Chocolate éclairs

Learn how to make eclairs at home

Here’s a fun fact: the French word ‘eclair’ means ‘flash of lightning’. Some people think these French pastries were given the name referring to the lightness of the pastry and the soft cream filling. Others have speculated the name refers to how fast they’ll disappear if left unattended. Regardless, these French fancies, also known as eclair au chocolat, are perfect for a special afternoon tea or for serving up on Valentine’s Day – nothing says ‘I love you’ like homemade eclairs! 

If you're planning a romantic dinner, our collection of easy Valentine's Day recipes will help you charm the one you love. There are plenty of sweet ideas to guarantee a night you’ll remember.

The easiest way to make choux pastry

People are intimidated by choux pastry but you don’t need to be – it’s easy if you take it one step at a time. Here are some helpful tips.

• Have your ingredients at room temperature: It can be tempting to ignore this instruction – what difference does having eggs at room temperature make, right? A lot, it turns out. Room-temperature eggs whip best, and help the pastry rise, making it fluffier and less dense.

• Combine the ingredients off the heat: There’s a bit of ‘on the heat, off the heat’ in this chocolate eclairs recipe. Pay special attention to the instructions. For instance, warm the water, milk and butter over medium heat and then take it off the heat to add the dry ingredients. This helps it incorporate more easily, reducing the risk of lumps forming.

• Let it cool before adding the egg: If the mix is too hot when you add the egg in step 3, the mixture can almost ‘melt’ and be too soft to pipe. So let it cool slightly before adding the egg.

• No paddle beater, no worries: Our recipe calls for a mixer with a paddle beater to combine the flour mixture and the egg. This is much faster and easier, but you can do it by hand, too. Add the egg to the pan and mix well with a wooden spoon until combined. 

• Help! My pastry has split: When you add the egg in step 3, the mix may look like it has split. Don’t be concerned – keep stirring and the mixture will come together.

• How to know it’s ready: The pastry should look like a thick batter that’s slightly sticky when it’s ready (sticky enough that you wouldn’t be able to knead it).

You can use this choux pastry recipe to make profiteroles, which can be turned into a croquembouche or a profiterole cake. If you want to make a chocolate choux pastry, add a couple of tablespoons of cocoa powder to the flour.

Tips for piping a chocolate eclair like a pro

The easiest way to get perfectly uniform, professional-looking eclairs is to draw pencil guides on your baking paper before piping. Draw 12cm straight lines, about 3cm apart, and then invert the baking paper so the pencil lines are on the underside. You’ll be able to see them through the paper, but you don’t want pencil on your choux pastry eclairs. 

An easy way to fill your piping bag with the mixture is to stand it upright in a tall glass or jug, folding the bag over the side of the glass to secure it. Spoon the pastry mix into the bag. Only put about half the dough in the bag at a time – this makes it easier to handle. Pipe in one continuous motion, with even pressure, gently lifting upwards at the end of your eclair to break off the dough. Smooth any uneven edges (from where you’ve lifted off the piping nozzle) with a little cold water and your fingertip.

How to make chocolate eclairs: The finishing touches

All that’s left to do now is fill your choux pastry with cream filling and add a rich chocolate icing. You could pipe your filling into the eclairs in the same way you would fill a profiterole – use the piping nozzle to pierce a small hole in the éclair and then fill – but to make our eclair recipe easier, we’ve split the choux pastries horizontally. That way you can easily ice the top and leave those portions aside in the fridge to set, then spoon the filling onto the bottom half and sandwich with the iced half. The only tip here is to not overfill the eclair with the filling – this makes it too messy to eat. 

When you need something to hit the sweet spot, our easy dessert recipe collection is simply irresistible. From divine dessert ideas for fuss-free entertaining to no-bake stars and simple show-stoppers, there's a treat for everyone.