Éclairs are kind of like the Jennifer Lawrence of the dessert world. They're elegant and posh but can be edged out with different toppings and fillings. These babies are filled with a rich, boozy Irish cream pastry cream for an extra kick.br
Ingredients
For Pate choux:
½ cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
4 eggs plus 1 egg white
For pastry cream:
6 egg yolks
1 egg
¾ cup sugar plus 2 Tbsp.
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
3 Tbps. Flour
3 cups milk
2 Tbsp. butter
2 tsp. vanilla
3 Tbsp. Bailey’s Irish Cream
Direction
Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Fit a pastry bag with a ½ inch round tip. Bring butter, sugar, salt and 1 cup water to a boil in a sauce pan. Remove from heat. Using a spoon, quickly stir in flour. Cook over medium heat, stirring continuously, until the mixture pulls away from the sides. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Mix on low speed until slightly cool, about 1 minute. Turn speed to medium and add eggs, one at a time, until soft peaks form when you touch the batter with your finger. If the peaks do not form, whisk the egg white and beat it into the batter a little at a time until the peaks form. Transfer the dough to the pastry bag. Pipe out oblong shapes, about 3 ½ inches long, onto the baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes until the éclairs are golden and hollow when tapped. Set aside to cool completely.
To make pastry cream, combine egg yolks, egg and 2 Tbsp. sugar in a bowl. Add cornstarch and flour and whisk well until smooth. Set aside. In a saucepan over medium, combine milk and ¾ cup sugar. Stir until milk steams. Add half the milk to the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly until smooth. Add combined mixture back to the remaining milk. Bring to a boil, whisky constantly. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Strain through a sieve into a bowl. Allow to cool completely then mix in Irish cream. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the mixture if not using immediately.
To prepare, use a serrated knife to cut the éclairs in half. Pipe some of the pastry cream onto the bottom éclair half and place the top on.
Serves 20
--Kim Cooper--
