Light choux pastry shells encasing smooth and light coffee pastry cream and topped with silky chocolate ganache, impress everyone with these delicious Coffee Eclairs!
Whenever cream cakes are on offer I invariably go to for a cream eclair, simple, light and delicious, the problem is just stopping at one!
However fancying a change from the norm I thought I'd mix it up a bit and so went about creating an eclair with a coffee filling. I deliberately did not go over the top with the coffee flavouring though because if added to every aspect of these Coffee Eclairs then the coffee flavour of the whole ensemble can be quite overwhelming.
I do hope you enjoy this recipe and please do leave me a star rating and/or comment if you can, I do appreciate it ☕ x
So the headline I want to get over here is: don't be scared of making choux pastry!
Honestly, it is just a few simple steps and takes minutes.
The key is in the prep and following the instructions and timings exactly. To this end, I have deliberately ensured the method in the Recipe Card is quite detailed to help you.
Jump to:
- Why make these Coffee☕Eclairs?
- Choux Pastry Top Tips
- Spray lightly with oil and sift over icing (confectioners sugar)
- Watch your eggs
- Never open the oven door
- Ingredients, Substitutions and why we use them
- Instructions
- Coffee Pastry Cream (coffee creme pat')
- Chocolate ganache topping
- Storage
- Related
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
Why make these Coffee☕Eclairs?
Imagine a gorgeous squidgy mouthful each time of ....
- soft and light choux pastry
- packed with smooth and creamy coffee pastry cream (creme patissiere)
- topped with soft chocolate ganache
Choux Pastry Top Tips
My instructions in the Recipe Card below are deliberately detailed in order to ensure your choux pastry turns out perfectly each time.
So there are a few key elements to bear in mind when making choux pastry....
Sift your flour, sugar and salt in readiness
Speed is of the essence when adding the flour mixture to the just boiled butter and water in order to guarantee the right consistency for the choux. If you let the liquid cool whilst you sift it then the flour will not cook properly and you will have a sloppy mess. If you let the butter and water simmer too long whilst you sift the flour though the liquid will evaporate and your pastry will be too stiff.
Listen closely
After you have beaten in your flour, return the mixture to a low heat but listen for a slight hiss from the base of the pan as this indicates that it is hot enough to gently keep cooking through. Having this gentle source of heat also helps the pastry, which is paste like at this point, to dry out a little too. A light film should also form on the base of the saucepan, but do not be tempted to scrape this off and use it.
Use a bespoke Chocolate Eclair tin
You can make Coffee Eclairs just using a normal baking sheet, so please do not let it put you off if you don't have one.
However a chocolate eclair baking tin helps to:
- guide your choux pastry piping and keep it in a nice straight line
- deflect the heat equally around the sides and base of the eclairs for even baking
- prevent the eclairs from spreading as they bake and becoming all sorts of odd shapes
- stop the eclairs from splitting at the sides.
Spray lightly with oil and sift over icing (confectioners sugar)
The oil gives the choux pastry shells a crispy outer shell all over.
The icing sugar adds sweetness and gives them a lovely golden hue, plus an extra bit of crunch.
Watch your eggs
Your eggs need to be at room temperature so that they amalgamate easily when added to pastry mixture. Otherwise they can be difficult to mix in.
I have found that 90 grams of egg is the perfect amount when making choux pastry. However, do add the second lot of egg slowly to be sure the mixture does not become too wet. To test for the sweet spot for choux pastry hold your beaters just above the mixture and see if it gradually forms a "V" shape before dropping off.
Never open the oven door
The eclairs shells are baked at a high temperature for 10 minutes then the oven is turned down a bit. This allows the shells to form a crust quickly and balloon up and then for them to bake through inside. Opening the oven door (tempting as it is!) will deflate them. After 30 minutes you can safely taken them out, pierce both ends to allow steam to evaporate and then bake for another 10 minutes.
Ingredients, Substitutions and why we use them
See the Recipe card below for the exact quantities
- Spray oil
A light spray of oil is used to coat the eclair tin (or baking sheet). It is also sprayed over the Coffee Eclairs once piped in order to help them crisp up. - White bread flour
Bread flour contains more protein than normal white flour, it produces light and crispy choux pastry shells with airy structure. - Fine salt
Salt is added to the choux pastry to help give it a lighter texture and bring out flavour. - Unsalted butter
Used in both the choux pastry and the coffee pastry cream. - Eggs
As with the butter the eggs are necessary for the choux and the eclair filling. - Icing sugar (confectioners sugar)
A light sifting of icing sugar over the eclairs gives them a nice golden crisp crust. You could however use a small amount of caster (superfine) sugar instead. - Full fat milk
Semi-skimmed can be used if you do not have full fat milk. If you find that your custard turns out a little thin simply mix a little extra cornflour (cornstarch) with a little milk and then pour the paste into your custard whilst still on the heat to thicken it up.
- Instant coffee
Coffee powder or granules are both fine to use. Or you can use Camp Coffee. We only add the coffee to the pastry cream as it can be a bit overwhelming if added to the pastry and chocolate too. - Cornflour (cornstarch)
Used to thicken the custard for the pastry cream. - Caster sugar (superfine sugar)
Caster sugar dissolves quickly in the custard paste and is therefore ideal. However granulated white sugar is also fine to use. - Double cream (heavy cream)
Use double cream for the pastry cream and the ganache. - Semi sweet chocolate
Chocolate that has 54% to 70% cocoa solids is the best to use for chocolate eclair topping. The chocolate needs to be quite sweet but not overly sweet. I use cooking chocolate with 54% cocoa solids. Chocolate drops are of course fine to use instead. - Vanilla extract
Gives a bit of vanilla flavour to the pastry cream and can be replaced with vanilla bean paste.
Instructions
See Recipe card for exact instructions.
Choux Pastry
Sift your flour, sugar and salt together and set aside. Gently heat your butter and water in a saucepan until the butter has melted.
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Turn up the heat and bring to boiling point them dump in the flour mixture in one go. Remove the pan from the heat and beat vigorously until a paste is formed. Return to a low heat and beat for 2 minutes.
Place the pastry mixture into a mixing bowl and break it up with the spoon so that it cools more quickly. Leave to cool for 5 minutes and then add half of the beaten egg.
Beat the egg in until the mixture blends and forms a paste again. Add the rest of the egg and beat until fully combined.
The choux pastry is ready when it hangs from the beaters for a few seconds in a V shape before falling off. If this does not happen add a little more beaten egg.
Scoop the choux pastry into a large piping bag with a 6B nozzle fitted.
Spray an eclair tin lightly with oil and then pipe in the choux, holding the piping bag at a 45 degree angle. Then sift over a little icing sugar.
Bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes, turning the temperature down after 10 minutes. Make a hole at either end of each eclair and then return to the oven for 10 minutes. Take out of the tray and place on a cooling rack to fully cool.
Coffee Pastry Cream (coffee creme pat')
In a heat proof mixing bowl beat together the egg yolk, cornflour and sugar until they form a light yellow paste. Meanwhile, heat the milk, instant coffee and vanilla extract together in a pan.
When the first bubbles start to hit the surface of the milk gradually pour it into the egg paste mixing constantly with a balloon whisk. Return to the heat and bring to the boil and then remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Cover with a layer of cling film to stop a skin forming and leave to fully cool.
Beat your cream until it forms gentle soft peaks.
Fold the cooled coffee custard into the beaten cream.
Fill a piping bag fitted with a long nozzle, or a small round nozzle.
Take a cooled pastry eclair shell and pierce a hole at either end of the base with a small round piping nozzle or similar implement.
Place the nozzle of the piping bag well into the hole and gently squeeze the bag to fill up the eclair until it bursts out of the hole at the opposite end.
Chocolate ganache topping
Heat your double cream and salt until it just starts to boil and then immediately pour it over your chopped chocolate. Set aside for 2 minutes then mix together.
Dip the top of each eclair into the chocolate ganache to fully coat it and then leave to set. Decorate or leave plain. Refrigerate the eclairs.
Storage
Coffee Eclairs will keep in an airtight tin, refrigerated for 1-2 days.
Related
Other recipes that work perfectly with a cuppa are:
📖 Recipe
Coffee Eclairs
Here's what you'll need...
- Eclair tin or a large heavy based baking sheet
- Medium heavy based saucepan
- Cornered wooden spoon or a normal wooden spoon
- Hand mixer with beaters and whisk attachments
- 2 Large piping bags
- 6B piping nozzle or a large round 1A nozzle
- Skewer or cocktail stick
- balloon whisk optional
- Heat proof bowl
- Long piping nozzle or a normal piping tip with a round hole
- Round piping nozzle or something that can pierce a small round hole in the base of the eclairs
Ingredients you'll need...
See blog post for a list of alternatives if you have not got all of the ingredients listed below
Choux Pastry
- Spray oil such as air fryer spray oil
- 60 g White bread flour (7 level tablespoons)
- 1 teaspoon Caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- Pinch of fine salt
- 150 ml Cold water (10 tablespoons)
- 50 g Unsalted butter (3½ tablespoons) - cubed to help it melt quickly
- 90 g Eggs (at room temperature) (about 2 large eggs) - lightly beat 2 eggs and then measure out until you have 90 grams
- 1 tablespoon Icing sugar (confectioner's sugar)
Coffee Cream Patisserie Filling
- 250 ml Full fat milk (1 Cup)
- 2 teaspoon Instant coffee granules or powder
- ¾ tsp Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 2 Large egg yolks
- 20 g Cornflour (cornstarch - 2½ level tablespoons)
- 50 g Caster sugar (superfine sugar - 4 tablespoons)
- 30 g Unsalted butter (2 level tablespoons)
- 130 g Double cream (heavy cream) - must be cold
Chocolate Ganache
- 80 g Double cream (heavy cream = ⅓ Cup)
- Pinch of fine salt
- 100 g Semi-sweet chocolate (54% cocoa solids) (½ Cup) chopped up into small chunks
Here's what we do...
Choux Pastry
- Tip: get all your ingredients weighted out in advance and ready to go. Choux is quite a quick process and you need to be ready to move to each step swiftly.
- Heat your oven to 180°C Fan/200°C/Gas mark 6/390°F.
- Fit your large piping back with your 6B nozzle.
- Lightly spray your eclair tin with oil. If you are using a baking sheet line it with a piece of grease proof paper.
- Sift together your flour, sugar and salt and set aside.
- Place your cubed butter and water into your saucepan and heat on a low setting until the butter fully melts.
- Turn up the heat and bring the mixture to boiling point, boil very briefly (5 seconds) then remove from the heat and immediately tip in your sifted flour and salt in one go.
- Beat with your wooden spoon until the mixture starts to come together into a paste (about 20 seconds).
- Return the pan to a low heat, and continue to beat for 2 minutes, making sure no lumps of flour remain. You should hear the base of the saucepan sizzle a little if it is hot enough and it will develop a light film of choux pastry over the base.
- By this point your choux should be forming a ball. Place it into your mixing bowl and fit the beaters to your hand mixer. Beat the choux for 2 minutes on a medium setting. It will break up into small bits.
- Set aside to cool for 5 minutes so that when the eggs are added it is no longer hot enough to scramble them.
- Add half of your lightly beaten eggs to the choux and beat until fully mixed in and a paste like consistency is formed.
- Then add nearly all of the rest of the egg mixture and repeat. You will likely need all of the 90 grams of egg mixture, but we do this step slowly so we can check the consistency of the choux along the way. The choux is ready when it it hangs from the beaters in a V shape before slowly falling into the rest of the mixture. Think texture of thickish cake batter.
- Scoop the choux mixture into your prepared piping bag (it can be best to place the piping bag in a large glass in order to steady it).
- Holding your piping bag at a 45 degree angle gently squeeze out chubby fingers of the choux pastry into each cavity of your eclair tin. If you are using a baking sheet then pipe the fingers of about 4 inches in length and just under 1 inch in width, leaving a gap of 2 inches in between for them to spread out.
- Lightly spray the eclairs with oil again and then sift over your icing sugar.
- Bake in your preheated oven for 10 minutes and then turn the heat down to 150°C Fan/170°C/340°F/Gas mark 3 and bake for a further 25 minutes. Don't be tempted to open the oven though, it will ruin them.
- Remove the eclairs from the oven and make a hole at each end using your skewer to allow the steam to escape and for the insides to dry out.
- Return back to the oven for a further 5 minutes. The eclairs are ready when lightly golden in colour all over.
- Place on a cooling rack to fully cool.
Coffee Creme Patisserie Filling
- On a medium setting, heat your milk, coffee and vanilla extract.
- Whilst this is heating add your egg yolk, cornflour and caster sugar to heatproof mixing bowl and whisk together with your balloon whisk for about 30 seconds until pale yellow.
- Once your milk has heated to just below boiling point, i.e. once the first couple of bubbles start to pop on the top, remove it from the heat and gradually start to pour it into you egg mixture, beating constantly with your balloon whisk.
- Then pour it all back into your saucepan and heat on a medium setting until boiling, whilst whisking all of the time. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter until melted.
- Cover with a piece of cling film (plastic wrap) to prevent a skin forming on the coffee custard and leave to fully cool.
- Using the whisk attachment on your hand mixer this time, beat the cream until it forms gentle soft peaks (not stiff peaks).
- Add your cooled coffee custard and mix together.
- Fit your piping bag with your long nozzle (or a small round nozzle) and fill with your coffee pastry cream.
- Using the tip of a small round piping nozzle (or similar implement) make a hole at either end of the underside of each cooled eclair pastry shell.
- Insert your piping nozzle into the hole, as far as you can, and squeeze in the coffee pastry cream until it appears at the entrance to the other hole.
Chocolate ganache
- Place your chopped chocolate into your heatproof bowl.
- Heat your double cream and salt until it just starts to boil, a few bubbles on the top is all you need.
- Pour the cream over the chocolate and allow it to sit untouched for 2 minutes.
- Mix together to form a glossy ganache and then tip each filled eclair into it to form a coating. To get a smooth finish, dip a butter knife into boiling water and run it over the chocolate.
- Allow to cool and then decorate if you wish to. I used gold food glitter on some and sifting icing sugar on others.
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