You haven’t enjoyed an Eclair until you’ve tried a fresh homemade eclair filled to the brim with pastry cream and topped with chocolate ganache. Watch the video tutorial, and you will master these French eclairs in no time.
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Classic Eclairs Recipe
Learn how to make classic and easy “choux pastry” dough (the same pastry used for Cream Puffs as well as Churros and even Zeppole Italian Donuts) and a decadent homemade vanilla bean pastry cream that will have you licking the spoon and the bowl.
Eclairs are best eaten the day they are made, but I do love that they can be fully assembled a day ahead.
Video: How to Make Eclairs
I’ll show you how to make the easy dough (don’t worry, it only sounds fancy, but it’s actually simple to make), the custard filling, and the easy chocolate ganache to give your eclairs that classic French look and taste.
Also, I’m so embarrassed that (due to my occasionally shaky hands), my eclairs looked mildly inappropriate when piped. I only realized it after the fact and I couldn’t stop laughing. And for those of you who never would have noticed otherwise, I am doubly embarrassed!
Tools for Making Eclairs
- Large Piping Bag – reuseable or disposable works fine.
- 1/2″ round piping tip or a 16mm open star tip – you need a large tip to pipe the eclair dough into strips.
- Baking Sheet – a half sheet works great
- Silicone Liner or Parchment Paper
- Bismarck tip (or a small sharp tip like Ateco #16 or #352) – you could use a number of tips to pipe the frosting into the eclair.
Tips for Making Pastry Cream
Pastry cream relies on corn starch and egg yolks to thicken and the end result is incredibly smooth – like a decadent vanilla pudding. Mixing the softened butter is the secret to the amazing texture – don’t skip it!
- Pastry cream can be made 3 days ahead which is perfect for holiday entertaining.
- If making ahead, cover the surface directly with a sheet of plastic wrap so it doesn’t form a film.
- You can substitute the real vanilla bean for vanilla extract. I love seeing those little vanilla flecks in the eclairs (see recipe notes)
Pro Tip:
Pastry Cream will thicken as it cools and to loosen it up for piping, whisk until smooth.
What is Choux Pastry?
Choux dough is a classic pastry made with super simple ingredients (milk, water, eggs, flour, butter, sugar and salt). The key is to continue mixing the dough in the saucepan to release excess moisture until a thin film forms on the bottom of the pan. Choux pastry is a soft dough that gets piped onto a baking sheet.
Getting the baking temperature right is the key to success. Starting the oven at 425˚F allows the pastry to rise beautifully, creating a hollow center for the filling. Choux pastry is then baked at a lower temperature to dry out the center.
Make-Ahead
- Eclair Shells – can be baked a day ahead and stored covered at room temperature for up to 2 days. Shells can also be frozen in an airtight conatiner up to a month then thawed at room temp for 30 minutes. To re-crisp shells, bake thawed shwells at 300˚F for 5-10 minutes then cool completely before filling.
- Filling (Pasty Cream) – can be made a day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap directly over the surface and refrigerate. Re-whisk before piping.
- Glaze – I find it’s best to make the glaze when assembling the eclairs since you’ll need to reheat it to loosen it up again which won’t save you any time.
How to Store Eclairs
Filled Eclairs are best enjoyed fresh or eaten the day of assembling since they will start to soften once you pipe the cream in and add the glaze, but you can store in the refrigerator in an airtght container for up to a day.
More French Desserts and Pastries
My husband and I were able to visit France this year, and we spent a fair amount of time visiting the boulangerie (bakeries that sell bread) and pâtisseries (that sell sweet treats), where we sampled the best French pastries and baked goods. It’s such a treat to recreate our favorites that remind me of our time in Paris.
- Homemade Croissants – I finally nailed it!
- Cherry Clafoutis – breakfast or dessert
- Easy Crepes – our go-to crepes
- Fruit Tart – with the best crust
- Peach Galette – the easiest ‘pie’
- Chocolate Souffle – restaurant copycat
- Easy Almond Croissants – French bakery copycat
- Raspberry Macarons – filled with raspberry cream
Now go forth and conquer homemade eclairs!
Classic Eclair Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients for Choux Pastry:
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs
Ingredients for Pastry Cream:
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped, (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup corn starch
- 1 pinch salt
- 4 large egg yolks
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
For the Chocolate Glaze:
- 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips, *
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
How to Make Choux Pastry
- In a Medium saucepan, combine 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup milk, 8 Tbsp butter, 1 tsp sugar and 1/4 tsp salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat then remove from heat and stir in 1 cup flour all at once with a wooden spoon.
- One flour is incorporated, place back over medium heat about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes stirring constantly (to release extra moisture and partially cook flour), or until dough comes together into a smooth ball and a thin film forms on bottom of pan.
- Transfer to a large mixing bowl and beat using an electric hand mixer on medium speed for 1 minute to cool the mixture slightly. Add 4 eggs, 1 at a time, allowing each egg to fully incorporate between additions. Beat until dough is smooth and forms a thick ribbon when pulled up.
- Pipe eclairs over baking sheet lined with silicone using a 1/2” round tip. Pipe 18-20 (4” long and 3/4” wide) strips, keeping them 1 1/2″ apart.
- Bake at 425˚F for 10 minutes. Without opening oven, reduce temp to 325˚F and, bake 30 minutes longer or until golden brown. Transfer to wire rack to cool while making pastry cream.
How to Make Pastry Cream:
- In a medium saucepan bring 2 cups milk, vanilla bean and scraped seeds just to a boil, stirring to prevent film from forming.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup corn starch and pinch of salt. Add 4 egg yolks and whisk until smooth, creamy and lightened in color – it takes a couple of minutes but it will get there.
- Gradually (so the eggs don’t curdle), while whisking constantly, add hot milk in a steady stream until all of it is incorporated. Pour mixture back into saucepan and bring to a boil while whisking constantly then whisk another 30 seconds until mixture is thick and pudding-like in consistency.
- Transfer pastry cream to a medium bowl (whisk in 2 tsp vanilla extract if using). Cut butter into pieces and quickly whisk into the custard until fully incorporated Cover with plastic directly over the surface of the cream, let it cool slightly then refrigerate 30 minutes or until cool.
- With a small pastry tip, poke 2-3 holes through the bottom of each cooled pastry. Pipe cream inside, scraping off excess. Refrigerate eclairs while making chocolate glaze.
How to Make Chocolate Glaze:
- Place 4 oz of chocolate chips into a small heat-safe bowl.
- Heat 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (in a saucepan or microwave) until it is just at a simmer then remove from heat and pour over chocolate chips. Let rest 2 minutes then whisk from the center outwards until smooth sauce forms.
- Dip the top half of filled and chilled eclairs into the chocolate sauce, allowing excess to drip off.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Hi Natasha! I tried your recipe and they were really good. But I have a question: mine didn’t get very big. Can you tell me what I’m doing wrong? They were small and cute but I wished I could put more of this cream inside! Thank you! And by the way I love your recipes!! My family knows you as “my friend Natasha”.
Hi Rosario! Were you possibly using a smaller tip to pipe them? Also, did you make any changed to the recipe?
Ok, I watched your video again and you are probably right. They were not 3/4″ wide. I will try again. Thanks Natasha!
Natasha!!! I can’t believe they came out so perfect!!! Should I open a bakery now???:))))
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review 🙂
Hi Natasha,
I always use your recipes and they always turn to be so simple and delicious in the way you demonstrate them. I already use many of them on daily basis. However, I had a problem with éclairs. I preheated at exactly the same temperature u mentioned, but after five minutes I saw they were burning, then I reduced temperature to 325F but I had to take them out from oven not after 25 minutes, but after 15, as they were dark golden brown already, but most of eclairs immediately went flat and they were burnt underneath:(. Do you think it’s temperature issue with my oven? As the rest seemed to be ideal. Thanks!
Hi Madlen, it definitely sounds like it could be related to oven temperature issues. I have tested these at 325 and even at 350 and they did not burn. Also, make sure you are not using a convection setting which will bake faster (you would need to reduce the oven temp by 25 degrees normally if using convection and I haven’t tested these in convection to say if any other modifications need to be made or if they would rise properly). I hope that helps! You might try an in-oven thermometer to see if your oven is putting out too much heat.
Looks so sweet!! What a coincidence that I’m planning to make some batch of classic eclair. Honestly I haven’t made them before but I really love how simple and delicate they are!
– Natalie
I hope this recipe helps you when you plan to make them!
Omg wow saw that you have an eclair recipe and wow it looks really mad easy definitely wanna make these sometime soon I’ve always wanted to make homemade eclairs just finished watching the video thanx so much hope to make them tomorrow or whenever you totally slayed babe
My pleasure!! Thank you for the great feedback! I hope you get to try these Eclairs soon!
I made these today & they were excellent! Thank you for sharing rhis recipe.
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it
These looks so good! You made it look so easy and fun to make. Well done Natasha! 🙂
You’re so nice! Thank you Dina!
Hello! For the Eclair recipe, do you have a recipe for the cream that is more of a whip cream than custard?
I think the custard really elevates this recipe but if a more whipped options is desired I may recommend trying this cream recipe here. I hope you love it! 🙂
I was wondering, could you freeze these? Thanks!
I haven’t tried since in my research, I read that it’s best not to freeze eclairs.
Hi Natasha, do you have a weight measurement for the 8 tablespoons of butter please? Also I was wondering if the pastry cream oozes out from the bottom when you bite into them?
Hi Marisa. If you click on the Metric option for measurements within the print version you will see the weight measurements of “118.29 g unsalted butter” I hope that helps!
This makes me Happy and Sad Eclairs were my Mom’s Favorite I would have loved to make these for her 🙁 but I am gonna make them and just think about her❤
I’m so sorry for your loss Linda! I hope you get to make these soon and enjoy happy memories while making them!
Thank you so much for posting this recipe! This makes quite a few, which is nice for a crowd. And I assume you can pipe smaller portions to make cream puffs as well 👍
This recipe does make quite a few so it is perfect for a crowd indeed!
Video help me alot to understand better and i got some ideas of cutting foods 😛
Thank’s for the great work keep it up i will follow all of your new upcoming recipes videos
You’re so welcome! Thank you for the great reveiw!
Hi Natasha, can I use parchment paper instead of the sheets you use? Thanks 🙂
Hi Irina, yes! Parchment paper works great for making eclairs. I hope you love the recipe!
Hi there,
Don’t worry about the sideways piping of the eclairs. I’ve made them for years and they always turn out that way. Blessings 🙂
lol. I was so embarrassed about my piping and shaky hands and honestly laughing up a storm about it. Cooking can be hilarious at times. Thanks Ana!!
How much of a difference is there in using real vanilla bean vs vanilla extract? Because the real vanilla looks and sounds super yummy but they are pretty pricey:/
I’d say the difference is noticeable but you can substitute with vanilla extract. We have this note in the recipe: “1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)”
can any part of the Eclairs be made in advance?
Thank you for most excellent recipes!
The shells can be made in advance but they are best fresh!
Thank you sooooo much for posting this video!! I have always wanted to make eclairs but everyone makes them seem like their so complicated to make. Thank you for making this so simple and easy to understand!! I am going to make them tomorrow as soon as possible. 🙂
I can’t to hear how you like this recipe! Thank you for The wonderful review!
all i can say is delicious so creamy and fluffy i will make this at every meal Natasha i don’t even know what to say but i love your work your pretty face and attitude if everyone was like this in the world i promise that this world will be much better!
Luv’ ya Girl 😘😘😘
You are so kind! Thank you so much for the wonderful review and amazing feedback!
Looks delicious as I love eclairs, but this makes too many for lil ol me. I hope your husband & kids didn’t eat them all.
The video was on twitter as a live stream, but is wasn’t “live.” oops.
I can’t rate the recipe as I mentioned this makes too many for me.
We most definitely shared these! Thanks for watching our video!
I halved the recipe and made 8 perfect eclairs!