Eclair Puffs

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I am a big fan of dough, cream, and chocolate. Eclairs Puffs are a pretty good fit.  I can remember in middle school sneaking across the street to Paul’s Pastries and buying eclairs after school.  My grandmother still gets me a Boston Cream Cake on my birthday each year.  Em’s aunt makes an eclair cake that I terrorize at family functions and I will fight someone if there is only one Boston Cream Doughnut in a box and someone else tries to take it.

As you can see it isn’t hard to get me excited about anything involving these ingredients.  When my mom gave me her recipe for Party Puffs I knew I should use that recipe to make an eclair treat.  My mom has been making puffs all my life and as a child I would avoid them entirely.  She usually fills them with savory filling like cream cheese and olive or chicken salad.  As a grown up (sort of) I enjoy them much more and was excited to try them with a sweet filling.

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To begin my Eclair Puff treat I will use my mom’s recipe to make the puffs.  You start by boiling 1 cup water with 1 stick of butter in a pot.

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Once the water and butter is boiling pour in 1 cup flour and stir together while removing from heat.  It will come together into a ball.

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Next you beat 4 eggs into dough.  One egg at a time and I used a hand mixer.

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The dough is sticky so I use a spoon to drop little dough balls onto a silicone lined sheet pan.  These will go in the oven for 25 minutes at 400 degrees.

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Just like the name says, they puff up and turn golden brown.  I let them sit out until cool.

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Next it is time to make the cream filling.

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1 1/2 cups heavy cream goes into a pot to heat up.  I warm to the point just before boiling.

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While the cream warms whisk together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 4 egg yolks.

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Once that is combined well and the cream is warm, I begin to pour the cream into bowl while whisking constantly.

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Once combined pour back into the pot and cook over medium heat.

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After a few minutes it will start to thicken.  Once it is at that great pudding like consistency remove from heat.

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Now I add in 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of butter.  Whisk those into cream until blended.

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Then I pour the filling into strainer placed over bowl.  The strainer will catch little clumps leftover or cooked pieces of egg.

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Plastic wrap goes directly on the surface of the cream filling so it doesn’t develop a crust while cooling in the refrigerator.

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Once cooled I spoon the filling into a gallon freezer bag and roll it into a corner and snip the bag with scissor to make a homemade pastry filler.

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With my puffs and cream cool I need to melt some chocolate for the top of my Eclair Puffs.  I use a cup of milk chocolate chips and a tablespoon of shortening.  I place them in a microwave safe dish and cook for 1 minute stirring after 30 seconds and continuing cooking.  After 1 minute you can stir the chocolate until completely melted and smooth.

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Poking a little hole with your finger in a puff will reveal a large interior to fill with the cream.  I use my freezer bag filler to squirt some filling into the puff.

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You can spoon some chocolate over the top or use this extra fancy drizzling technique.  It doesn’t matter how you get the chocolate on at this point.  They will be delicious.

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Now you have to assembly line these until all done.  This recipe makes about 2-2 1/2 dozen depending on how much sampling you do along the way.

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The homemade puff dough is wonderfully light and fluffy and works great with the creamy filling.

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It didn’t take long for me to have to start fending off maniacs from this platter of treats.

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Eclair Puffs
Author: Blogging with Apples
Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 30 mins
Total time: 1 hour 30 mins
Serves: 24
Ingredients
  • Puffs:
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
  • 1 cup flour
  • 4 Eggs
  • Filling:
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • Topping:
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips
  • 1 tablespoon shortening
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line 2 sheet pans with silicone mats (or parchment paper).
  2. In a pot bring 1 cup water and 1/2 cup butter to a boil.
  3. Stir in 1 cup flour and remove from heat.
  4. Stir until ball forms.
  5. Beat in 4 eggs, 1 at a time, until sticky dough forms.
  6. Drop teaspoons of dough onto baking sheet.
  7. Bake 25 minutes until puffy and golden brown.
  8. Allow to cool completely.
  9. In a saucepan warm 1 1/2 cups heavy cream until just before boil.
  10. In a mixing bowl whisk together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 4 eggs yolks.
  11. Slowly pour cream into bowl while whisking constantly.
  12. Once combined pour it back into saucepan and cook over medium heat until thickened.
  13. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and butter.
  14. Pour into strainer over a bowl to catch any clumps in cream.
  15. Cover cream with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cool.
  16. Melt 1 cup chocolate chips with 1 tablespoon shortening in microwave (1 minute) and stir until smooth.
  17. To assemble:
  18. Poke hole in puff and fill with cream.
  19. Drizzle chocolate over top.
  20. Eat and enjoy!
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Jeff McIntosh

About Jeff McIntosh

Jeff's family lives in his childhood home on a 1/4 acre in town lot. Despite the small space to work with, they have challenged ourselves to produce as much of our own food as possible — and cook it! They document their journey at Blogging with Apples.