Chocolate Éclair (Éclair au Chocolat)
Crisp little logs of choux pastry, filled with silky chocolate pastry cream and dipped in glossy dark chocolate glaze. The classic of every French pâtisserie window, well worth making at home.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Cook and dry the dough
In a saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, salt and sugar to a boil. Off the heat, tip in the flour all at once and stir hard with a wooden spoon until smooth. Return to low heat and stir for 2–3 minutes to dry the dough out (): it is ready when it pulls away cleanly from the pot and leaves a thin film on the bottom.
- 125 ml whole milk
- 125 ml water
- 100 g unsalted butter
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 150 g flour
✅ Done when: the dough forms a smooth ball and leaves a light film on the base of the pan
Add the eggs
Transfer the dough to a bowl and let it cool for 5 minutes (it should feel just warm, not hot, or it will cook the eggs). Beat in the eggs a little at a time with a wooden spoon or a mixer paddle, beating well after each addition, until the dough is smooth, glossy and falls from the spoon in a slow, heavy ribbon shaped like a 'V'.
- 4 eggs, beaten
Pipe and bake
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Make the chocolate pastry cream
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Fill the shells
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Glaze and set
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Cook and dry the dough
In a saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, salt and sugar to a boil. Off the heat, tip in the flour all at once and stir hard with a wooden spoon until smooth. Return to low heat and stir for 2–3 minutes to dry the dough out (): it is ready when it pulls away cleanly from the pot and leaves a thin film on the bottom.
- 125 ml whole milk
- 125 ml water
- 100 g unsalted butter
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 150 g flour
✅ Done when: the dough forms a smooth ball and leaves a light film on the base of the pan
Add the eggs
Transfer the dough to a bowl and let it cool for 5 minutes (it should feel just warm, not hot, or it will cook the eggs). Beat in the eggs a little at a time with a wooden spoon or a mixer paddle, beating well after each addition, until the dough is smooth, glossy and falls from the spoon in a slow, heavy ribbon shaped like a 'V'.
- 4 eggs, beaten
Pipe and bake
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Make the chocolate pastry cream
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Fill the shells
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Glaze and set
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The Story Behind the Dish
Choux pastry itself is older, but the éclair as we know it, piped into neat logs, filled with pastry cream and glazed, took shape in Parisian pâtisseries in the 1800s, a period often linked to the great chef Antonin Carême, who refined choux pastry techniques used across French baking. The name 'éclair' means 'lightning' in French, a nod either to its shiny glaze or to how quickly it tends to disappear from the plate.
It soon became a fixture of every French bakery counter, sitting alongside tarts and mille-feuilles, and chocolate has always been its most popular filling and topping, alongside coffee.
⭐ Why It's Famous
It shows off real pastry skill in a small, everyday format: crisp choux, silky chocolate cream, and a shiny, snappable glaze, all in a few elegant bites.
💡 Fun Fact
A well-made éclair shell should sound almost hollow when tapped, and the small steam holes pierced before filling are the same trick bakers use for cream puffs and profiteroles.
Paris
48.86°N, 2.35°E
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