Recipe: Chocolate-raspberry eclair

Heat the milk, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan over low heat.  When the butter melts, bring the mixture to the boil ; remove from the heat immediately. Tip the flour into the hot liquid. Stir with a wooden spoon until a firm, smooth dough forms and adheres to the spoon.  Return the saucepan to low heat to dry out the dough; continue beating until it forms a ball and pulls away cleanly from the sides of the saucepan.  Transfer the dough to a bowl; cool for 5 minutes. Add 2 eggs, one at a time to the choux pastry dough, beating vigorously after each addition. Beat a third egg in a separate bowl, then add half to the dough, continuing to beat. In the end, the dough must be smooth and shiny. At this stage test if the dough is ready to be used; take a little of the dough with the spoon and lift. If the dough falls from the spoon in a point it is ready. If not, beat in the remainder of the egg and re-test. 

Transfer the choux pastry dough to a piping bag fitted with a star tip (PF16). Pipe fingers of choux, 10 cm long, on the baking tray, staggered so that they do not touch each other.  Bake in the oven 35 minutes, opening the door slightly every 2 minutes to let the steam escape.

Chop the chocolate and place in a bowl. Heat the raspberry purée  in a saucepan; add the dessert jelly and sugar.  Stir to combine and remove from the heat. Immediately pour onto the chocolate, mix and leave to cool. Whisk the cream to soft peaks and fold into the chocolate-raspberry. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a round tip (n°10).

Use a round tip (n°6), to pierce 3 small holes in the flat side of each eclair and fill with chocolate-raspberry mousse.  Remove excess mousse with a teaspoon. Roll out thinly the red fondant icing and cut 10 x 2 cm wide rectangular strips.  Brush the tops of the eclairs with neutral glaze and cover with a red fondant icing rectangle. Mix the remaining neutral glaze with red food colouring and gold powder. Dip the surface of each eclair into the glaze and run your finger around the edge. Decorate each with a raspberry dipped in gold powder.


Recipe adapted and translated from the book “L’École de la Pâtisserie” by Le Cordon Bleu® institute and publisher Larousse.