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Shamila Mollajee’s Chocolate éclairs and Profiteroles

This recipe developed from a virtual masterclass given to me by my friend Shamila. I still have the video where she walks me through the perfect way to make chocolate éclairs and while I would like to take credit for some of the small tweaks I have made, it’s truly her guidance that created these perfect little éclairs and baby profiteroles!

 

Makes 15–20 | Preparation time 30 minutes | Baking time 25 minutes

 

FOR THE CHANTILLY CREAM

  • 2 C (500 ml) cold whipping cream or double cream
  • ½ Tbsp (7.5 ml) icing sugar, sifted
  • ½ tsp (2.5 ml) vanilla essence

 

FOR THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE

  • 1 slab (100 g) Lindt dark chocolate
  • 1 large slab (230 g) Cadbury’s plain milk chocolate
  • ¼ C (60 ml) single cream, warmed in the microwave
  • 1 Tbsp (15 ml) honey

 

FOR THE ÉCLAIRS

  • 100 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 C (250 ml) water
  • 1 C (250 ml) cake wheat flour , sifted
  • 3 eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 egg, beaten

 

PREPARING THE CHANTILLY CREAM

  1. Place all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk until the cream has formed stiff peaks.
  2. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in the refrigerator until needed.

 

PREPARING THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE

1         

Place the dark and milk chocolates into a bowl and microwave in 30-second bursts until the chocolate has melted.

2         

Add the cream and honey and mix to form a smooth and glossy ganache.

 

PREPARING THE ÉCLAIRS

  1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C.
  2. Line a baking tray with baking paper and set aside.
  3. Place the butter, salt and water into a medium-size saucepan on medium to high heat, and bring to a boil.
  4. Adjust the heat to low and add all the flour, mixing vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture resembles a big ball of dough. Remove from the heat and set aside for 10 minutes.
  5. Transfer the dough to the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, and set the speed to medium.
  6. Add the first three eggs, one at a time, ensuring that you mix well between additions.
  7. At this stage, check the consistency of the dough. If it is stiff, add the whole beaten egg. If it is flexible but not mushy, add only half the beaten egg.
  8. Use a piping bag to shape the éclairs or a spoon to drop spoonsful onto the baking tray for the profiteroles.
  9. Bake at 200 °C for 10 minutes, then adjust the oven temperature to 170 °C and bake for another 7–10 minutes until well risen, crisp and golden.

 

Shamila’s TIP:

After the éclairs or profiteroles have baked, slit them in half and then bake them for a further 3–5 minutes to dry out the moisture. This creates a crispier outer shell that will

be able to hold the cream and chocolate sauce well.

Once baked, transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.

Fill with the Chantilly cream and coat with chocolate ganache. Decorate as desired.

 

Cariema’s TIP:

Profiteroles: Pipe walnut-size rounds (for small buns) or golf-ball size rounds (for big buns) of the mixture onto the baking tray, spacing them well apart. They will rise and expand to close to double their original size.

Avoid pointed tops: Before baking, dip a finger into water and tap it onto any unruly peaks on the piped éclairs or profiteroles to settle them.

If you notice that the baked pastry is a bit eggy, return the profiteroles or éclairs to the oven for a few minutes and keep an eye on them.

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