Vanilla-caramel eclairs

June 27, 2016

Vanilla-caramel eclairs

These are my first eclairs I've ever made, however I have made choux pastry before. I made my Mascarpone-vanilla and caramel and apple choux. The dough turned out really well and I was excited to make my first batch of eclairs.

I was especially inspired by a pastry chef named Christophe Adam, who's a genious when it comes to eclairs. He makes all kinds of different flavor and texture combinations and his eclairs look stunning.

For my first time I chose basic flavors such as vanilla and caramel. I also used a tested recipe for my vanilla-mascarpone cream, that I piped on top of my eclairs. I wanted the cream to be set and not runny. For the filling I made a delicious caramel with chopped hazelnuts.

The choux dough is simple to make but you have to be precise with your measurements. The flour must be cooked for a few minutes and the eggs must be added one at a time. The dough should be quite thick and glossy.

Vanilla-caramel eclairs

(Makes about 24)

Time:

Preparation: 30min

Cooking: 10min

Baking: 35min

For the choux pastry:

65g water
65g whole milk
60g butter
70g all-purpose flour
130g eggs
2,5g white granulated sugar
a pinch of salt

For the mascarpone cream:

100g mascarpone cheese
300g heavy cream
50g icing sugar
1 vanilla pod
3g gelatin sheets

For the caramel-hazelnut filling:

120g heavy cream
150g white granulated sugar
10g room temperature butter
a pinch of salt (to taste)
100g toasted hazelnuts (chopped)

Making choux pastry:

In a pot boil water, sugar, milk, salt and butter (cut in cubes) together. When the mixture boils, take off the heat and stir in the flour (all at once). Place back on medium heat and cook for 1-2 minutes, until the dough starts coming off the sides of the pot.

Place the dough in a bowl of your electric or hand held mixer and start mixing at low speed. Let the steam escape and the dough to cool a little. Start adding eggs one at a time. Mix and the dough should come together.

Preheat oven to 230°C (446°F). Transfer the dough in a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle. Pipe the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone mat. Pipe straight lines about 10cm long.

Take a fork and gently score the eclairs. This helps them spread in the oven without bursting.
Place them in the oven and turn the oven off, let the eclairs bake in the residual heat for 12 minutes.
Turn the oven back on to 160°C (320°F) and bake for 13 minutes or until golden brown. You can take one eclair out of the oven and test it if it's baked. If it's under-baked it will deflate and you can quickly put it back in the oven. After baking, leave them to cool completely.

Making the caramel filling:

Place the cream in a small sauce pan and heat until warm.

In a small pot heat the sugar until it melts completely and turns dark amber. Do not stir the sugar, simply shake the pan to melt the sugar evenly.

Remove the sugar from heat and pour in the cream slowly, while stirring constantly.

Stir in the butter and hazelnuts. Pour in the bowl and set aside to cool completely.

Making the vanilla-mascarpone cream:

Soak gelatin in cold water and set aside.

Combine mascarpone, icing sugar and 250g heavy cream, lightly whisk to combine. Pour 50g of heavy cream in a small sauce pan, add vanilla and heat until very hot. Squeeze water from gelatin and add to hot cream. Stir and pour in the mascarpone and cream mixture. Blend with immersion blender until smooth and set to cool in the fridge.