Coffee Éclairs

My love for éclairs is what prompted me to write this blog. After I made a batch of chocolate éclairs by Pierre Hermé for a Daring Bakers’ challenge, I thought “why not keep a record of my baking creations?” And so it all started. In the meanwhile I have made many more batches of éclairs and worked with pâte à choux many times, but this is the first time I made them with coffee, or espresso to be exact. As you may know, I do not drink coffee, never have and probably never will. I do, however, love coffee-desserts.


Coffee Éclair


So my love for éclairs and coffee-desserts made it easy to fall in love with these caramel-colored cuties. The recipe was easy to follow, except for the cream puff dough which failed on me. The dough seemed underbaked, and comparing it to other pâte à choux recipes, the baking time seems way too little (20 minutes vs. 40 minutes in other recipes). Other than the dough-hiccup, it all went very smoothly. Rating: 4 out of 5.



Coffee Éclairs: Dorie Greenspan - Paris Sweets, adapted from Fauchon

Ingredients for cream puff dough: (this recipe for cream puff dough failed on me, so I made this recipe)
- ½ cup whole milk (125g)
- ½ cup water (125g)
- 1 stick unsalted butter (115g)
- Pinch of sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (140g)
- 5 large eggs, at room temperature

Ingredients for pastry cream:
- ⅓ cup espresso, cooled (80g)
- Vanilla Pastry Cream, chilled → click here for the recipe

Ingredients for coffee fondant: (I made half this recipe, it was well enough)
- ¼ cup espresso, cooled (60g)
- 3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted (600g)
- Squirt of lemon juice

Instructions:
To make and bake the cream puff dough: Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 375˚F (190˚C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Fit a pastry bag with a large round tip and keep nearby.
- Bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to a rapid boil in a heavy bottomed medium saucepan over high heat. Add the flour all at once, lower the heat to medium low and quickly start stirring with a wooden spoon, until a light crust forms on the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring for a couple more minutes to dry the dough and until smooth. Take off heat. Add eggs one by one while beating the dough until it is shiny and thick. Once all the eggs have been incorporated, the still-warm dough should be used immediately.
- Spoon half of the dough into the pastry bag and pipe out thin fingers of dough that are each about 5 inches (12 cm) long and about 1 inch (2,5 cm) wide onto the lined baking sheets, making sure to leave about 2 inches (5 cm) puff space between them. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Bake for 8 minutes before slipping the handle of a wooden spoon into the oven to keep the door slightly ajar. When the éclairs have baked for 12 minutes, rotate pans front to back and top to bottom. Continue baking for another 8 minutes (total baking time is 20 minutes) until the eclairs are golden, firm and puffed (adjust cooking time accordingly). Transfer the eclairs to a rack and let cool to room temperature.
To fill the éclairs: Lightly whisk the espresso into the pastry cream. Carefully cut the éclairs horizontally in half; lift off the tops. Spoon the pastry cream into a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip and fill each éclair base with cream, or do this with a spoon. You will have pastry cream left over. Tuck the filled bases into the refrigerator.
To make the fondant: Pour the espresso into a small bowl, then add about 2 cups of the powdered sugar little by little, stirring constantly with a whisk and trying not to create bubbles. Stir in lemon juice, then add in as much additional powdered sugar as needed to produce a fondant that evenly coats the top of an éclair and stays where it's spread.
To finish: One by one, hold the éclair tops over the bowl of fondant and working with a small icing spatula, spread them with fondant. Settle each éclair top on a filled base and refrigerate the éclairs for at least 1 hour upon serving.


My Éclair au Café!

Coffee Éclair

Do you drink eat coffee-flavored desserts?

Comments

Eden Angel said…
oh wow! wouldn't mind being invited round for breakfast ;)
so you never drink coffee? even cappuccino or latte. I think I need to sit down before I faint! xx
Anonymous said…
I am not much of a baker... therefore, I find myself wishing we were sisters or room mates because I know you would forever keep the sweets coming! Have a wonderful weekend. xo
Chele said…
Eclairs are my all time fave - when I was little I would get a chocolate eclair with my pocket money instead of the packet of mixed lollies like all the other kids! I made them once in High School as part of my home ec class, and never made them since. Your post has encouraged me to change that!!!
Lian said…
don't drink coffee and like you I'll probably never will. but yes I love coffee flavored chocolate of desserts.
Snooky doodle said…
yummy i love coffee desserts these are a must try :)
Eliana said…
WOW - these eclairs could not look more perfect. Wish I was eating a couple right now.
pp said…
My husband will thank you for this post. He and I both love eclairs.

Coffee ice cream and Tiramisu I like!
Oh my gosh. My husband just brought me home a chocolate croissant and now I read your post on Eclairs ~~ two of my favorite things! Better run that extra mile!!!!

Thanks so much for your lovely comment on Belle's blog post ~ she's beyond disappointed that Mustafa is already taken (by you!) Just kidding. But she did leave you a little love note for next time you're by! xo
Dianne said…
mmmh!! you'r making me hungry ~ your eclairs are just purfik!
Right from a professional bakery! These just look amazing
Just poping back in to say that the Nigella Lawson Dense Chocolate Cake comes from her "How to be a domestic Goddess" book.
Lucie said…
Mmm, sounds delicious! I can just smell the pastry cream by reading your post. I'm the same as you--I would never drink coffee, but coffee mousse and ice cream are some of my favorites!
SteelCityFlan said…
Oh God, I love éclairs. These look absolutely fabulous, and my mum loves them as well, so I think I'll surprise her with a batch. Using the alternate dough recipe, of course ;)
I love coffee-flavored desserts!!! and these éclairs look really really good!
I hate to say it but I can't stand coffee desserts! One time I ordered a caramel macaron at a pastry shop in Paris. A few blocks away I bit into it and realized they gave me cafe! It ruined my whole day.

http://onetrickyblonde.blogspot.com/
Allison said…
Oh my. These look delicious, but I'm so afraid of the eclair process. And coffee-flavored anything. But, the coffee part is more easily remedied than the fear part. :)

I've started a new blogging group that celebrates the printed cookbook. I'd love it if you joined us. No strict rules or commitments--you choose a recipe that fits the theme, blog about it, and share the link. www.cookbookloversunite.blogspot.com.

Thank you for a lovely post!
I've been looking for an eclair recipe and luckilly, I ended up with your post! I'm in love with coffee and this dessert will definitely satisfy my cravings!
I cannot wait to give these a try someday soon. I love coffee flavored desserts too, coffee donut with coffee please? (As I sit here sipping coffee)
Hanim Benziane said…
Hi Danielle,

As promised, I put the entry in the blog already..thank you very much for the recipe

Warm regards,
Hanim
Anonymous said…
How many eclairs did this recipe make?

Thanks,
Stacy
Anonymous said…
Also, when you made the pastry cream, did you use half the recipe or the whole recipe?

Thanks so much!
Stacy
Paris Pastry said…
@Anon: It made around8 éclairs. And I usually half the recipe of pastry cream, as it makes way too much! :)
The saim Family said…
I wish i had read your post before making eclairs from this recipe. They seem underbaked to me as well. Thankfully, this was a practice run, I'll bake them more next time. I'll also try your variation! Lots of coffee lovers here! Thanks for your tips :)

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