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,
Can the shells be made in advance and frozen?
Hi Murphy, yes, you can make the Choux Pastry Dough ahead, just cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Pastry cream can be made 1-3 days ahead also. You can store it also in an airtight container.
Hey Natasha, I was wondering if I could use salted butter for the pastry and not add the salt the recipe requires?
Hi Julia, we prefer it with unsalted butter, but it may still work with salted. I haven’t tested that, but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
I made these but for some reason they weren’t cooked on the inside it was just dough. I continued baking them for along time after, checking every once in a while but they inside remained raw while the outside kept getting darker. Any way I could prevent this happening in the future and any guesses why this happened?
Hi Zoey, I haven’t experienced that with this recipe, but it’s also hard to say what went wrong without being there. I would start by making sure your oven is calibrated to the correct temperature. Also, I recommend making sure there were no ingredient substitutions and no process changes. Baking is such a science, and the slightest adjustment can impact the outcome.
thank you so much for sharing with us these wonderful eclairs it s was so helpful for me, I made this one, how its look like?
eclair recipe
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Farid!
I love this recipe! As someone who had never made eclairs before, they turned out far better than I was expecting! I want to make them the night before I serve them. How should I store them? Airtight container? In the fridge? Also, should I assemble them the night before or right before I serve them?
Thanks!
I’m glad you loved it, Avi! You can make the Choux Pastry Dough ahead, just cover and refrigerate up to 3 days. Pastry cream can be made 1-3 days ahead also. You can store it also in an airtight container.
Hello 😉
Every recipes have the 1 cup with something, is it 250g?
Thanks for the help 😉
Hello Anne, feel free to use this Ingredient Weight Chart as a guide.
Absolutely delicious! It was my first time making eclairs, and they turned out perfect, especially the cream, I could eat it with a spoon (:
It really is that good! I’m so glad this turned out perfectly for you!
Watching her make and eat her recipe reminds me of myself when it comes together. My customers are the same I love to watch them eat and roll their eyes and yes they roll their eyes. It is so satisfying.
That is so true, definitely worth it!
Hi Natasha,
These look delicious. I want to make them tomorrow. Can I use parchment paper instead of the mat?
Hi Kavanah, yes, the parchment paper will work well.
Hi Natasha. I’m in the middle of making your eclair recipe. I found out how one reviews burnt. I used one pan with a mat and the other with parchment. The parchment one is the one that burned. Thanks for the recipe. Hopefully the rest will turn out.
I’m glad you’re giving this recipe a try, Linda! Bummer that it burned, but I thank you for sharing that with me and our readers!
I made these tonight, first the pastry shells did not rise well. Second because of the fact I had no piping bags n tips I tried to use a plastic baggie, that only filled one side of each shell so I resorted to cutting them in half, amd used a knife to “open” the inside of the shells. This made it easier to fill with no hard tip to insert and aid me so I’ll take responsibility for that.
The chocolate was very thin, probably should have added more chips to thicken it but it wasn’t clear while hot if it would thicken enough. They tasted very good, looked sloppy, and this is many steps for me..I normally do not bake and it seemed like it took forever with multiple dirty bowls and pans to tend to after. Although good tasting and so fresh I don’t think i would do it again, not when theres a bakery 4 minutes from my house.
Hi Kristen, having the right tools (i.e the piping bag and piping tip) definitely makes it easier to pipe the correct size. If the eclairs are too thin or too thick, they won’t rise properly in the oven which would make them difficult to fill. Also, check out our post on how to measure. I suspect something was off in the balance of chocolate to cream. Also, make sure to use heavy whipping cream.
Hello Natasha,
We love your eclairs! This time I did a bit too many and I wonder if they can be frozen. Thank you!
Glad you love it! Filled and glazed eclairs can last for up to 4 days in the freezer (maybe even longer, but the eclairs will continue to lose freshness with time). I haven’t tried this, but I read that it’s best not to freeze eclairs.
they lose the wonderful texture with freezing. still taste good though
Can we make mini eclairs with this recipe? Advice on cooking time?
Hi Deb, I haven’t tried making mini eclairs yet to advise of the cooking time. If you do an experiment, please share with us how it goes.
Hi Deb, we did this with ours and went to 410 on the temp for the first bake and then lowered to 325, but only baked for 25 mins – could have even done 20 mins
this was for 1/2″ by 2″-2 1/2″ minis
I made the eclaire according to the recipe minus the chocolate coating. It was good, but the custard was too solid. It was not hard, more like jelly. Not sure if there was too much corn starch in the recipe or if I cooked the custard for too long. Other than that it was very good. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Hi Meow, the culprit is usually cooking it for longer than needed. I’m glad you enjoyed it otherwise! I hope you give this another try soon!
Hey Natasha,
I tried this recipe twice and the puffs flatter in the two times.
I follow the exact measurements accept the eggs as I do get the thick ribbon after the 2nd or 3rd egg so I stopped putting eggs.
The 2nd time when I did the recipe I put the 3rd egg and the dough was watery.
What do you recommend, what should I do?
Hi Margret, my best advice would be to make the recipe exactly as written before making any changes. Make sure you are using the same size eggs and measuring ingredients correctly.
I got sent your recipe a year ago only tried it this year and it’s been a success every time. My family and friends have elevated me to rock star level all thanks to you. Appreciate your excellent recipes and tutorials.
That’s wonderful! Keep up the great work and thanks for sharing your review with us;
Hello, I can’t seem to find the video of you making them?
Would you add the vanilla extra when your heating the milk or after when your adding the butter? Because I don’t have vanilla beans
Hi Hannah, please see step #4 in the recipe where I wrote: “Transfer pastry cream to a medium bowl (whisk in 2 tsp vanilla extract if using).”
Hi Hannah, when you scroll down the written recipe you’ll see the video there.
Once made do they require refrigeration ??
Hi Kerri, once they are filled with pastry cream, they should be refrigerated.
can I use milk for the ganache instead of heavy cream? and will adding butter do anything?
Hi Zara, I haven’t tested this with milk to advise on an outcome. One of our readers mentioned using 2% milk successfully. I hope this helps.
Great instructions! These were delicious–I got a ton of compliments– and here’s the kicker: I forgot to incorporate the butter into the pastry cream at the end. The pastry cream was VERY firm after refrigerating, but I softened it up with an electric hand mixer and I swear no one noticed anything amiss or
cared!