Chocolate caramel eclairs are crispy pastries filled with sweet caramel and chocolate ganache topping combined to destroy your bad day. Such a perfect companion for your weekend or your special occasion! Eclairs are made from choux pastry filled with pastry cream and dipped in chocolate or any other flavors. So what is Choux pastry?  Choux pastry, also called “Pate a choux”? Yes, of course, they are originally from French as we know French famous for their best pastry. Pate a Choux is a pastry dough with ingredients made from water, butter, eggs, and flour, it is cooked first on the stove before starting to bake.

Éclairs 1. Preheat the oven at 375°F. 2. In a saucepan combine water, butter, milk, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil. Then turn off the heat. 3. Add flour and whisk quickly until well combined. 4. Turn on the heat again and cook for one-two minutes more. 5. Place it in a bowl and let it cool. 6. Add the eggs one at a time and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until uniform and shiny.

7. Scoop choux dough into a pastry bag with a ½-inch plain tip. 8. Pipe 1-inch oblong shape onto a sheet tray lined with parchment paper. Give a distance of 1 inch in each éclair. 9. Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes. 10. After 20 minutes, open the oven and prick the choux to let the steam escape, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking the choux in the oven for 5-10 minutes. 11. When the éclair is golden brown, remove it from the oven. Let the choux/éclair cool completely.

Caramel Pastry Cream 1. Add sugar and milk 1 to the pot with medium heat, don't boil over. 2. In a bowl mix cornstarch, egg yolks, milk 2, vanilla extract. 3. Add to the pot and whisk continuously until the pastry cream has thickened. 4. Turn off the heat, add cold butter and caramel, then whisk until combined. Cover it with plastic wrap and press it directly onto the surface of caramel pastry cream to prevent it from forming a skin on the surface. Let it cool completely in a refrigerator. 5. Place cold heavy cream in the bowl and whisk until hard peaks. 6. Whisk the cooled caramel pastry cream a little bit so the texture will be softer. Then add whipping cream. Then fold it gently until everything is well combined.

7. Transfer the caramel pastry cream into a piping bag with ½ inch plain tip. 8. Turn the eclair over, makes 3 holes on the bottom using a knife. 9. Fill the eclair with caramel pastry cream until the eclairs are full. Put it in the fridge while waiting for the chocolate to melt. 10. Place dark chocolate couverture into a bowl then melt dark chocolate couverture in a double boiler. Remove the bowl from the pot when all the dark chocolate has melted. 11. Carefully dip each eclair in the melted dark chocolate. Once the eclairs are coated, gently shake them to allow the excess chocolate to drip down into the bowl again. Then place it on a wire rack and refrigerate right away to allow the dark chocolate to set.