Chocolate Eclairs

This is the ultimate chocolate eclair recipe!

This is a perfect eclair recipe, filled with a luscious chocolate crème pâtissière, and topped with a chocolate glaze and chocolate crumble.

Ingredients

Add the leaf gelatin into a large bowl filled with cold water and let it soak for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, add the chopped chocolate to a tall jug and set aside.
Into a medium saucepan add the water, cocoa powder, sugar and glucose syrup. Bring this the boil, whisking occasionally.
Once boiling, remove it from the heat, and stir in the condensed milk. Squeeze the excess water from the gelatin and add this in too.
Whisk it all to combine to ensure the gelatin has dissolved, then pour this over the chocolate.
Use a hand blender to blend until smooth, trying to avoid adding any air bubbles into the mixture - a Bamix hand blender is best for this.
Pour the glaze into a bowl and refrigerate it overnight.

The next day, start with the crème pâtissière. Add the whole milk to a medium saucepan and place it over a medium heat.
Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, salt and cornstarch/cornflour. Whisk for 30 seconds until combined.
Once the milk is steaming, slowly pour this over the egg mixture, whisking constantly.
Pour the mixture back into the pan and cook it over a medium-low heat whisking constantly. Once it starts to thicken and bubble, cook for a further minute.
Pass the mixture through a sieve, on top of a bowl that has the finely chopped chocolate and butter. Let it sit for 2 minutes before whisking together (or even better, use a hand blender). Once completely combined and there are no lumps of unmelted chocolate, cover the surface directly with cling film and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
In the meantime, start the choux pastry.

Pre-heat the oven to 160C/320F Non-Fan Assisted.
Add all the ingredients into a medium bowl and use your fingers to rub the cubed butter into the dry ingredients. Keep working it in until you can squeeze the mixture together to form a dough. Break the dough up into small crumble pieces, spread it out evenly onto a lined baking tray and into the freezer for 10 minutes.
Place the crumble into the oven for 11 minutes then remove to cool to room temperature.
Once cooled, toss the crumble in a very small amount of cocoa powder just to coat it slightly and give it a dusted cocoa effect.

Remove the chilled crème pâtissière from the fridge and use a hand whisk to whisk it up until it is smooth - about 30 seconds. Add it into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip nozzle.
Create 3 small holes on the underside of the eclairs and pipe the creme patissiere into the holes, until it the eclair feels heavy and full. Wipe away any excess crème pâtissière that might flow out. Place the eclairs onto a tray and keep them in the fridge..
Remove the chocolate glaze from the fridge, and place the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water. Stir it together until it has completely melted..
Pour into a tall jug and blend again to remove any air bubbles. Stir it occasionally to prevent a skin from forming until it cools to 45-50C. Then pour it into a small container to dip the eclairs.
Remove the eclairs from the fridge as soon as the glaze is at temperature, and dunk the smooth top of the eclair into the glaze and then lift it up, letting the excess drip off. Use your finger to press off any excess, then quickly flip it over and set it to one side to set.
Try dipping your first eclair around 50C and if it seems too runny, then allow it to cool further before dipping the next
Once you have dipped the eclairs, top with some of the crumble.
These are best served the same day so that the choux pastry is fresh.

Recipe from Matt Adlard