baking trays with greaseproof paper. To aid with the piping of the eclairs, you can draw 12 lines 8cm long on the greaseproof paper on each tray, make sure they are spaced well apart, turn the paper over and pipe on the reverse.
  • Using a piping bag with a 1cm tip, fill it with the pastry and pipe 12 lines on each sheet of paper.
  • Put the eclairs in the oven for 20 mins, then for a further 4 mins cook the eclairs with the door open a little to let out the moisture.
  • The eclairs are done when they are a golden colour and feel hard to the touch.
  • To make the chantilly cream, sift the icing sugar into the cream, add the vanilla extract and whip the cream until stiff enough to pipe it, then add the rum and give it a final whip. Place the cream in the fridge until you're ready to use it.
  • Next combine the apricot jam and water in a pan and heat until the jam thins. Using a pastry brush, glaze 24 raspberries and 24 blueberries and lay them on a piece of greaseproof paper.
  • Cut all of the eclairs in half lengthways and using a star shaped piping nozzle, pipe cream on to the bottom half of the eclairs.
  • Add the fondant icing and water to a pan and heat gently, beat the mixture so that the icing and the water become mixed together. Then add some food colouring and stir so that the fondant becomes a nice shade of pink.
  • Dip the tops of the eclair in the fondant icing and then place them on top of the cream. Sit a raspberry and a blueberry on top of each eclair.
  • If the fondant in the pan starts to set, return it to the heat to loosen it again.
  • The eclairs can be stored in the fridge, but they should be eaten as soon as possible because the cream will soften them.