Eclaire recipe with vanilla cream and whipped cream. First we prepare the ecler shells from scalded dough, also called pate a choux. For 18 medium eclairs:
• 120 g of butter 82% fat
• 120 g milk 1.5% fat
• 120 g water
• 170 g flour
• 4 g of salt
• 6-7 eggs size M
Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius, heat up and down, without fan.
In a saucepan add water, milk, salt and butter cut into small pieces, for easy melting. We put on high heat. We wait for it to boil, stirring sometimes, to melt the butter. When the liquid reaches the boiling point, add the flour, all at once. We didn't take the pot of fire. We continue cooking. Mix everything very well, until the flour paste becomes homogeneous, then cook for another minute.
In many recipes we are instructed to cook the dough until a flour crust forms on the bottom of the pan. It is explained that we have to do this to dry it and remove as much moisture as possible, so that it absorbs a lot of egg later. That is not the reason. We could add less water from the beginning, if we want to get a drier dough. The dough should be cooked at a temperature above 80 degrees to gelatinize the starch in the flour. Only then will he be able to absorb the amount of egg added later. If it is not cooked properly, it will not bind enough egg in the composition.
Transfer it to a large bowl and let it cool for 3-4 minutes. Using a hand mixer, incorporate the eggs one by one. We can put more than once, only at the end we have to be careful and dose a little, because the eggs are put according to how much the dough requires, and we don't have to go over the optimal amount, to make it too soft.
If after incorporating the 6 eggs, the dough is still very thick, beat an egg separately in a bowl, and gradually add it. When do we know it's enough? When the dough is not so soft as to flow from the spatula, but not too hard so that we cannot sprite it. If in doubt, it is better to leave it harder.
The dough is transferred to a large pos with serrated dui. If necessary, you can let it rest at room temperature for up to two hours before use; but to be sealed in pos, so that it does not dry out.
Prepare an oven tray, lined with baking paper, washed under running water (like a laundry). This step provides a little steam for the eclairs in the first part of baking, which will help them gain a little more volume. Form long eclairs in the pan.
Put in the preheated oven at 220 degrees Celsius. Lower the temperature to 190 degrees and bake for about 25-30 minutes. Then close the oven, and leave the eclairs in the oven off for about 15-20 minutes, to dry well. DO NOT open the oven door all this time. Proceed identically with the remaining dough. We obtain a total of 2 product trays, ie approximately 18 pieces of eclair.
While we are baking the eclairs we can prepare the vanilla cream. Ingredient:
• 1.1 l of milk 3.5% fat
• 8 yolks
• 180 g sugar
• 4 sachets of vanilla sugar (32 g)
• 100 g cornstarch
In a bowl mix well the yolks, sugar, vanilla sugar, starch and a little milk, ~ 50 ml.
Put the rest of the milk in a saucepan to boil. When it boils, quickly pour the mixture prepared earlier. The yolks will not coagulate because they have been mixed before with starch and sugar. From this moment, stir continuously until the cream thickens.
After that, we don't stop immediately. Keep it on the fire for another two minutes, stirring constantly, to make sure we have cooked all the right starch, but especially because the egg yolk contains amylase, an enzyme that must be completely destroyed by boiling, otherwise it will attack the starch in the cream and a will make the liquid.
Transfer to a bowl, put a stretch film right on the surface of the cream so as not to make a pudding, and let it cool. When we want to use it, we mix the cream again with a hand mixer, to make it creamy, then we transfer it to a pos with two stars.
For whipped cream we need:
- 600 ml of whipped cream, very cold with at least 35% fat
- 60 g vanilla powdered sugar
I mix cream for whipped cream. As soon as it starts to take on consistency, add 60 g of vanilla powdered sugar. We continue mixing, until the whipped cream maintains its shape given by the mixer blades. It is transferred to a pos with two stars. Store in the refrigerator until use.
Cut the eclairs in half, fill with vanilla cream and whipped cream. It is recommended to keep them in the refrigerator for at least a few hours before consumption. Then decorate with vanilla powdered sugar. Good appetite!