Classic Eclair Recipe with Cream and Chocolate Glaze

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This scrumptious Homemade Eclair recipe with cream and chocolate glaze is a classic dessert that’s so easy to make. These eclairs are airy, soft, perfectly textured, and filled with a delectable cream!

eclairs-covered-in-chocolate-on-white-board-with-spoon-and-chocolate

We’re making eclairs today and I’m so happy I get to share this recipe with you. Whenever I make eclairs, my entire family is elated. We’re all fans of eclairs here, and with this easy classic homemade version you can create, you’ll become one too!

Table of Contents

What Are Eclairs?

We can thank French cuisine for blessing our palettes with this incredibly tasty dessert. An eclair is made from choux pastry and is traditionally oblong in shape. It is filled with a custard or cream filling and topped with chocolate icing or ganache. Pastry, chocolate, and custard – what’s there not to like, right?

You’ll notice these eclairs aren’t oblong like they usually are. Nope.

I like making mine in a mini, round version. They’re perfect for parties with a large crowd and are great to just pop in your mouth. I find these mini eclairs easier to eat and way less messy.

Key Ingredients to Make Homemade Eclairs

ingredients for eclairs chocolate chips flour eggs sugar unsalted butter in separate bowls.

Homemade Eclair Cream

Traditionally, eclair cream is a custard pastry cream made from a handful of ingredients, but the eclair cream we’re making today is made from just 3 simple ingredients – cream cheese, whipped cream, and powdered sugar.

While there are many different versions you can make, I like this version of eclair cream because it’s delicious and it doesn’t drip out of the eclair!

Ingredients for Choux Pastry

The choux pastry that makes up the soft and fluffy part of the eclair is made with well known ingredients that are probably in your kitchen at this very minute!

Dairy: Milk (I use whole milk) and Eggs (large)

Water: Room temperature.

Butter: Unsalted.

Flour: Unbleached

Pinch of salt

And of course, we need butter and chocolate chips for the sweet chocolate glaze that tops our eclairs!

Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.

How To Make Homemade Eclairs

Steps 1 and 2: Butter and Milk

Start off by preheating the oven to 350F.

In a medium-sized pot or saucepan, melt 1/2 cup unsalted butter and turn the heat on medium until the butter is completely melted, then add 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of milk, and a pinch of salt.

Steps 3 and 4: Adding in the flour and Eggs.

Turn off the heat and add a cup of flour, stirring quickly. With a hand mixer, add in eggs, one at a time, quickly stirring after each egg (you can also use a hand mixer for this step). The dough should start becoming sticky.

Steps 5 and 6: Piping and Baking.

Transfer the dough into a large piping bag with a tip of your choice. (depends on the shape that you want to achieve).

Place parchment paper on two baking sheets. Pipe out rounds or oval shapes of dough onto the cookie sheet. Leave room between each eclair to puff up in the oven.

Transfer to the oven. Keep checking on them a few times through the oven window, as soon as they puff up and get a brownish bottom, take them out (about 20-25 minutes). Cool down.

Step 7: Make the Cream

Make sure the cream cheese is softened before you start. With a hand mixed or stand mixer, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth and with no clumps. Then add in 3/4 cups of powdered sugar, and beat until well incorporated. (The cream should not be runny)

Transfer the cream to a pastry bag with a tip and fill the eclairs, by slicing each one and pipping the cream in.

Steps 9 and 10: Making the Easy Chocolate Glaze

Melt 3 Tbsp unsalted butter in the microwave then quickly stir in ½ cup chocolate chips. Then brush each eclair with chocolate or just dip the tops in.

Cool eclairs in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

eclairs-covered-in-chocolate-on-white-board

Recipe FAQs

What is the difference between a cream puff and an eclair?

It comes down to the shape and filling! A cream puff is typically small and round like the version of eclair we’re making today, but it’s filled with a different type of cream called Chantilly Cream.

Can you make eclair shells the day before?

Yes, they can be made a few days in advance, and so can the filling! Keep both the pastry and the eclair cream refrigerated (and covered!) until you’re ready to assemble them. Once they’re filled with the cream you can top them with chocolate and serve.

Why do my eclairs go soft?

It’s likely that the dough was too runny! Making this type of pastry dough is a delicate balance. Piercing like eclairs halfway through cooking also helps dry the dough out if it’s clearly way too wet and runny.

What Kind of Cream is Used in Eclairs?

Traditionally, eclair cream is a custard pastry cream made from milk, sugar, yolks, butter, and starch. The cream here is made from just 3 Ingredients, but you will find many different varieties of cream recipes that are used in eclairs, I like this one because it has a great taste and doesn’t drip.

Seasonal Variations on the Classic Homemade Eclair

Everyone loves a theme, right? There’s a super simple way you can adjust your eclair recipe to make it relevant to the celebrations throughout the year.

Add a tiny bit of peppermint extract to your eclair cream to give it a minty flavor for the Christmas season.
If you want to make these eclairs for St. Patrick’s day, add some peppermint extract and green food coloring!
Are you making eclairs for a Thanksgiving celebration? Add some orange food coloring and pumpkin pie spice to your filling.
Need something festive for the Fourth of July? No problem – add a little bit of blue food coloring to your cream filling, make the chocolate glaze out of white chocolate chips and just color that mixture with red. Red, white, and blue – easy as pie!

So whether it’s the flavor, the visual, or both, these eclairs can be made festive year-round!

Other tasty cream desserts, they’re perfect for any event!

One of my favorite cream-filled desserts to make are these pizzelle waffle cones filled with cream.
Also, these individual meringues with cream and chocolate are always a hit at gatherings.

More Desserts for the Sweet Tooth

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