Mocha Éclairs
Source of Recipe
From "The Gourmet Cookbook"
List of Ingredients
- -- For Éclairs --
- ½ stick (4 Tbsp) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- ½ cup water
- 1/8 tsp salt
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 large eggs
- .
- -- For Glaze --
- 3 Tbsp heavy cream
- 1 ounce good bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
- .
- Mocha Mousse Filling (recipe follows)
Instructions
- Make the Éclairs:
Put a rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 425° F. Butter a large baking sheet.
Combine butter, water and salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until butter is melted. Reduce heat to moderate. Add flour all at once and cook, beating with a wooden spoon, until mixture pulls away from sides of pan and forms a ball, about 15 seconds. Transfer mixture to a bowl and let cool slightly. With an electric mixer at high speed, beat in 2 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Lightly beat remaining egg in a small bowl and add 1 tablespoon beaten egg to batter. Batter should be stiff enough to just fall from spoon; add a little more egg, if necessary.
- Spoon batter into pastry bag fitted with ¾-inch tip and pipe eight 5-inch-long strips, about 1 inch wide, onto buttered baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400° and continue to bake until éclairs are golden brown, puffed and crisp, about 15 minutes more. Pierce side of each éclair with tip of a sharp knife and return éclairs to oven, propping door slightly ajar, for 5 minutes. Cool éclairs on a rack.
- Make the glaze:
Bring cream just to a boil in a small saucepan. Put chocolate in a bowl, pour 2 tablespoons hot cream over it, and stir until smooth. If necessary, add enough of the remaining cream to form a thick, but pourable, glaze.
- Assemble the Éclairs:
Make 2 holes in bottom of each éclair at each end with a chopstick. Transfer Mocha Mousse filling to cleaned pastry bag fitted with a 3/8-inch plain tip and pipe filling into éclairs through holes. Spread glaze over tops of éclairs with a small spatula. Refrigerate, uncovered, for 1 hour to set glaze.
Makes 8 éclairs.
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MOCHA MOUSSE FILLING
• 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp whole milk
• 3 Tbsp cornstarch
• Pinch of salt
• 3 large egg yolks
• 4½ Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp instant espresso powder
• 1½ ounces good bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1½ Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• ¾ tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ cup very cold heavy cream
Whisk together ¼ cup milk, cornstarch, salt and yolks in a medium bowl until smooth.
Combine sugar, espresso powder, and remaining ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons milk in a 1-quart heavy saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring, over moderate heat. Add to yolk mixture in a slow stream, whisking. Return mixture to saucepan and bring to a boil, whisking constantly; then boil, whisking, for 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl and whisk in chocolate, butter and vanilla until smooth. Cover surface of filling with wax paper and refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours.
Beat cream in a small bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed just until it holds soft peaks. Whisk one-quarter of cream into mocha filling to lighten it, then whisk in remaining cream.
Makes about 1¼ cups.
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