Classic Éclairs Recipe (2024)

Recipes
Recipes By Method
Baking
Pastries

Crisp choux pastry, a rich vanilla bean–infused pastry cream, and an intense chocolate glaze.

ByKristina Razon

Updated September 27, 2023

WRITE A REVIEW

Why It Works

Poking holes in the baked éclairs allows steam to escape and creates openings for easy filling.
Returning éclairs to a turned-off oven after they’ve baked helps keep them crisp.
Coating the éclairs with cooking spray allows for even expansion in the oven, ensuring minimal splits and cracks.
A small amount of corn syrup makes for a shiny, smooth glaze.

Éclairs are traditional French pastries consisting of long tubes of pâte à choux, filled with pastry cream and coated in a thin layer of icing. We’ve kept our recipe classic, filling the light pastries with a rich vanilla bean–flecked filling and a chocolate glaze.

Éclairs, which translates to “flashes of lightning,” are frequently said to have been invented or popularized by Marie-Antoine Carême, regarded as one of the founders of modern French cooking and one of the original “celebrity” chefs. One of the first written mentions of the confection in the United States can be found in Fannie Farmer's 1886 Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, in which she describes piping the choux paste (which she calls "cream cake mixture") into its signature log shape, baking it, filling it with pastry cream, and finally glazing it with "confectioners' frosting" to which melted fondant has been added.

Little has changed about the recipe since Farmer's recording of it. The éclair's shell is made from choux pastry. For this particular choux batter, which follows our foolproof technique, we call for a mix of half milk and half water (see instructions in the note below). The combination of milk and water work in tandem to perfectly brown the éclairs and ensure a crisp shell. Meanwhile, adding the optional sugar listed in our classic choux recipe contributes a touch of sweetness to the base that complements the sweetness of both the filling and the glaze.

Éclairs are fussier than similar filled pastries that rely on choux, like cream puffs. In particular, nailing the correct shape—one that is straight as an arrow with a fully hollow interior— requires practice and patience. We’ve provided some helpful guidelines below:

Use a 1/2-inch French star tip. The “teeth” of a star tip create ridges in the choux batter, which helps steam escape while evenly lifting and expanding the éclairs, thus minimizing splits and cracks. Although it’s not a one-for-one replacement, you can use a round tip to pipe the choux and then lightly run fork tines over the top of each to reduce cracking.
Take your time when piping. With éclairs, how they’re piped is how they’ll bake. To achieve straight lines, we recommend holding the pastry bag at a 45° angle while lightly dragging the bottom of the tip along the parchment paper (hovering in mid-air as you pipe will produce inconsistent lines). Keep in mind that you can always start over by scraping any piped batter back into the pastry bag. In addition, aim for a one-inch wide base per éclair. Because of their delicate, less sturdy structure, piping any wider can contribute to a concave bottom. For those who aren't expert pipers of choux, we recommend drawing guidelines on the parchment paper using a marker and ruler; then flip the parchment over and pipe on the lines.

Finish with a nonstick cooking spray. When used in conjunction with a star tip, a quick and even application of a flavorless nonstick cooking spray like PAM will eliminate extreme cracks and splits and add color to your éclairs.
Bake at a moderate temperature. We found that the popular method of baking the choux logs at a higher temperature, then reducing it, often led to cracked éclairs (the initial high blast of heat causes their delicate structure to expand too rapidly). To offset that, we bake our éclairs at a lower temperature of 350°F (that's even lower than the 400°F oven we use for cream puffs, gougères, and chouquettes). Doing so gives them ample time to rise, set, and dry with golden brown exteriors and nicely hollowed interiors.

While the éclairs are still hot, use a sharp paring knife to drill two small holes in the bottom of each one. After a short rest in the cooling oven to dry out the inside and keep the outside crisp, pipe pastry cream into both holes. Dip the top of each cream-filled éclair in a warm pool of rich chocolate glaze, made by quickly microwaving dark chocolate, butter, corn syrup, and salt together until melted, then stirred until smooth.

Between the crisp choux, creamy filling, and rich glaze, these sweet treats will disappear in a flash.

Recipe Details

Classic Éclairs Recipe

Prep60 mins

Cook60 mins

Active60 mins

Cooling Time30 mins

Total2 hrs 30 mins

Serves24 servings

Makes24 éclairs

Ingredients

For the Éclairs:

One recipe Choux Pastry (made with a combination of milk and water, and the optional sugar), transferred to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch French star tip (see note)
One recipe vanilla pastry cream, transferred to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain round tip
Nonstick cooking spray, for coating éclairs

For the Glaze:

4 ounces dark chocolate, about 70%, chopped (3/4 cup; 115g)
2 ounces (4 tablespoons; 60g) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon; 15g) light corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume

Directions

To Make the Éclair Shells: Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 350°F (177°C). To prepare a template for your éclairs, take one sheet of parchment paper and, using a ruler as a guide and a Sharpie for easily visible lines, draw twelve 4 1/2-inch long lines that are 2 inches apart. Flip paper upside down and set it on an aluminum half-sheet tray. Repeat with a second piece of parchment paper and sheet tray.
Pipe a small amount of choux paste under each corner of parchment paper (the dough acts as a glue and keeps the paper in place as you pipe).
Pipe the first tray of éclair shells: Holding the bag at a 45° angle, lightly drag the tip along the surface of the paper and apply steady downward pressure, while slowly piping a 1-inch wide line of choux following a single line on the template. To stop piping, cease applying pressure and move the pastry tip up and over toward the opposite end of the éclair before completely lifting away. Continue to pipe until tray is full. To smooth out the surface of any uneven éclairs, dip a finger into cold water and gently pat down any bumps. Coat éclairs evenly with cooking spray.
Bake first tray until éclair shells are puffed, golden brown, and hollow feeling, about 30 minutes. While first tray of éclair shells are baking, repeat Step 3 for the second tray of éclair shells. As soon as first tray are fully baked, remove from oven and set second tray in oven to bake.
Working quickly while first tray of éclairs are still hot, make two 1/4-inch holes on the underside of each éclair (one near each end) by gently inserting the tip of a paring knife and rotating in a circular motion, then return to tray.
As soon as second tray of éclairs are baked, repeat Step 5. Return both trays to the turned-off but still warm oven with the door partially open for 30 minutes.
To Fill the Éclairs: Working one éclair at a time, insert tip of pastry cream–filled bag into a hole in each éclair shell and begin piping with steady pressure until filled (pastry cream will start to overflow the hole). Repeat with other hole. Wipe away any excess pastry cream. Repeat until all éclairs are filled.
To Make the Glaze: Combine chocolate, butter, corn syrup, and salt in a wide, shallow microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 15 second increments, stirring after each increment, until chocolate is melted and mixture is completely smooth, about 1 minute in total.
Working one at a time, hold each éclair upside down and carefully dip the top in the glaze, then return to tray. Repeat with remaining éclairs. Allow glaze to set, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Special Equipment

Disposable pastry bags

Notes

For the choux pastry, combine 1/2 cup (115g) milk and 1/2 cup (115g) water to get 1 cup of liquid. If you don’t have milk, feel free to use 1 cup (235g) water; the éclairs will just bake up more tan in color than golden brown.

If you don’t have a microwave, you can make the glaze in a double boiler. Place 2 1/2 cups water in a 3-quart saucier on the stove over medium heat. In a large, heat-proof bowl that will sit comfortably on the pot without toppling over or touching the water below, combine chocolate, butter, corn syrup, and salt. Stir gently until chocolate and butter are melted and the glaze is smooth and shiny.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Éclairs are best consumed on the day they’re made.

To store unfilled, unglazed éclairs, wrap them tightly in plastic and place in an airtight container; they can be kept frozen for up to 1 month. To refresh éclairs, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Transfer frozen éclairs to a sheet tray and reheat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Let cool at room temperature before filling and glazing.

Pastries
French
Easter Desserts
Mother's Day
Father's Day

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
101	Calories
6g	Fat
9g	Carbs
2g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 24
Amount per serving
Calories	101
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 6g	8%
Saturated Fat 4g	18%
Cholesterol 33mg	11%
Sodium 101mg	4%
Total Carbohydrate 9g	3%
Dietary Fiber 1g	2%
Total Sugars 4g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 0mg	1%
Calcium 59mg	5%
Iron 1mg	4%
Potassium 74mg	2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

FAQs

What is éclair filling made of? ›

Eclair filling, also known as pastry cream, is made from a combination of milk, cornstarch, butter, sugar, and heavy cream. Occasionally, some recipes may include egg yolk and omit the heavy cream. This rich and creamy filling perfectly compliments the light choux pastry and luscious chocolate glaze.

Read The Full Story ›

Why is my éclair batter runny? ›

If you add too much eggs, the mixture will be runny and unusable. This is what the final dough/paste should look like.

Get More Info ›

Why do eclairs crack? ›

Eclairs have a cracked surface

This could happen if you haven't added enough eggs in the dough and it is too dry. It will start cracking. Another factor could be the oven setting. If the temperature is too high, the surface of the éclair will set while the steam inside the éclair is still pushing to expand it.

Know More ›

How to keep eclairs from getting soggy? ›

Place the shells upside down on the baking sheets and bake again for ~5-8 minutes. The holes will allow the steam inside the eclairs to escape, fully drying them out and ensuring they don't get soggy easily once out of the oven!

Find Out More ›

What does "éclair" mean in English? ›

: an oblong pastry with whipped cream or custard filling. Etymology. French, literally, "lightning" Word Origin. The English word éclair comes directly from a French word whose chief meaning is "lightning" or "flash of lightning." No one is sure why a pastry was named after lightning.

Can I make eclairs the night before? ›

Best way to make ahead – Unfilled whole choux pastry can be kept in an airtight container for 3 days. Re-crisp in a 180°C (160°C fan-forced) oven for 5 minutes. Glaze then fill per recipe. Filled éclairs will keep for 2 to 3 days but the choux pastry loses its crispness as I've said many times.

Explore More ›

Why aren't my eclairs hollow? ›

Choux pastries (i.e. cream puffs, eclairs, etc.) won't rise if the oven temperature is too low. For the pastries to rise properly, the temperature needs to be really high at first so that the steam builds up inside of the dough and causes them to rise and hollow out.