Cream éclairs with whipped cream

Cream éclairs with whipped cream are a classic of French patisserie. Here’s how to prepare cream éclairs enriched with a touch of whipped cream for a light and tempting finish. Before you start, make sure to put the cream in the fridge so that it’s very cold when you need to whip it.

Ingredients

• For the choux pastry:

  • 125 ml of water
  • 50 g of butter
  • A pinch of salt
  • 1 teaspoon of sugar
  • 75 g of flour
  • 2 large eggs

• For the custard:

  • 250 ml of milk
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 50 g of sugar
  • 20 g of flour
  • 1 vanilla pod (or vanilla extract)

• For the whipped cream:

  • 200 ml of fresh cream to whip
  • 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar

Preparation

1. Start with the choux pastry: in a saucepan, bring the water to a boil with butter, salt, and sugar. Remove from the heat and add all the flour at once, stirring with a wooden spoon until the dough comes away from the sides of the saucepan.
2. Transfer the dough to a bowl and let it cool down. Incorporate the eggs one at a time, working them with an electric mixer or a wooden spoon until the dough is smooth and homogenous.
3. Prepare the custard: heat the milk with the vanilla pod slit to release its seeds. In a bowl, whisk the yolks with the sugar until they are frothy, then add the flour and mix well. Pour the hot milk, after removing the pod, straining it, and stirring continuously. Return the mixture to the heat and cook, stirring, until it thickens. Let it cool completely, covering it with cling film touching the surface to prevent a skin from forming.
4. Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Put the choux pastry dough into a piping bag with a smooth nozzle and form éclairs on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes or until golden.
5. Once cooled, slice the éclairs in half and fill them with custard. Whip the cream with the powdered sugar and use a piping bag to decorate the top of the éclairs with whipped cream.

An Italian touch: if you want to add an Italian touch, you could flavor the custard with orange or lemon zest, to bring a bit of Mediterranean flair to your dessert.

Curiosity

Éclairs are a dessert originating from France, whose name means “lightning” in French, perhaps because of their characteristic elongated shape or because they are “eaten in a flash” due to their deliciousness.