I've always been a fair cook, but a less than stellar baker. My pies
always taste great, but often look as if they'd been assembled by a
three year old. The DH had asked for a certain menu for his birthday
dinner today, but kept changing the requested dessert. He finally
settled on...chocolate eclairs. Now who, I ask you, actually makes
these things? You go to the bakery and point at the sinful beggars and
haul 'em home, right? Well, in a demented moment (I think a few
glasses of chardonnay was involved), I boasted that I could make 'em.
And make 'em, I did. And what astonished me was: they turned out
*great*! Mind you, like my pies, their appearance was a bit addled (I
didn't have the proper tip for the pastry bag, for a start), but
everyone raved about them:

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Chocolate Eclairs

desserts

filling:
2 cups whole, 2 percent fat, or 1 percent; fat milk
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter

pastry:

1 cup water
8 tablespoons (1 sti unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs, plus 1 extra, if needed

egg wash:
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons water

chocolate glaze:

1/2 cup heavy cream
4 ounces semisweet chocolate; coarsly chopped

Filling: In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and vanilla bean to a
boilover medium heat. Immediately turn off the heat and set aside to
infuse for 15 minutes. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until
light and fluffy. Add the cornstarch and whisk vigorously until no
lumps remain. Whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture until
incorporated. Whisk in the remaining hot milk mixture, reserving the
saucepan. Pour the mixture through a strainer back into the saucepan.
Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and
slowly boiling. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Let cool
slightly. Cover with plastic wrap, lightly pressing the plastic
against the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill at least 2
hours or until ready to serve. The custard can be made up to 24 hours
in advance. Refrigerate until 1 hour before using.

Pastry: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a sheet pan with
parchment paper. In a large saucepan, bring the water, butter, salt
and sugar to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. When it boils,
immediately take the pan off the heat. Stirring with a wooden spoon,
add all the flour at once and stir hard until all the flour is
incorporated, 30 to 60 seconds. Return to the heat and cook, stirring,
30 seconds. Scrape the mixture into a mixer fitted with a paddle
attachment (or use a hand mixer). Mix at medium speed.
With the mixer running, add 3 eggs, 1 egg at a time. Stop mixing after
each addition to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix until the
dough is smooth and glossy and the eggs are completely incorporated.
The dough should be thick, but should fall slowly and steadily from
the beaters when you lift them out of the bowl. If the dough is still
clinging to the beaters, add the remaining 1 egg and mix until
incorporated.

Using a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip, pipe fat lengths of
dough (about the size and shape of a jumbo hot dog) onto the lined
baking sheet, leaving 2 inches of space between them. You should have
8 to 10 lengths.

Egg Wash: In a bowl, whisk the egg and water together. Brush the
surface of each eclair with the egg wash. Use your fingers to smooth
out any bumps of points of dough that remain on the surface. Bake 15
minutes, then reduce the heat to 375 degrees and bake until puffed up
and light golden brown, about 25 minutes more. Try not to open the
oven door too often during the baking. Let cool on the baking sheet.
Fit a medium-size plain pastry tip over your index finger and use it
to make a hole in the end of each eclair (or just use your fingertip).
Using a pastry bag fitted with a medium-size plain tip, gently pipe
the custard into the eclairs, using only just enough to fill the
inside (don't stuff them full).

Glaze: In a small saucepan, heat the cream over medium heat just until
it boils. Immediately turn off the heat. Put the chocolate in a medium
bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk until melted and
smooth. Set aside and keep warm. The glaze can be made up to 48 hours
in advance. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use, and rewarm in a
microwave or over hot water when ready to use.
Dip the tops of the eclairs in the warm chocolate glaze and set on a
sheet pan. Chill, uncovered, at least 1 hour to set the glaze. Serve
chilled.

Contributor: Gale Gand

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd

--
"If the soup had been as hot as the claret, if the claret had been as
old as the bird, and if the bird's breasts had been as full as the
waitress's, it would have been a very good dinner."

-- Duncan Hines

To reply, replace "spaminator" with "cox"