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
These are fantastic!!
I made them and everyone loved these! I saved three of these for our lunches the next day and my boys were SO HAPPY!! they tasted even better the next day. Thanks Natasha!!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Lynn!
I have tried these eclairs a number of times. The taste of them is magnificent however, I’ve never gotten them to rise probably. If they puff up on the top the bottoms will fold inside itself. The inside doesn’t hollow out or anything either. Any idea why this is happening?
Hi Hailey, it may be that you are piping them too large/ wide. I had that happen before when I tried making them too big.
I did this and the obly thing that didn’t go well was them rising but they taste great!
I’m so happy you enjoyed this, Aiyana. If they come out of the oven too early, they can go flat. Also, if they are piped too wide, they can flatten.
great recipe! i had a little extra pastry cream left over. i was wondering how long i can keep it if its in a airtight container i the fridge
Hi Olive, I haven’t tried storing the cream for more than 2 days.
Yes 2% milk works, that all I use
Hi Natasha , hope you are well . Made these eclairs today and they turned out excellent ! Only change i made is that i filled them with whipped cream and they were decadent . Love all your recipes !! Thank you for the amazing recipes
You’re welcome, Zaib! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe.
Hi Natasha, I tried making Eclairs with your recipe couple times now! So tasty and yum! But for the outer/top layer is crinkled when it comes out of the oven for some reason, in your photos it looks so smooth, any tips on achieving that kind of result? Thanks in advance!
Hi Remya, it’s hard to say what happened without being there. I would double-check nothing was missed in both the ingredient and recipe steps. This post on measuring has come in hand many times.
Hello, Natasha, I want to make those eclairs, can you please give me in grams?
and if e eclairs are refrigerated for a day, won’t the eclir be soft? do you advise me to make a day in advance or not? thinks
If you scroll down to our printable recipe card, most of our recipes have a metric conversion option on the printable recipe card. We are currently working on adding metric measurements to all of our recipes, but it is taking some time to add them one at a time. Thank you so much for being patient! In the meantime, check out our post on measuring which should help.
i used google to convert to grams, if you refrigerate it for a day it will be a little softer. they’re always better fresh out of the oven
Yum- I want a dozen of those eclairs to go… Just have a question for you- do you use a fan forced or convection oven- if so what are the temperatures for a fan forced oven to make these eclairs?
Hi Lexie, I have only tested these in a conventional electric oven. I haven’t tested these in a convection oven so I can’t advise.
Hi Natasha! I’ve just tried this recipe and I’m sooo happy with how the eclairs turned out🥰 it’s my first time making eclairs so I wasn’t too confident with how the pastry was gonna come out, since I’ve read about how it might deflate, but mine rose really nicely😊 the pastry cream wasn’t enough though, so I recommend doubling it :)) my family loved the eclairs so much, it’s definitely a family favourite now, thanks Natasha❤️
I’m so happy you loved this recipe! Thank you so much for the fantastic review and your encouraging words, Sabrina. I am smiling big reading your comment
Hi Natasha! I’ve just tried this recipe and I’m sooooo happy with how the eclairs turned out🥰 It’s my first time making eclairs so I wasn’t too confident with how the pastry was gonna come out, since I’ve read about how it might deflate, but mine rose really nicely😊 the pastry cream wasn’t enough though, so I recommend doubling it :)) my family loved the eclairs so much, it’s definitely a family favourite now, thanks Natasha❤️
These came out sooo well! Perfect recipe, thank you so much!
I’m glad to hear that, Daphne. Thanks for sharing that with me!
Hi Natasha!
Love the recipe- just have a few questions:
Do you use a 15 ml or 20 ml tbs for your recipes?
Can I add some heavy whipped cream to the pastry cream to lighten it up a bit? Is that a good idea??
Hi Lacey, 15ml = 1 Tbsp and 5 ml = 1 tsp. The heavy whipping cream might more likely loosen the cream and make it a little runny. The flavor of it is pretty light and not overly sweet or heavy. It’s a very balanced pastry cream.
LOVE your recipes- however a little confused… In the recipe video, did you put 5 egg yolks in the pastry cream or 4? Thanks!!
Hi Katerina, I recommend following the recipe as we can update that but the video cannot be updated.
Hi Natasha!!!
With the pastry cream, can I add some whipped heavy cream to loosen it up a bit? Just interested to know.
Hi Lacey, I honestly haven’t tried that yet to advise. If you do an experiment, please share with us how it goes.
Hi natasha, can I use 2 percent milk instead of whole milk. If not what wud happen. I’m making them tmmrw and I need to know if I can make them with two percent or not!
Thank you so much love all your recipies!!
Hi Moi, I haven’t tried that yet to advise but I imagine that will work too. If you do try it, please share with us how it goes.
Yes 2% milk works, that all I use
Those were a huge success and I’m wondering if i wish to make the pastry chocolate cream how much cocoa should i add without altering the smooth texture
Hi Serena, that is a great question and I haven’t tested that to advise. I imagine some cocoa in the cream would work but baking being a science I don’t know what you would need to change. If you experiment, please let me know how you like that.
Hello! Mine deflated for some reason. Any tips? Thank!!!
Hi Veronica, if they come out of the oven too early, they can go flat. Also, if they are piped too wide they can flatten.
Yup that’s just happened to mine but it didn’t matter to my husband they were awesome just like you, I was tired of making same old same old eclairs yours were much better. Thanks for sharing your hard work.
Wow Natasha. Just wow. THESE ARE AMAZING!!! I made them today for a second time and they were delicious! Thank you for sharing your recipes with us. 😊
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
these were amazing! i used gluten-free flour and they still worked perfectly. the recipe didn’t make quite enough pastry cream, so i recommend doubling that. delicious!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Perfect recipe
Hi! How long will just the cream filling last in the freezer?
Hi Beth, Filled and glazed eclairs can last for up to 4 days in the fridge (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.