Spring is here! This is a recipe from John Lewis COOK Edition…
A short while ago in the food world, a prediction was made that éclairs would be the new cupcake and there are now all sorts of weird and wonderful flavours to try in the trendiest bakeries. I’m sure we’ve all had one from our local bakery – traditionally, an éclair is made from choux dough or pastry, filled with cream and topped with chocolate or fondant icing.
In this post, Love & Olive Oil set their readers a challenge to bake éclairs and they came up with some stunning entries. And I’ll never forget reading this wonderful post by David Lebovitz on Éclairs in Paris – or l’éclair – not to be missed.
The éclair originated in France in the 19th century and, as I’ve discovered this week, they can be made at home, with relative ease. I say that, because there are a couple of steps to follow when making the choux and you do have to pipe, but since the choux is later split and filled and topped with chocolate, they don’t actually have to be perfect.
If you can make éclairs then you can make profiteroles (or cream puffs) and vice versa, so they are a good thing to add to your repertoire. Plus, anyone you serve them to will be incredibly impressed!
…