Chocolate Eclairs

With just a little bit of time, patience and ingredients you likely have in your pantry, you can make bakery-style Classic Chocolate Eclairs at home!

Chocolate eclairs have long been one of my favorite bakery treats. There’s just something about the crisp but light pastry shell, the rich and creamy pastry cream filling, and the decadent chocolate glaze. I love how it all but melts in your mouth.

Eclairs are a bit of a fancy treat, without being TOO rich and sweet. To me, classic chocolate eclairs are a dessert you can enjoy every morsel of, without feeling like you need a nap afterwards.

Chocolate eclairs are not the easiest dessert to make nor are they one you can whip together in under 30 minutes BUT they are simple! With a little bit of patience, there’s nothing stopping you from having your favorite bakery style chocolate eclair at home whenever the craving strikes.

What You’ll Need

There are three parts to making the perfect chocolate eclair – the choux pastry, the cream filling and the chocolate glaze. Since each part is prepared separately, I’ve included the ingredient list for each one.

For the Pastry

• Sugar – Just a pinch for a touch of sweetness.
• Butter – Unsalted works best, since we’ll be adding salt.
• Milk – Your preferred dairy milk.
• Water – The dough is made with equal parts water and milk.
• Flour – All purpose flour for baking.
• Eggs – 3 large eggs makes the dough juuust right.
• Vanilla – A splash for flavor, we’ll be adding more in the filling!
• Salt – Just a pinch!

For the Classic Cream Filling

• Milk – I use full fat dairy milk.
• Granulated sugar – Divided to be used in two different steps.
• Eggs – You’ll use one egg plus two yolks.
• Cornstarch – The thickening agent that holds it all together.
• Vanilla – You can use vanilla extract or vanilla bean flavoring.
• Butter – Helps provide the creamy texture.

For the Chocolate Glaze

• Bittersweet chocolate – Opt for a high quality melting chocolate.
• Butter – You’ll want your butter unsalted and softened, ready to mix into the chocolate.

How to Make Chocolate Eclairs

There are several parts to preparing these chocolate eclairs.

First is the classic choux pastry. This is the French pastry dough used to make many pastries, including the eclairs as well as cream puffs. Then we prepare the decadent vanilla cream filling and finally the chocolate glaze to top it all off.

Make the Classic Choux Pastry

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line baking sheet with parchment paper or with silicone baking mats.
2. Combine the sugar, butter, milk and water in a medium sauce pan. Bring the mixture to a small simmer.
3. Add the flour once the sugar and butter mixture have started to simmer, and mix continuously so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
4. Carefully transfer the dough to a stand mixer and with a paddle attachment and mix on low for 2-3 minutes. While the dough is mixing, start adding in the eggs one at a time. Make sure to allow the eggs to completely mix before adding in the next egg to the mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Once the eggs have been combined with the dough, add the vanilla and salt then mix the dough for an additional 2-3 minutes.
5. Transfer the dough to a piping bag for piping out the eclair pastry onto the prepared baking sheet. Add a medium sized round tip (I used a Wilton size 199). Pipe them about 5 inches long.
6. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until they start to turn golden brown and look glossy. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR DURING BAKING. This can ruin the eclairs.
7. Pierce an eclair with a toothpick and make sure they are hollow. If not hollow, bake for an additional 5 minutes.
8. Allow the pastry to cool before filling with cream.

You can use a hand mixer if you don’t have a stand mixer.

Make the Classic Cream Filling

1. Add the 2 cups of milk and 1/4 cup of granulated sugar to a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a simmer.
2. Whisk together the eggs in a large bowl. Add in the 1/3 cup sugar and cornstarch and mix until smooth. Add in the simmering hot milk and sugar to the bowl and continue to whisk while slowly combining the two.
3. Return the milk and egg mixture to the saucepan and slowly bring these to a rolling boil while continuously stirring with a wooden spoon. Once the mixture starts to boil and thicken, remove it from the heat. Stir in the vanilla and butter.
4. Pour the mixture into a heat safe container. (I used a glass measuring cup.) Use the plastic wrap to cover the cream by pushing the plastic down to touch the top of the cream so that when cooling a film doesn’t form on the top of the cream.
5. Place the covered bowl into the refrigerator and allow to cool before piping into the eclairs.

Make the Chocolate Glaze

1. Melt the chocolate in the microwave in a medium bowl.
2. Whisk in the butter until smooth.

Assemble the Chocolate Eclair

1. Make the cream first so that it has time to cool while you’re making the eclair pastry.
2. Allow the eclair pastry to fully cool before filling with the cream.
3. To fill the pastry, use a piping bag and piping tip or a pastry filling tool to fill the eclairs with cream. Transfer them to a wire rack.
4. Prep the chocolate glaze.
5. Dip the eclairs into the chocolate glaze and place on a plate to allow the glaze to cool before serving.
6. Store leftover eclairs in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Instead of dipping the eclairs in the glaze, you can spread homemade chocolate frosting on top.

Tips for Success

• Avoid opening the oven while the pastries are baking. If the steam escapes, you can end up with a soggy eclair.
• Take care to ensure the middle is not thicker than the ends when piping the dough. If anything, the ends should be just slightly bigger than the middle.
• The base of a perfect eclair is in the choux pastry dough so take your time when preparing it and follow the directions closely.
• Bake the pastry on a silpat mat instead of parchment paper.

Other Variations and Ideas

The recipe I shared today is the traditional eclair recipe you will find in most bakeries. Once you’ve perfected this, if you want to get creative with the filling, go for it! You can switch the vanilla cream filling to a chocolate cream or even use a lighter sweetened whipped cream filling too.

You can switch the chocolate glaze to vanilla, strawberry or even Nutella!

How to Store

You can store these chocolate eclairs at room temperature or in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Can I Freeze Eclairs?

You can freeze filled eclairs for a few days. Just defrost for an hour before eating.

However, they do tend to get a bit soggy when defrosting.

To freeze eclairs for any length of time, your best bet is to freeze unfilled eclairs. You can make the pastry, freeze it and then when you’re ready to enjoy, whipped up the cream filling and the glaze for a perfectly crispy, not soggy eclair.

Other Decadent Dessert Recipes:

• Lemon Cheesecake Bars
• Chocolate Macarons
• Flourless Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache
• Churros