France is a country where many popular desserts were created. A delicious French culinary masterpiece, which is top in many cafes during the holiday, is an eclair. The word is translated from French as "lightning". Eclairs are prepared from airy custard dough, filled with various creams. The classic version of cream is custard. There are various variations of fillings for cakes - fruit, berry, chocolate, praline and others.
Eclairs are not just an exquisite delicacy of French cuisine; they are a symbol of culinary art, able to decorate any table. These elegant custard pastry products, filled with delicate cream and covered with glaze, have won the hearts of gourmets all over the world. It is believed that making perfect eclairs takes years of training and experience, but we want to dispel that myth. In our article, we will show that anyone who has the desire and a small set of ingredients can make eclairs at home.
Despite the seeming complexity, the basis of success lies in following a few simple rules and secrets that we will share with you. From the classic recipe for eclairs to various fillings and creams, we will cover everything you need to know to create small masterpieces at home. The purpose of this article is to prove that everyone can enjoy the process and result of making eclairs, turning an ordinary day into a feast of taste and sophistication.
So, if you've ever dreamed of diving into the world of baking, but didn't know where to start, our article will be your reliable assistant. Discover the joy of making eclairs at home - a simple and exciting process that can bring a lot of pleasure and pride from self-created culinary masterpieces.
A brief history of eclairs
It is quite easy to prepare eclairs, the dough from which the dessert is prepared was invented more than five hundred years ago. It is believed that the dough was created by the cook of Catherine de Medici. But the classic recipe for eclairs was invented by the famous chef Marie-Antoine Carem back in the seventeenth century. The "Master of Cakes" changed the recipe of the popular at that time "Duchess" cake. From the beginning of its existence, the famous French dessert was called "Duchess Bread" or "Little Duchess".
Interesting fact: "Eclairs are called differently in each country." For example, in Argentina - "Jacob's staff", in Germany - "Coffee bar" or "Hare's foot", in the USA eclairs are called oblong donuts.
Eclairs gained the greatest fame in the nineteenth century, when recipes for preparing eclairs began to be printed in cookbooks. Cafes and bistros quickly added popular treats to their standard menu. Today, you can buy any cakes in a store, supermarket or pastry shop, and you can also make eclairs at home.
Recipes for eclairs, what you need to know
A simple recipe for eclairs (at home) involves the preparation of custard dough and cream. At first glance, in order to prepare the dough for a French delicacy (éclairs, profiteroles, custard cakes) you need to make some effort, but you can learn how to cook them quite easily.
How to make eclairs, ingredients for the dough
one glass of flour;
100 grams of butter;
five eggs;
¼ teaspoon of salt;
one glass of water;
For classic cream
2 tablespoons of flour;
4 eggs;
1 cup of sugar;
100 grams of butter;
vanilla sugar;
half a liter of milk;
How to make eclairs is very simple. First, we take a convenient capacity and mix water, salt and oil, secondly, we put everything on fire and bring to a boil. Then add flour. The mixture should be cooled to a temperature of 60-70 degrees, then add the eggs, mixing everything thoroughly.
WARNING! In order for the dough for eclairs to be successful, you need to add eggs one at a time (not all at once). Bake the finished dough for 30-40 minutes at a temperature of 180 degrees.
Top eclair recipes
Eclairs with custard, dough
a glass of water;
a glass of flour;
butter 100 g;
chicken eggs - 4 pcs.;
salt;
The recipe for eclairs with custard cream is almost a classic of the varieties of this dessert.
Custard for eclairs
a glass of milk + ¾ cup;
two eggs;
two tablespoons of flour;
sugar - a glass;
two teaspoons of butter;
vanillin;
You can find a recipe for custard dough for eclairs on the Internet and choose the appropriate option for yourself. Creams for eclairs can vary, as an option there are also eclairs with protein cream.
Recipe for eclairs with protein cream, ingredients
200 grams of sugar;
four proteins;
⅙ teaspoon of citric acid;
vanillin;
The dough in this version of the cakes is unchanged. Protein cream for eclairs is a taste of childhood, reminiscent of warm family evenings.
Eclairs with condensed milk, for the dough
125 g of milk;
125 g of water;
150 g of flour;
100 g of butter (butter);
sugar ½ teaspoon;
salt ¼ tsp;
4 eggs;
Cream
can of condensed boiled milk - 380 g;
condensed milk - two tablespoons;
two hundred grams of butter;
The dough is prepared according to the classic recipe, the cream is made by whipping two types of milk (condensed) with butter to a homogeneous lush mass and you can fill the cakes. Eclairs with condensed milk are loved by all sweet tooths.
Eclairs with butter cream
butter - 400 g;
water - 200 g;
300 g of sugar;
vanillin;
The method of preparation is to boil sugar syrup, then beat butter and syrup at the same temperature to a homogeneous mass. Butter cream for eclairs has a fairly high fat content, it is suitable for filling profiteroles.
Eclairs with cheese filling, cream recipe
cheese 200 grams;
powdered sugar one glass;
cream (at least 33%) or fatty sour cream;
vanilla;
Eclairs with cream cheese are a dessert that you will have to tinker with, but the taste is worth the time spent. Cream cheese for eclairs: how to make it: grind the cheese by adding sugar, add cream or sour cream, beat everything thoroughly. The mass should be tender and airy. You can choose fillings for eclairs according to your own desire and taste.
You can also decorate French pastries at your discretion - chocolate or protein glaze, various sprinkles (powdered sugar, confectionery sparkles, etc.), creams.
