Food / 14 July, 2025 / Ellie Thompson
Choux pastry is a challenge to bake at home, but we know you’ve got it in you! Fresh choux is made by slowly adding eggs to a cooled flour, sugar and butter mix, then piping into your desired shape and baking until golden and puffy. Once you’ve mastered this technique, this chocolate eclairs recipe will be a breeze!
Ingredients
- 60g plain flour
- 2tsp caster sugar
- 50g butter
- 2 medium eggs, beaten
- 1-2tbsp icing sugar, sifted
- 1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped
- 100g dark chocolate, broken into squares
- 25g unsalted butter
- 2tbsp icing sugar, sifted
- 1tbsp runny honey
- 300ml whipping cream
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Fold a small piece of nonstick baking paper in half, open out and then sieve the flour onto it, add the sugar and set aside. Place 150ml cold water and the butter into a pan over a medium-low heat and leave until the butter has melted. Bring to the boil and then as soon as it reaches boiling point, remove from the heat, tip in the flour all at once (using the baking paper to help) and beat hard with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a ball and then set aside to cool completely.
Once cool, add the eggs one at a time beating thoroughly between each addition until you end up with a smooth, glossy paste. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a plain 1cm nozzle. Pipe 8 eclairs onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper, leaving a gap between each one. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 10 mins. Turn up the heat to 220°C and bake for another 15 mins. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Make a small hole using a skewer in the side of each one to allow the steam to escape.
While they are cooking make the filling. Whisk together the double cream, icing and vanilla seeds until it forms soft peaks and spoon into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm nozzle. For the chocolate topping, melt the butter together with the chocolate and honey in a small bowl that fits snugly over a pan of simmering water. Remove from the heat, beat in the sifted icing sugar and leave to cool for 20 mins or until thickening slightly. Pipe the whipped cream into each cooled éclair and then spoon the chocolate coating over the top. Set aside and then serve when the chocolate has set.
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