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 I make these eclairs smaller in size? Will I need to decrease baking time?
Thanks so much for all your recipes! Enjoying them a lot😋
Hello Olesea, I imagine that should work just fine however I have not tried it personally to advise of the baking time. You might have to do an experiment on that one.
Can I sub whole milk with regular milk or half and half in the eclairs and cream? I know I can use half and half for the ganache..Thanks!
Hi Katherine, I always recommend using the same ingredients as written in the recipe without modifications, especially if making it for the first time. The ganache will not form properly with half and half.
hey im going to make this for the 1st time in my life. would teflon be ok? also if i dont have vanilla beans do i boil the vanilla too?
Hi Valerie, a non-stick would be ok as long as you are not using a metal utensil to stir so you don’t scratch the pan. Vanilla extract will work. I have notes on that in the recipe card. I hope you love the eclairs recipe.
Hi Natasha! 🙂
It’s sad for me to say that i ended up with lumps in cream 🙁 even tho i sieved it before adding butter, still lumps has formed again.. Could you tell me also how to make this cream a bit thicker? Thank You for an answer!
Hi Geneva, I highly recommend watching the video to see if something was different in your process or ingredients.
Hello Natasha, thank you so much for all your beautiful recipes 😊.
I tried the chocolate eclairs tonight and I got 2 trays of 12 but 1 tray was beautiful baked and the other one was flat.
I cooked them for 15min and then I swap them around. The one that was on the top tray and then I put it on the bottom it went flat!!😔
Hi Maricela, if they come out of the oven too early, they can go flat so moving them may be the culprit. Also, if they are piped too wide they can flatten.
This is a great recipe! The choux pastry is light and doesn’t get soggy when you add the pastry cream. The pastry cream is decadent and smooth as well. I find that I need to make extra pastry cream because this recipe makes a lot of choux shells. I also add a little less heavy cream to the ganache because it turns out quite thin and doesn’t leave a opaque layer of chocolate on the eclair. Otherwise, this recipe is a complete success! Thank you for sharing this Natasha!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me Chloe! I’m happy you’re enjoying this recipe!
HI Natasha! I will make try this recipe today. I saw people use only water for the dough. Is it a big difference ? Thank you
Love your videos
Hi Mili, I haven’t tested it that way so I can’t speak to that.
Hi Natasha,
I made them following your recipe Best Eclairs ever!!!! I will make them again Saturday for a French night dinner.
Thank you so much
Hi Mili, I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
These were absolutely perfect! I will never use another recipe again! Also, a fabulous tutorial video. All around incredible!
Fantastic! I’m so happy to know that you loved this recipe, Zoe. Thanks for your good comments!
Hi, i was wondering whether all the ingredients have to be at room temperature? Also, do i have to use the silicone liner, or can i just use baking paper?
Hi Nardine, the ingredients we listed as (at room temperate) are required to be at room temp to make this work. I hope that helps. The Baking paper should work! I recommend reading through the full recipe post.
Hi Nardine, I will always specify in the recipe card if specific ingredients need to be at room temperature. Also, parchment paper will work well.
Do you have any suggestions on how to alter the recipe when making/baking them in higher elevation? I’ve tried them a couple of times and the shells come out soft and sponge like with little puffing at all. Thanks!
Hi Janice, I hope this High-Altitude baking post can help.
Thank you so much! I will give it a try again this week making the suggested adjustments for baking in higher elevations.
We look forward to your feedback Janice!
Just made these, and they smell delicious! (Waiting patiently for them to cool). The only problem is that they are flat 🙁 so I hope I am able to fill them somehow. I made no substitutions, and my oven is conventional. They puffed up beautifully during the first 10 minutes at 425, and when I checked on them after 15 minutes at 325, they had already gone flat. When you mention in the comments that this may be due to piping them too large, do you mean too wide, or too long? I don’t think the issue is underbaking since they deflated while baking and did not rise again once they had deflated. Thanks in advance for any advice for next time!
Hi Itzel, if they come out of the oven too early, they can go flat. Also, if they are piped too wide they can flatten.
why aren’t getting any volume (lift) made the recipe twice
Hi Kathryn, Flat eclairs are usually due to either piping them too large or underbaking. Some ovens run a little cooler so you might bake an extra 2 minutes next time. I hope that helps!
My pastry came out flat from the oven. Where did I go wrong?
After filling with the cream and topping with the chocolate they tasted delicious.
Didn’t look like yours though!
Hi Indra, I’m glad it tasted well. Flat eclairs are usually due to either piping them too large or underbaking. Some ovens run a little cooler so you might bake an extra 2 minutes next time. I hope that helps!
These are so fun to make and super delicious too!! My batch made 15 eclairs, although I couldn’t just been a bit generous with my sizes. Four of mine fell so I couldn’t fill them- does anyone know the cause of that? Also, how do you store these? Otherwise- so AMAZING!! Thank you!
I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe, Shelby! Flat eclairs are usually due to either piping them too large or underbaking. Some ovens run a little cooler so you might bake an extra 2 minutes next time. I hope that helps!
Hi Natasha! Do you think using skim milk instead of whole would work for these eclairs? Thanks!
Hi Samantha, I haven’t tested that with skim milk to advise. If you experiment, please let me know how you like that.
Used skim milk and they turned out AMAZING. That custard cream is seriously heavenly.
Love your short but sweet feedback. Thank you, Samantha!
I used almond milk and turned out perfectly fine! Best pastry cream
Hi Natasha! Can you please recommend to me a Couple of dairy free desserts??
Hi Ava, we have quite a few and others that can be modified. We don’t have a specific dairy-free category at this time, just the general dessert classifications. Our Chocolate cake is dairy-free but would need a different frosting.
Best eclairs I’ve ever made, or tasted. Thanks for sharing your recipes!
Sounds like you found a new favorite, Corbin! I’m so glad you enjoyed that!
Thank you for your videos and tutorials. You rock! I have been cooking for 60 years and I still learn things from you.
I love your avocado salads and homemade dressings.
Joyce
I’m so inspired reading your review. Thank you!
can u plz tell me what i can replace cornstarch with i dont have cornstarch or all purpose flour plz suggest natasha
Hi Amy, I haven’t tried any other substitute to advise sorry about that. If you do an experiment and try something else please share with us how it goes.
My boyfriend and I made these today and while they don’t look as pretty as yours, they taste amazing. Thank you for the great recipe and the video tutorial. The video helped a lot!
You’re welcome, Holly! I’m so glad our video was helpful!