Need a yummy idiot proof chocolate eclair recipe.

kahnyae, Jul 21, 2:23am
Has anyone got a tried and true yummy recipe for choc eclairs? Have never made them but am going to give it a go, thanks in advance :)

sally174, Jul 21, 2:36am
I've hade pretty good success with the standard Edmonds Cookbook one. Make them quite often

buzzy110, Jul 22, 12:29am
Hi kahnyae. I sincerely hope that you are actually asking for a Choux Pastry recipe and not something else that you haven't stated. I've been told off several times for taking questions at face value but I'll take a chance here as I see no one else has bothered to help you.

I'm sorry but this is in imperial. I still have imperial measuring devices and haven't bothered to convert anything, but this recipe turns out perfectly for me every time.

CHOUX PASTRY
4oz Butter
1 cup Water
1 cup Flour (Use only High Grade Flour)
4 Eggs

Method:
1. Bring the Water and Butter to the boil over a moderate heat
2. Add sifted Flour to the Water and Butter while still over heat and beat hard with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms balls and leaves the sides of the pot
3. Cool till lukewarm
4, Add eggs, ONE AT A TIME (don't add them together), beating each one thoroughly. This keeps the mixture stiff. The final paste should be smooth and glossy.
(There are two ways to do this (a) you can beat the eggs in manually using a wooden spoon, or (b) you can transfer the mixture to a stand beater and let the machine do the work for you.)
5. Drop from a teaspoon, or pipe, onto a baking tray (I put baking paper on my tray)
6. Bake 20mins at 220C to rise and set the pastry then lower temp to 150C to crisp for 20-30mins.

Note: Only use high grade flour. If you use pure flour your choux with come out flat and doughy.

I fill mine with Creme Patisserie and ice with Chocolate Ganache but whipped cream and ordinary icing is perfectly acceptable, especially in NZ where cream is still abundant and cheap.

pats3, Jul 22, 1:21am
Same with me - I've made them many, many times - easy as.