Miniature Chocolate Eclairs Recipes

MINIATURE CHOCOLATE ECLAIRS

Steps:

• Prepare pudding with milk according to package directions. Chill 1 hour in refrigerator.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease baking sheets.
• In a heavy saucepan, combine 1/2 cup butter, water and salt over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Pour in flour all at once and stir vigorously until fully incorporated and mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat, let rest 5 minutes. Then beat in eggs, one at a time, until well combined.
• Drop dough into twelve equal mounds on baking sheets. Spread each mound into a 4x1/2 inch rectangle.
• Bake in preheated oven 35 minutes, until golden. Remove from oven and make a one-inch slit in the side of each eclair. Reduce heat to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Return eclairs to oven for 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Prepare icing while eclairs are cooling. Heat 2 tablespoons butter with chocolate in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until melted. Remove from heat and stir in confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla. Set aside.
• To assemble: Slice each eclair in half lengthwise. Spoon about 1 tablespoon chocolate pudding into the bottom half of each eclair. Replace tops and frost with chocolate icing. Chill until serving.

MINI CHOCOLATE ECLAIRS

Steps:

• Heat water and margarine to boiling point. Add flour and stir constantly until mixture is smooth and forms a ball when tested in cold water. Remove from heat and let cool. Beat in 4 eggs, one at a time. Drop dough from teaspoon to form small eclairs onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 °F for approximately 30 minutes or until light brown. Set aside to cool.
• Prepare filling by combining milk, sugar, salt and flour; cook slowly until thickens. Add 3 beaten eggs and continue to cook until mixture is even thicker. Remove from heat, cool and add vanilla. With a serrated knife, slice pastry puffs longwise, but not all the way through. Pipe custard mixture into the center. Melt chocolate for icing, add sugar and cream. Cook over medium heat until soft ball stage. Let cool and beat until smooth. Ice tops of the eclairs.

CHOCOLATE ECLAIRS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. In a large saucepan, bring water, butter and salt to a boil. Add flour all at once and stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny. , Using a tablespoon or a pastry tube with a #10 or large round tip, form dough into nine 4x1-1/2-in. strips on a greased baking sheet. Bake 35-40 minutes or until puffed and golden. Remove to a wire rack. Immediately split eclairs open; remove tops and set aside. Discard soft dough from inside. Cool eclairs. , In a large bowl, beat milk and pudding mix according to package directions. In another bowl, whip cream until soft peaks form. Beat in sugar and vanilla; fold into pudding. Fill eclairs (chill any remaining filling for another use). , For frosting, in a microwave, melt chocolate and butter; stir until smooth. Stir in sugar and enough hot water to achieve a smooth consistency. Cool slightly. Frost eclairs. Store in refrigerator.

MINI ECLAIRS

Steps:

• To make the buns, heat the milk, butter and 150ml water very gently in a medium-sized saucepan until all the butter has melted. Get the flour and some salt ready, then increase the heat and bring the liquid to the boil. As soon as it is boiling, remove from the heat and beat in the flour and a pinch of salt with a wooden spoon. Keep beating until the mixture is smooth and comes away from the sides of the pan. Cool for 5 mins.
• Gradually add the eggs, mixing well between each addition until the mixture reluctantly drops off the spoon. Don't add all the egg unless you need to. Spoon into a piping bag with a 1.5-2cm star or round nozzle and set aside until ready to bake.
• To make the filling, bring the milk just to the boil in a saucepan with the vanilla paste or split pod. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and flours in a mixing bowl. Pour on the hot milk while continuously whisking the egg mixture. Discard the pod (if using) and return the mix to a wiped-out saucepan. Cook over a gentle heat, stirring, until the mix is thicker than a custard - it will get lumpy, but just carry on stirring and beat out the lumps. Transfer to another mixing bowl and lay cling film directly on the surface. Leave to cool, then chill.
• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Line a couple of baking sheets with baking parchment. Pipe on 8-10cm long lengths of the dough, about 2cm wide - leaving space to expand between each one. Put in the oven for 5 mins, then reduce heat to 200C/200C fan/gas 6 and bake for 10 mins more until golden, puffed and crisp. Using a skewer, poke 3 small holes along the base of each bun. Put back on the baking sheets, base up, and return to the oven for a further 8-10 mins until slightly crisper. Cool. Can be frozen for up to a month, or stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days - just crisp up in a hot oven again when ready to fill.
• Add the cream to the thick custard filling and beat with an electric whisk until it holds its own shape again. Put into a piping bag with a tiny nozzle, then pipe some filling into the bottom of the buns using the skewer holes you made before (see Secrets of success, below). When it squirts back out, that bit is probably full.
• Stir the liqueur, if using, into the icing sugar, plus just enough water to make a pretty thick icing. Divide among as many bowls as you want colours, and colour each batch as you like. (Depending on your colouring, you may need to add a drop more water to icings so that they are thick but runny.)
• Dip the top of each eclair in icing to cover, or use a teaspoon to spread a little on - use less at first and wait for it to spread and settle. Add sprinkles and decorations, then gently sit on wire racks to set. Eclairs are best eaten on the day they are filled and decorated, before they go soggy.

MINI CHOCOLATE ECLAIRS

Steps:

• Prepare pudding according to directions on box and let cool for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Combine butter,water and salt in a sauce pan over medium heat until butter is melted and it comes to a boil.
• Reduce heat to low.
• Stir in flour very fast and well until mixture forms into a ball.
• Put the mixture into a bowl and let cool for 5-7 minutes.
• Add eggs in 1 at a time and beat well.
• Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Drop mixture onto baking sheet into 12 mounds 5 inches apart.
• Using a spoon, spread out each mound until it becomes a 4 x1/2 inch rectangle rounding the edges of the side to make it oval.
• Bake for 35 minutes or very lightly golden.
• Then cut a 1 inch slit along side of each eclair.
• Reduce oven heat to 375 degrees and return them into the oven for another 10 minutes.
• Put on a wire rack to cool.
• Cut each eclair into half.
• Spread 1 tbsp of filling on the bottom part of the eclair.
• Frost tops with frosting.
• Enjoy!

CHOCOLATE ECLAIRS

Steps:

• Start by making the custard filling. Heat the milk until almost boiling in a saucepan. Meanwhile, mix together the sugar, egg yolks and vanilla in a bowl, then stir in the flours, a couple of tsp at a time, to a smooth paste.
• Gradually whisk in the hot milk, pour everything back into the saucepan and cook over a high heat, stirring constantly, for about 5 mins until thick - it will go alarmingly lumpy but don't worry, just keep stirring it vigorously with a wooden spoon until smooth
• Lay a sheet of cling film directly on the custard surface, then cool and chill until you're ready to fill the buns.
• To make the choux buns, heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Sift the flour with the sugar and a pinch of salt into a small bowl. Put the milk and butter into a medium saucepan with 125ml water and gently heat so the butter melts but the liquid doesn't bubble.
• Once the butter has completely melted, increase the heat until the liquid comes to a fast rolling boil. Immediately turn off the heat, tip in the sifted flour and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until you a have a smooth dough that comes away from the sides of the pan. Spread over a large dinner plate to cool to hand temperature.
• Allow to cool for a few minutes, then gradually add the eggs, mixing well between each addition until the mixture reluctantly drops off the spoon. Don't add all the egg unless you need to.
• Cut two large sheets of baking parchment. On each one draw two sets of 'track' lines with a 10cm gap - these will be your guidelines so your eclairs will all be roughly the same size. Use the paper to line two large baking sheets - penside down.
• Spoon your choux mixture into a piping bag with a 1cm star or round wide nozzle, or into a disposable piping bag with a similar-size hole snipped off for piping. Pipe two rows of well-spaced, squashed 'S' shapes on each sheet between the guidelines. Bake, one tray at a time, on a high-ish shelf for 25 mins, reducing temperature to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 as soon as they go in the oven.
• After 25 mins, poke a hole in the end of each bun, or using a small serrated knife, split down the middle and return to the oven, upside-down, to dry out for 5 mins until crisp and golden. Set aside to cool.
• While the buns are cooling, finish your filling. Whisk the cream until thick, then use your electric whisk to beat the cooled, set custard until just smooth again. Fold in the cream. Spoon your filling into a piping bag - use a small nozzle if you're filling the buns through the holes you've pierced, or a large nozzle if you've split the buns in half. Carefully pipe the custard into each cooled bun - they should feel heavy once full.
• To make the icing, melt 100g plain chocolate and 25g butter together in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Once melted, remove from the heat and stir in 75ml double cream and 1 tbsp sifted icing sugar. Once cooled a little, spread over the tops of the buns and leave to cool.

MINIATURE CHOCOLATE ECLAIRS

Steps:

• Prepare pudding with milk according to package directions. Chill 1 hour in refrigerator.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease baking sheets.
• In a heavy saucepan, combine 1/2 cup butter, water and salt over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Pour in flour all at once and stir vigorously until fully incorporated and mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat, let rest 5 minutes. Then beat in eggs, one at a time, until well combined.
• Drop dough into twelve equal mounds on baking sheets. Spread each mound into a 4x1/2 inch rectangle.
• Bake in preheated oven 35 minutes, until golden. Remove from oven and make a one-inch slit in the side of each eclair. Reduce heat to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Return eclairs to oven for 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Prepare icing while eclairs are cooling. Heat 2 tablespoons butter with chocolate in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until melted. Remove from heat and stir in confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla. Set aside.
• To assemble: Slice each eclair in half lengthwise. Spoon about 1 tablespoon chocolate pudding into the bottom half of each eclair. Replace tops and frost with chocolate icing. Chill until serving.