Get ready to impress your friends with these indulgent chocolate mousse eclairs. They might just think you've graduated from pastry school.
Eclairs
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs
Chocolate Mousse Filling
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 ounce water
2 tablespoons butter (no substitutes)
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup whipping cream
Ganache Topping
3 tablespoons whipping cream
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
For Eclairs: Bring water, butter and salt to a boil over medium heat. Add flour. This will form a dough pretty quickly but continue to cook it for 3-4 minutes over medium low flame. If you don't cook it enough at this stage, then your shells will not puff up enough. Remove from heat and let cool almost down to room temp.
Add eggs one at a time, stirring well until completely incorporated after each egg. Chill.
When chilled, use a piping bag to pipe eclairs about 6 inches long and about 1 1/2 inches in diameter on a lightly greased parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F oven for about 35-45 minutes or longer depending upon your oven. You want to bake these until medium dark brown all over and well dried out in the center. Your eclair shells should not collapse when removed from the oven. Cool completely before filling with chocolate mousse.
For Filling: Whip your cream to soft peaks and chill in refrigerator. Melt chocolate with butter on low heat, stirring until smooth. Cool for 15 minutes.
In double boiler, whisk yolks, sugar and water. Cook and stir over boiling water until mixture reaches 170 degrees F. Remove from heat and whisk in the chocolate mixture.
Place saucepan in a bowl of ice water and stir constantly until chocolate cools to about room temperature. Fold in whipped cream.
For Ganache: Heat whipping cream in a small saucepan and add the chocolate chips, stirring until melted and smooth.
Use a spoon handle to poke holes in both ends of the eclair shells and move the handle around gently inside the shell to break up any walls that may have occurred while baking. This will make the shells much easier to fill.
Using a piping bag with a large round or star tip, fill the eclairs with the chocolate mousse, filling half of the eclair from each end. You can pipe the ganache topping onto the eclairs or just spread it on with a small spatula.
Chill until serving.
Dominque
Pumpkins aren't just for pies or Halloween decorations. These large, orange gourds - while naturally sweet - also work well in savory dishes. They pair well with poultry and pork (and especially bacon) and their creamy-when-cooked texture blends easily into soups.
What's the secret ingredient in these cakes? Pudding mix. It not only adds flavor but it gives the cake a richer, creamier texture. No one will know your secret ingredient!
The name, vodka, comes from the Russian phrase zhiznennaia voda, or "water of life". It can be made from everything from potatoes to beets. It's considered to be fairly flavorless which makes it a great liquor for mixed drinks.
reviews & comments
September 5, 2015
The real deal! Thank you!
July 18, 2006
These weren't actually that difficult, just a little time consuming, but worth the effort. I made them smaller bite size, as they are very rich. Much better in the smaller version.