Daring Bakers Challenge - Chocolate Eclairs
I missed the July challenge due to the removal of my wisdom teeth, I lost an entire weekend to that and with the holiday and traveling July flew past me. Then August came and I checked the challenge. Yummy, chocolate and bread two great things together. I began the quest on Sunday, August 10, 2008, approximate outside temperature 86 degrees, much cooler than it has been lately. Time 5 PM, phone call from my Mom and start time got delayed for an hour.
Step 1: Choux PastryI am a huge fan of cooking shows and have seen this made on tv and have thought, wow that doesn’t seem too hard. I learned that it actually isn’t that hard. One concern I had after the stove part of the pastry making was the amount of butter left in the pan. See picture, I wasn’t expecting that.
Adding the eggs was definitely not attractive at all, thankfully as promised in the recipe that 3rd egg did make it all come together. The Choux came together quickly. I put it in my pastry bag and quickly filled two cookies sheets, not the best planning on my part. I quickly rinsed off my Silpat and finished the remaining 9 (of 24 total Eclairs). Interesting note, the shells on the Silpat came out larger than the ones on the cookie sheets. These also were on the bottom of the oven for the first 12 minutes of baking, not sure if it was the Silpat, the water, or the temperature that made that happen.
Step 3: Chocolate Glaze This came together quickly again. I finished stirring in the Chocolate Sauce at 7:42 PM. Not bad for and hour and thirty-two minutes. I took a quick break to start my writing and started the last step at 8:00 PM.
Step 4: Chocolate Pastry Cream This step took the longest, and hour from start to finish. I was getting tired of standing on my tiled kitchen floor by this point. The pastry cream came together but whisking by hand got hot and was tiring. I did scramble some eggs during the tempering process but not much maybe a teaspoon when I strained it (purely eyeballing it). Considering I had the ac set at 76 degrees, it sure didn’t feel cool in the kitchen.
9:50 PM first éclair has been eaten, not by me but by the roomie. Dishes are in the dishwasher and I am 80% cleaned up.
Step 1: Choux PastryI am a huge fan of cooking shows and have seen this made on tv and have thought, wow that doesn’t seem too hard. I learned that it actually isn’t that hard. One concern I had after the stove part of the pastry making was the amount of butter left in the pan. See picture, I wasn’t expecting that.
Adding the eggs was definitely not attractive at all, thankfully as promised in the recipe that 3rd egg did make it all come together. The Choux came together quickly. I put it in my pastry bag and quickly filled two cookies sheets, not the best planning on my part. I quickly rinsed off my Silpat and finished the remaining 9 (of 24 total Eclairs). Interesting note, the shells on the Silpat came out larger than the ones on the cookie sheets. These also were on the bottom of the oven for the first 12 minutes of baking, not sure if it was the Silpat, the water, or the temperature that made that happen.
Step 3: Chocolate Glaze This came together quickly again. I finished stirring in the Chocolate Sauce at 7:42 PM. Not bad for and hour and thirty-two minutes. I took a quick break to start my writing and started the last step at 8:00 PM.Step 4: Chocolate Pastry Cream This step took the longest, and hour from start to finish. I was getting tired of standing on my tiled kitchen floor by this point. The pastry cream came together but whisking by hand got hot and was tiring. I did scramble some eggs during the tempering process but not much maybe a teaspoon when I strained it (purely eyeballing it). Considering I had the ac set at 76 degrees, it sure didn’t feel cool in the kitchen.
9:50 PM first éclair has been eaten, not by me but by the roomie. Dishes are in the dishwasher and I am 80% cleaned up.
I was honestly too tired and sick of the éclairs by this point, I haven’t tried them yet. Maybe at work, the plan is for me to take some and the roomie to take some. I have the pastry cream in baggies so the end can be snipped off and the éclairs filled at work, easy-peasy.
August 31 - I never did try the eclairs but they went over pretty well at work. Next time I will spread it out over a few days.
posted by Ruthie at
8:46 PM
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