Midnight Snack Series: Eclairs

This week is a fun one! Besides making awesome forts, Will has been staying up here working late calls at the Magic. So I've filled my days with writing and baking! The best thing to do is make some awesome midnight snacks for Will and I to share when he gets home. Last night I made my famous eclairs at his request.

So this week's posts will be dedicated to some awesome foods that may take a bit of time out of your day, but at midnight you'll have a delicious treat!

 

Antonia's Famous Eclairs
This recipe was born out of curiosity. Sometimes I like to peruse allrecipes for new ideas. I love the hidden gems on allrecipes, hidden among the mediocre and sometimes strange recipes. I was looking for a fun summertime dessert and found the recipe Eclairs II.

I had always thought that eclairs were a difficult treat to make but this was surprisingly simple! Maybe I'm not doing it "right" but they sure taste good. And with a few tweaks to the filling and the chocolate topping, I have perfected my treat and want to share it with all of you.

Shell Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs

Custard Filling:
1 (1 ounce) package Jell-O instant vanilla pudding mix
1 1/2 cups cold milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons fine granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate Topping:
1 cup Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
3 tablespoons butter

You can, of course, use any brand of chips and pudding--you can also make your pudding from scratch if you like. Also, if you don't want to whip your own whipped cream, you can sub in with cool whip (still tastes great).


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Farenheit. Grease a cookie sheet.

For the shells, combine 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup water in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring till the butter melts completely. Reduce heat to low, adding in the salt and flour. Stir the mixture until it begins to form a stiff ball, leaving the sides of the saucepan. Add the eggs one at a time, incorporating completely after each addition.

To create your eclair shells, you can do a few different things. You can pipe eclairs with a pastry bag, spoon them into 2" strips, or use my method. The eclairs are pretty big and if you want to take this recipe to a party (without doubling it), make them into cream puff sizes instead!

I used my ice cream scoop to spoon out the puffs. They are bite sized and I can get 16 eclairs out of the recipe. The perfect serving to take to parties or long tech days!

Bake for 15 minutes at 450 degrees F, then reduce the head to 325 degrees F and bake for an additional 20-24 minutes. Note: the larger your shell, the longer the bake time will be. To test the eclair shells, lightly tap them on the bottom--it should sound hollow. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

While the shells cool, prepare the filling. Follow directions on the box of the instant pudding and let chill for 20 min in the fridge. With a stand mixer (or a wire whisk), beat the heavy whipping cream together with the vanilla and sugar until soft peaks form. Note: I like my custard filling to be less sugary. I only add 2 tablespoons to the mix and let the rest of the sugar come from the pudding. If you want a sweeter filling, add 1/4 cup sugar.

Combine the pudding and the whipped cream, mixing with a rubber spatula until completely incorporated. This is your custard filling. Cut the eclairs in half lengthwise, spooning the custard in to the eclairs (you may also be able to inject the custard, for a less messy approach to eating them! I haven't tried this yet) and replacing the tops.

To create the chocolate topping, melt the chocolate chips and butter in a saucepan over low heat (also can use double boiler method). Spread the warm chocolate over the completed eclairs. Let cool and cover completely. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Enjoy these tasty morsels with a glass of cold milk at midnight. The next day you can have them for afternoon tea or with coffee. Or just take them to tech :)

Relax and enjoy!

Antonia