This bake was a while ago. And I had forgotten about it until I recently stumbled upon the picture I took of the eclairs after I had baked them. But now I’m so excited to finally share it with you! I baked these eclairs during an online class through Home Cooking New York. This was the second class that I took with them. The first virtual class was the Chicken and Roasted Vegetable recipe that I posted this summer. This recipe is very long and will require a lot of time. I did all of this at once and I would not recommend it, even though your essentially using the same recipe over and over for each pastry.
EQUIPMENT:
Cutting board and knife
Candy thermometer (optional)
Medium heavy-bottom saucepan
2-3 mixing bowls
Wooden spoon
Rubber spatula
Wire whisk
Measuring cups and spoons
Cheese grater
Stand or hand mixer (optional)
2 baking sheets
Parchment paper or silpats
Sharpie or pencil
Pastry bag or resealable plastic gallon bag
1-ounce scoop measure (optional)
Scissors
Pâte à Choux Dough
1-1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
6 large whole eggs, plus 1 large egg yolk
In a medium heavy-bottom saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, salt, and 1-1/2 cups water. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, and immediately remove the pan from the heat. Using a wooden spoon, quickly stir in the flour until combined. Return the pan to medium-high heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture pulls away from the sides and a film forms on the bottom of the pan.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and allow to cool for several minutes (you don’t want to cook the eggs; the dough should not feel hot when you poke through it with your finger). Once it’s cooled, add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously with a rubber spatula, until the mixture comes together. Use as directed below for gougeres, cream puffs, and eclairs.
Rosemary Parmesan Gougères
Makes about 10
1 heaping cup pâte à choux dough, see recipe above
1 teaspoon minced shallot
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary (optional)
½ cup grated Parmesan or Gruyere cheese, divided
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg (optional)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a bowl, combine the dough, shallot, rosemary, and ¼ cup cheese. Stir until thoroughly combined. Using a 1-ounce scoop, form balls of dough and place them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet (you can also use a heaping tablespoon measure). Sprinkle the dough balls with the remaining ¼ cup cheese.
Bake until the gougères are puffed, about 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees, and bake until they are a nice golden brown, about 5 minutes more. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Cream Puffs
Makes about 4
1 cup Pâte à Choux Dough, see recipe above
1/2 recipe Chantilly Cream, recipe follows
1 egg yolk, whisked
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Using a ¼ cup measure, form 4 dough mounds on the prepared baking sheet, placing them about 2 inches apart. Add 1 teaspoon water to the yolk and whisk again. Brush the dough mounds with the yolk mixture.
Bake for 15 minutes then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown and the cream puffs are hollow when you tap the bottom of them. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Fill with Chantilly Cream, and berries if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Eclairs
Makes about 8 to 10
1 cup pâte à choux dough, see recipe above
1 egg yolk, whisked
1/2 recipe Chantilly Cream, recipe follows
1 recipe Chocolate Ganache Icing, recipe follows
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Spoon the dough into a pastry bag or resealable plastic bag and cut off a 1-inch tip.
Using even pressure, pipe 4 or 5 inch long logs of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Add 1 teaspoon water to the yolk and whisk again. Brush the piped logs with the yolk mixture. Bake for 15 minutes then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown and the eclairs sound hollow when you tap the bottom of them. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
To fill the eclairs, cut the shells in half and spoon the Chantilly cream onto the bottom eclair shells. Then ice the top shells with chocolate ganache and place on filled bottom shells. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Chantilly Cream
2 cups whipping or heavy cream
2 to 3 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar, or to taste
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pour the cream into a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer. Beat with a whisk or electric mixer until soft peaks form. Watch the cream carefully as it whips. Overwhiping it will make butter. Stir in the sugar and vanilla.
Chocolate Ganache Icing
¼ cup heavy cream
½ cup bittersweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate pieces
Put the cream in a small saucepan and warm over medium-high heat until it just comes to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat, add the chocolate chips and set aside for 10 minutes.
After that time, whisk the softened chocolate into the cream until a smooth ganache forms. It may seem like it’s not coming together, but it will, just keep whisking!
Flavored Confectioner’s Icing (optional)
½ cup confectioner’s sugar
1-2 tablespoons heavy cream, or more if needed
1 tablespoon softened butter
½ teaspoon flavoring such as rosewater, orange water or almond extract
Stir together the sugar, 1 tablespoon cream and butter until smooth. Add more cream until the desired consistency is reached. Stir in flavoring of choice.
Sadly I don't have pictures of the Rosemary Parmesan Gougeres. But They were great! This recipe may seem like it will take you no time at all. But trust me, it is one of the most difficult things I’ve ever baked. After I was finished baking everything, I said to myself “I will never do that again”. But I would definitely do it again if I as much time in the world as I wanted and if I could have helpers. But that’s just for all of them at the same time. I would do one at a time as much as I wanted! And when you think about it like that doesn’t seem as difficult or as long of a bake.
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