Marie-Antoine Carême was the chef of kings and the king of chefs. The chef who was one of the founders of grande cuisine. Creator of recipes for many still popular French dishes. A man with a difficult fate who has dedicated his life to the art of food. Carême’s father was forced to leave him at the gates of Paris with only several coins on him, hoping that the boy would find his destiny. In the beginning, he ended up in the house of an innkeeper, where he became a cook in exchange for food and lodging. But his talent was quickly noticed and at the age of 13 he became an apprentice to the famous Parisian pastry chef. I don’t know when exactly he came up with the delicious buttercream-filled choux pastry cakes covered in chocolate. But every time I cook them, I think about a talented little boy who made it so that today we can enjoy this masterpiece that will remain in eternity.
- Prep time: 1 hour
- Cook time: 15 minutes
- Makes: 16 – 24
- Difficulty: medium
- Course: pastry
- Cookware: bain-marie pan, pastry bag with a round nozzle 0.9-1.2 cm diameter, silicone spatula, heavy bottom saucepan, éclair silicone mat, baking brush
- Cuisine: French
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 75 g butter
- 150 g flour
- 170 ml water
- 5 eggs
- ½ tsp salt
For the custard cream:
- 650 litre milk
- 3 yolks
- 170 g sugar
- 60 g flour
- 50 g butter
- seeds of 1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla paste
For the chocolate glaze:
- 100 g dark chocolate (at least 72%)
- 5 tbsp milk
Cooking method
Step 1
Heat the oven to 180°C. Dice the butter. Sift the flour. Pour water into a saucepan with a heavy bottom, add butter and bring to boil. Reduce the heat to low, add flour, salt, and, stirring vigorously with a spatula, cook the dough for 2-3 minutes, until it begins to easily form into a ball and comes away from the sides of the pan. Transfer the dough into a bowl and allow it to cool slightly for 2-3 minutes. Gradually mix in the eggs one by one into the dough, until the even consistency. Cover the baking sheet with éclair silicone mat or with parchment paper. Pipe the éclairs and bake them for 18 minutes.
Step 2
Cook the custard cream. Pour flour, sugar into a large bowl, and mix. Add yolks and 150ml milk. Stir with a whisk until a thick homogeneous mass. Put aside. Pour the remaining milk into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Pour 150ml milk into egg mixture and mix well. Put the saucepan with milk on low heat and pour in the egg mixture. Constantly stirring, bring to boil. Continue constantly stirring, cook the cream for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add butter and vanilla and mix well. Leave the cream to cool.
Step 3
Make chocolate icing. Melt the chocolate with milk in a bain-marie pan.
Step 4
Transfer the custard cream to a pastry bag with a nozzle. Fill each bun with cream. Brush the éclairs with chocolate icing.
My tips and tricks:
When you bake choux buns don’t forget that we need them to rise evenly and not explode in the oven. Therefore, before you put them to oven, brush the buns with an egg mixture. To do this, mix the egg with a pinch of salt until smooth and strain it through a fine sieve. Then, with a fork dipped in an egg, draw lines along each bun. Now you can put them in the oven. When they are ready, take them out and use a toothpick to make a small hole in each bun so that extra steam comes out. Now everything is ready to be filled with cream and glazed.
- 75 g butter
- 150 g flour
- 170 ml water
- 5 eggs
- ½ tsp salt
- For the custard cream:
- 650 litre milk
- 3 yolks
- 170 g sugar
- 60 g flour
- 50 g butter
- seeds of 1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla paste
- For the chocolate glaze:
- 100 g dark chocolate (at least 72%)
- 5 tbsp milk
- Heat the oven to 180°C. Dice the butter. Sift the flour. Pour water into a saucepan with a heavy bottom, add butter and bring to boil. Reduce the heat to low, add flour, salt, and, stirring vigorously with a spatula, cook the dough for 2-3 minutes, until it begins to easily form into a ball and comes away from the sides of the pan. Transfer the dough into a bowl and allow it to cool slightly for 2-3 minutes. Gradually mix in the eggs one by one into the dough, until the even consistency. Cover the baking sheet with éclair silicone mat or with parchment paper. Pipe the éclairs and bake them for 18 minutes.
- Cook the custard cream. Pour flour, sugar into a large bowl, and mix. Add yolks and 150ml milk. Stir with a whisk until a thick homogeneous mass. Put aside. Pour the remaining milk into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Pour 150ml milk into egg mixture and mix well. Put the saucepan with milk on low heat and pour in the egg mixture. Constantly stirring, bring to boil. Continue constantly stirring, cook the cream for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add butter and vanilla and mix well. Leave the cream to cool.
- Make chocolate icing. Melt the chocolate with milk in a bain-marie pan.
- Transfer the custard cream to a pastry bag with a nozzle. Fill each bun with cream. Brush the éclairs with chocolate icing.