Birthday Chocolate Eclairs
Birthday Chocolate Eclairs are classic chocolate eclairs filled with luscious pastry cream and topped with chocolate ganache!
It’s my birthday tomorrow, so it was necessary to share a treat with you today. Last year I celebrated with my favorite German chocolate cake roll, but this year I decided to do something completely different and share one of my favorite treats — chocolate eclairs.
It doesn’t get much better than crisp påte å choux pastry filled with luscious pastry cream and topped with chocolate ganache.
Unless you add sprinkles, of course. It is my birthday, after all. 🙂
How to make Chocolate Eclairs
Last week I shared my tutorial on How to Make Pate a Choux, so please refer to that for the easy step by step tutorial and recipe for the pastry dough.
This chocolate eclair recipe covers how to make homemade pastry cream and chocolate ganache.
I think pastry cream is one of the world’s best things, and it’s underrated. Not only is it great in these eclairs, but it makes a fabulous filling for tarts, cupcakes, layer cakes, trifles, you name it. Knowing how to make a great pastry cream is a lifesaver in the dessert world because it can take your dessert to the next level and above. In fact, I made my eclairs quite dainty — about 3″ long instead of 4-5″ — and cut them in half so I could pipe in plenty of pastry cream.
I recommend preparing your pastry cream first, because the longer it has to chill, the better. Plus, I like to break things up into steps so I don’t feel inundated.
First, you whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until combined. Add the flour, and whisk it again until incorporated.
Next, get your milk heating on the stove top over medium heat. This is called scalding, and you don’t want to boil it. Once you see steam rising off the top and bubbles around the edges and a film beginning to form on the top, the milk is hot enough.
Take the hot milk and pour just a bit — about a tablespoon or two, into the egg-sugar-flour mixture while whisking constantly to temper the eggs. If you add too much hot liquid at once, you’ll scramble the eggs. Add a little at a time and keep on whisking until about half of the mixture has been incorporated, then add the rest of the milk all at once and whisk. Place the mixture back in the saucepan.
Place the saucepan back over the stove top and heat over medium heat whisking constantly, and bring to a boil, about 8-10 minutes. The mixture will thicken as it cooks, and once it comes to a boil, continue to cook and whisk one more minute. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla and softened butter.
Pour the pastry cream into a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl placed in an ice bath. It’s a good idea to have this all set up beforehand so you can strain the pastry cream as soon as it’s done cooking to remove any lumps. Place a sheet of buttered wax paper over the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Once it’s cooled down at room temperature, remove from the ice bath and continue chilling in the fridge until set, and even over night.
That’s it! Once you get the hang of pastry cream, it goes really quick. 🙂
See my How to Make Pate a Choux post regarding creating a template to guide you when piping the eclairs the right size. My template for these eclairs were rectangles 1″ wide x 3″ long.
Pipe them with a 1/2″ round tip with 2″ or so in between, which results in (2) baking sheets with 10 eclairs each.
It’s up to you whether you’d like to pipe the pastry cream inside by inserting a small round piping tip into the pastry, or cut them in half like I did here and pipe the pastry cream into the shells with a decorative tip (I used 1M).
Just remember not to put the top on the eclair until you’ve dipped it into the ganache! That would be really hard to do assembled, or you’ll just have to spread the ganache on top with an offset spatula.
I really enjoyed making these Birthday Chocolate Eclairs for myself (and my family) to celebrate my birthday early. And now I get cake on my actual birthday…see how that works?
Celebrating early definitely has its advantages. 🙂
More påte å choux recipes:
Cream puffs by Natasha’s Kitchen
Croqembouche by Food Network
Profiteroles by Barefoot Contessa
Birthday Chocolate Eclairs
Ingredients
Pastry Cream:
- 2 cups whole milk*
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 4 large egg yolks
- 4 tablespoons flour or cornstarch for gluten free
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
Chocolate Ganache Glaze:
- 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips I used Guittard
- 3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips I used Guittard
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
Instructions
Prepare the pastry cream:
- Fill a large bowl with ice, and enough water to fill the bowl halfway. Place a medium bowl in it with a fine mesh strainer nearby along with a piece of buttered wax paper. Set aside.
- Place the milk in a medium saucepan and heat over medium low heat until just before it begins to boil.
- While the milk heats, place the sugar and egg yolks in a medium bowl and whisk until well incorporated. Add the flour and whisk vigorously until smooth. When the milk is hot enough, add a few tablespoons of it to the egg mixture while whisking constantly to temper the eggs. Add 1/3 of the mixture in a slow steady stream while whisking constantly. Once 1/3 has been added, add the rest all at once while whisking constantly until combined.
- Place the mixture back in the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, until the mixture begins to boil, about 8-10 minutes. Continue to cook for another minute until very thick. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla and softened butter, then place in the strainer over the bowl set over the ice bath and strain to remove any lumps or bits of egg. Cover the pastry cream with the buttered wax paper to prevent a skin from forming and allow to cool at room temperature. Once cooled, remove from the ice bath and place in the refrigerator until ready to use. For best results, make in advance and store in the fridge for 4-6 hours or overnight.
Prepare the ganache:
- Place the chocolate chips, heavy cream, and corn syrup in a heat proof bowl. Set aside.
- Fill a large sauté pan halfway full of water and heat over medium heat until the water simmers. Turn the heat down to low, then place the bowl of chocolate into the water in the sauté pan, stirring constantly with a rubber scraper until the chocolate melts and emulsifies with the cream. When the mixture is smooth, remove from heat and set aside to cool. May be made in advance and reheated until it reaches the desired consistency (a thinner consistency is best for dipping).
- (1) batch of Pate a choux, recipe link in Notes.
Assemble the eclairs:
- Place the pastry cream in a piping bag fitted with a round tip if inserting the cream into the eclairs, or cut the eclairs in half lengthwise and pipe into the bottom of the eclair with a decorative tip (I used Wilton 1M).
- Heat the chocolate ganache to thin it out, if necessary, and dip the tops of the eclairs into the chocolate, gently shaking off any excess chocolate. Place on a baking sheet, sprinkle with the funfetti sprinkles, and set aside to set briefly. Repeat with all of the eclairs.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Cook time and prep time includes making the pate a choux, pastry cream, and ganache. It does not include chilling time for the pastry cream.
- *I added corn syrup to the ganache, which makes it nice and glossy. It can easily be omitted if you prefer not to use it.
- Eclairs are best assembled and eaten the day they’re made, but will keep up to 2 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
41 Comments on “Birthday Chocolate Eclairs”
Happy birthday, Marcie! I love that you made these eclairs! This looks so gorgeous and is definitely a nice change from cake. These eclairs look like they came right out of a bakery! Love it! Hope you have a wonderful day celebrating you!
Thank you for the sweet comment and birthday wishes, Gayle! I hadn’t made eclairs since school and I’ve had such a craving for them, and it was early enough so I get cake too! 🙂
Happy Birthday!!! This looks like the perfect way to fill a perfect little pastry!! Yum!
Thanks so much, Jess! 🙂
Well happy early birthday friend! And I love that you made yourself these chocolate eclairs. Chocolate eclairs are waaaaay better than birthday cake : )
Thank you, Natalie! Honestly I’d like to start forgetting about birthdays now, but since I can’t, I might as well do it up big. haha These eclairs certainly helped ease the pain of getting older. 🙂
Happy Birthday Marcie! What a delicious way to celebrate your birthday and if I can make eclairs as wonderfully as you can, I’ll probably do the same. These look fab and pinning as I love your tutorial.
Thank you, Abigail! I appreciate the sweet comment and hope you get to try the recipe out soon! 🙂
I knew you had eclairs coming Marcie! Happy B-Day, I hope you have a great one! My mom has a b-day in a few days, so I’ll definitely make some of these for her! They look amazing!
You knew it was eclairs, did you? haha Thanks so much, Mira, and I hope your mom has a wonderful birthday, too! 🙂
Yay! Happy Birthday Marcie! I hope you have a WONDERFUL week! I love eclairs…love love love them…and have never made them! It might actually have been 5 years since I’ve eaten one! I need to get on this asap.
Thanks so much for the birthday wishes, Justine! I hadn’t had eclairs since early on in school, and I was really craving them! I’m glad I got the bug to make them, and I hope you do, too! 🙂
Happy happy birthday Marcie!!! I hope you have a fantastic day tomorrow! And all week …. and month 🙂
These look fantastic! Eclairs have always intimidated me a bit but I should just get over that. Especially when there are sprinkles involved!
Thank you for the birthday wishes, Ashley, I appreciate it. 🙂 You would totally rock eclairs — you’re such an awesome baker! And sprinkles make everything more fun! 🙂
Happy Happy Birthday Marcie! 🙂 LOVE the eclairs!!
Thank you so much, Manali! 🙂
Happy happy birthday, Marcie! These eclairs are simply gorgeous and the perfect birthday treat! Love the pretty sprinkles! Hope you have a wonderful time celebrating tomorrow and all month 🙂 xo
Happy Birthday! Those eclairs look fantastic! I’ve never made eclairs, pretty sure that needs to change ASAP! Yum!
Happy Birthday Marcie! What a delicious treat to celebrate with too – these birthday eclairs look divine & I love all the fun sprinkle action going on.
These eclairs look delicious and so fun! Happy Birthday Marcie – hope you had a brilliant day! 😀 I love making homemade eclairs and pastry cream!
Thank you for the birthday wishes, Jess!
Yeah for birthday and eclairs and sprinkles. These are the perfect way to celebrate YOU! Thanks for being such a great friend, Marcie!
Thank you, Liz, and I’m so glad to have found you and your blog!
Happy Birthday dear Marcie! I wish I were there celebrating it with you. And while that is a true statement, I really want some of these eclairs! Haha! They look divine and like the perfect birthday treat!
I wish you were here celebrating with me too Kristi! You know I didn’t need to eat so many eclairs myself — I needed you to help me! Haha. Thanks for being such a great friend.
Marcie – Happy Early Birthday! I am a birthday freak as well. I started celebrating mine the day before and am still enjoying the perks almost a week later. Live it up girl. Eat about five eclairs for me. 😀
Thank you, Erin, and I did eat 5 eclairs all for you!
Happy Birthday, Marcie! These eclairs are so sweet! They definitely make you think of birthday, fun, festive.
Thank you, Thao! 🙂
Happy Birthday Marcie!
These eclairs look too perfect for words! I love that you put a birthday spin on them! Pinned!
Thanks so much, Mariah, and I appreciate the pin! 🙂
Hope you had a wonderful birthday Marcie! These birthday eclairs look like so much fun. I love anything with sprinkles!
Thanks so much, Christin! These eclairs with the fun sprinkles helped me feel young again. 🙂
Thank you, Dannii, and they really are easy!
Happy belated birthday Marcie! Love these eclairs – I would love to have one now 🙂
Thank you, Deb! Wish I could’ve shared these with you…Lord knows I ate too many. 🙂
First of all HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!!! I hope you had a wonderful day!! I am in love with your pretty eclairs! These are the one pastry I always buy and really should make them more. I’ve tried once and it was so tedious I didn’t go back. I like your advice of breaking it up in days. I’ll try that next time!!
Thank you so much for the birthday wishes, Z! I’m not one to enjoy tedious desserts/dishes — at some point I totally lose patience. Breaking it up is always the best method for me, and I hope that works better for you! 🙂
Happy belated birthday! I drool every time I see these and I’ve seen them quite a bit the past few days! 🙂 Such a fun birthday treat!
Oh, thank you, Jamie! I appreciate the birthday wishes. 🙂
I hope you had a wonderful birthday!!! These eclairs look like the BEST way to celebrate!