{"id":6196,"date":"2016-02-03T19:29:16","date_gmt":"2016-02-03T18:29:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.roadtopastry.com\/blog\/?p=6196"},"modified":"2016-12-01T19:02:25","modified_gmt":"2016-12-01T18:02:25","slug":"chocolate-eclairs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.roadtopastry.com\/blog\/recipes\/pate-a-choux\/chocolate-eclairs","title":{"rendered":"Chocolate \u00e9clairs"},"content":{"rendered":"

I think the most common new year\u2019s resolutions<\/strong> are \u201cI need to quit smoking\u201d and\u00a0\u201cI need to lose weight\u201d . Well, the former\u00a0is way easier in France, because pastry chefs have got you covered with desserts until Easter<\/strong>. When Christmas is over, it is time for galettes des rois<\/a> throughout January; then in February it\u2019s cr\u00eapes day, then it\u2019s Carnival with mardi gras and many regional fried pastries, and finally you get to eat chocolate eggs for Easter.<\/p>\n

It is not an easy living<\/strong>, believe me! Especially if, in addition to all that, you also eat your own desserts like me!<\/em>\u00a0\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

After the massive\u00a0pastries during Christmas, I chose to make a simple and (somewhat) light dessert: chocolate \u00e9clairs<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

\"Recipe-Chocolate<\/a><\/p>\n

Choux pastry<\/strong> is very versatile<\/strong> and can be used for many pastries, from a simple cream puff<\/a> to a stunning St. Honor\u00e9 cake<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The \u201clong cousin\u201d<\/em> of the cream puff is the \u00e9clair<\/strong>, one of the most common pastries<\/em> here in France.<\/p>\n

For \u00e9clairs, the choux pastry is piped in thick stripes<\/strong> about 10-12cm long.<\/p>\n

\"Recipe-Chocolate<\/p>\n

The baked pastries are then filled and glazed like choux. The standard (read \u201cold-fashioned\u201d) glaze is fondant, but recently a new breed of pastry chefs like Christophe Adam<\/a> finally started experimenting and reinventing the top decoration of \u00e9clairs.<\/p>\n

As for these chocolate \u00e9clairs, I chose to glaze them with a mirror glaze<\/strong> (a leftover from the Trianon<\/a>, my favourite cake), don\u2019t they look classy and modern?<\/strong> \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

\"Recipe-Chocolate<\/a><\/p>\n

And the cream\u2026 oh, the cream! The best chocolate cream<\/strong> I\u2019ve tried so far: unlike other pastry creams where chocolate is incorporated and melted directly at the end, this recipe features a standard pastry cream with the addition of a ganache<\/strong>. The result is richer, with a distinguishable flavour of chocolate. I loved these \u00e9clairs!<\/p>\n

\"Recipe-Chocolate<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Chocolate \u00e9clairs<\/h2>\n
\n \n \"\"Print recipe<\/a>\n