Chocolate Éclairs

Bake Eclairs like a French Pastry Chef!

Imagine walking into a Paris pastry shop: rows of golden éclairs, each one filled with silky cream and topped with a glossy glaze that shines under the glass display. The éclair is more than just a dessert; it’s a French icon.

A little history

The éclair has its origins in France in the mid-19th century, around 1850. It was refined and popularized by the legendary chef Antonin Carême, often considered the “king of chefs and chef of kings.” Carême perfected the art of choux pastry and elevated it with elegant fillings and glossy glazes.

The word “éclair” means “flash of lightning,” a playful reference to the speed with which this delicate pastry is eaten ⚡. Over the decades, the éclair has become a true symbol of French pâtisserie, elegant, refined, and irresistibly delicious.

Today, you’ll find éclairs in every corner of France, from small neighborhood bakeries to the most prestigious Parisian pastry houses. While pastry chefs around the world now create endless variations, the classic chocolate éclair remains the most iconic and beloved.

With this recipe, we share the essential secrets of French pastry so that you can bake éclairs at home that look and taste as if they came straight from Paris.

Makes 8 éclairs

Prep time: 90 minutes | Baking time: 40–50 minutes

Equipment

• 1 stiff spatula
• 1 saucepan
• 1 large + 1 medium mixing bowl
• Plastic wrap
• Stand mixer
• Parchment paper
• Rolling pin
• 2 piping bags (1 fluted tip ½ in, 1 plain tip ⅓ in)
• 1 baking sheet 12×16 in (lined with parchment paper)

Ingredients

For the Craquelin

• 50 g T55 flour (1/3 cup + 1 tbsp)
• 50 g brown sugar (1/4 cup)
• 45 g butter (3 tbsp)

For the Choux Pastry

• 125 g water or half milk / half water (½ cup)
• 3 g salt (½ tsp)
• 50 g butter (3½ tbsp)
• 75 g all-purpose flour (½ cup + 1 tbsp)
• 100–125 g eggs, room temperature (2 to 2½ large eggs, lightly beaten)

For the Chocolate Pastry Cream

• 250 g whole milk (1 cup)
• 40 g egg yolks (2 large yolks)
• 50 g sugar (1/4 cup)
• 22 g cornstarch (2½ tbsp)
• 75 g dark chocolate, 65% cocoa (2.6 oz, ~⅓ cup chopped)

For the Chocolate Glaze

• 250 g white fondant (~1 cup)
• ~265 g 60% Brix syrup (1 cup + 1 tbsp)
• 5–15 g unsweetened cocoa powder (2–6 tsp)

Instructions

Craquelin:

• Place the butter, flour, and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
• Mix on low speed, then increase to medium until a compact dough forms.
• Roll out between two sheets of parchment paper to 1 mm (0.04 in) thick.
• Freeze for at least 15 minutes. Cut rectangles to match the éclairs later.

Preheat oven:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

The panade:

• Bring water, salt, and butter to a gentle boil in a saucepan, ensuring butter is fully melted.
• Remove from heat, add flour all at once, and stir vigorously.
• Return to medium heat and stir for 20–60 seconds until the dough pulls away from the pan.
• Transfer to a mixing bowl and stir to release steam.

Choux pastry:

• Lightly beat the eggs and add gradually to the panade, mixing well each time.
• The dough is ready when smooth, shiny, and forms a ribbon that breaks cleanly.
• You may not need all the eggs.

Piping:

• Pipe éclairs ½ × 5 in (1.2 × 13 cm) onto parchment-lined trays.
• Place one rectangle of frozen craquelin on top of each éclair.

Baking:

• Bake at 350°F (fan oven) for about 40 minutes. Do not open the oven during baking.
• Shells are ready when golden, firm, and hollow-sounding underneath.

Chocolate pastry cream:

• Heat the milk without boiling.
• Whisk yolks and sugar until pale, then add cornstarch.
• Temper with one-third of the hot milk, then return everything to the saucepan.
• Whisk constantly until thickened, then let bubble 1 minute (pasteurization).
• Stir in chocolate until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface and chill quickly before refrigerating 3 hours.

Filling:

• Whip the chilled pastry cream until smooth.
• Make 3 small holes in the bottom of each éclair and pipe in the cream.
• Chill before glazing.

Glazing:

• Warm the fondant gently in a bain-marie to 95–98°F (35–37°C).
• Add cocoa powder for color and Brix syrup to adjust consistency.
• Glaze éclairs with a spatula or dip them delicately for a shiny finish.

Tips ✨

📏 Always weigh ingredients for precision.

🍫 Choose good quality baking chocolate. I personally love dark chocolate over 65% cocoa for its depth of flavor, but you can choose what best suits your taste, semi-sweet (around 55–60%) will give a milder, sweeter result.

🍫 For the US market, recommended brands include Valrhona, Callebaut, and Guittard. These can be found online or in specialty baking stores.

🍥 For the glaze, use white pouring fondant (not rolled fondant). In the US, look for brands like Edde: Edde White Poured Fondant (glucose, sugar, water), that you can find in specialty pastry suppliers stores. These are the ones used by professional bakers.

⏳ For crisp shells, bake the éclair shells the day before, then fill them on the day you serve for the perfect texture.

🌸 Flavor variation: you can easily make vanilla pastry cream by replacing the chocolate in the recipe with 1 split vanilla bean (scrape the seeds into the milk while heating). In this case, leave the fondant glaze white, or add a few drops of vanilla extract to tint it a soft ivory shade, echoing the flavor.