Eclairs

Wayne suggested taking eclairs as our contribution when we were dinner guests last week, but there wasn't time for that recipe on that day, so we went with cupcakes that could be made ahead, and I promised I would make them soon, which I did today for our dinner guests. Here's another post combining multiple recipes into one post. Use the dough from Cream Puffs, the filling from Napoleons, and the topping from Boston Cream Pie.

Pâte á Choux

• ½ cup butter 
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add water; bring to boiling. Add flour and salt all at once; stir vigorously. Cook and stir until the mixture forms a ball that doesn’t separate. Remove from heat; cool slightly, about five minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating with a wooden spoon after each addition until smooth. Spoon dough into pastry tube with a large tip and pipe strips of dough onto the baking sheet, making them about four inches long. After baking, fill with French Almond Cream (or regular pudding) and frost with a chocolate glaze. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Makes about 12 large or 18 small. 

French Almond Custard

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 cups light cream or milk
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
• 1 teaspoon almond extract

Mix sugar, salt and cornstarch in a saucepan. Gradually stir in the light cream. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir one minute. Remove from heat. Gradually stir about half the hot mixture into the egg yolks, then blend that mixture back into the saucepan. Boil and stir one more minute. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and almond extract. Chill before using to fill pastry. Makes 2 cups.

This time around we used some leftover chocolate frosting in the fridge, but you could also use this glaze, and half a recipe would probably be enough.

Chocolate Glaze

• 2 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate
• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• about 2 tablespoons hot water

Melt chocolate and butter in small saucepan; remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla. Gradually stir in water until glaze is of desired consistency.