Happy Birthday to Me Eclairs and Puffs!

Today is my birthday. Eeppee! I made these eclairs and cream puffs to celebrate.

Happy Birthday to Me Eclairs and Puffs!

8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter
1 cup water
¼ teaspoon sea salt
5 ounces (1 cup) all purpose flour
4 eggs, plus 1 more if needed

Combine butter, water and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and add the flour all at once. Beat vigorously with a ‘saucepan safe spoon’. Continue to mix (quickly) for a minute to dry the dough out.

Place the dough into a stand mixer and mix for one minute.

Beat the eggs in a measuring cup until yolk and white are indistinguishable (I use a handheld mixer). With a mixer on medium speed, add a couple of tablespoons of egg to the dough and wait until all the egg has been completely incorporated. Add more and wait again. Continue until all the egg is gone.

Test the dough by stretching a little bit of dough between fingers. If it stretches to a string about 1 1/2 inches, then the dough is done. If not, then add some or all of the 5th egg (a tablespoon at a time). If adding the 5th egg, periodically test the dough.

To make éclairs, draw rectangles 4x1 inches on parchment paper (flip the paper over to pipe). Fill the rectangle 1/2 inch high. To make puffs, pipe mounds about 1 ½ inches in diameter.

With wet fingers smooth out the éclairs or/and puffs as best as you can. Lightly brush the tops of éclairs or/and puffs with beaten egg.

Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes. Reduce to 350 F and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 300 F and bake 5 to 10 minutes. The éclairs should be golden brown and dry. Remove from the oven and make a small hole along one of the cracks to let the steam out. Return to a turned off oven and let them dry a little for about 5 minutes.

Cool and then fill with pastry cream, whipped cream or maybe chocolate filling (say fold in some whipped cream into chocolate frosting…YUM). Fill not too long before eating (say 1 hour at most).

You can hold empty éclairs or puffs for a day. Just place them in an air tight jar or bag. Re-crisp them at 375 F for 5 minutes, cool, fill and eat!

The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Let the batter sit at room temperature for 20 minutes so that they are easier to squeeze out of the pastry bag. Empty éclairs can be frozen for up to a month.

Whipped Cream Filling

1/2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin

1 tablespoon water

1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons sugar

Chill the bowl and beaters in the freezer for at least 10 minutes.

Place the gelatin and water into a little bowl and stir to dissolve. Microwave for 3 seconds at a time until the gelatin has dissolved (stir in between). Put the gelatin mixture, cream, vanilla and sugar into the bowl and whip until whipped cream forms. Be careful not to overbeat.

Ganache

4 tablespoons heavy cream

2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped fine

Bring heavy cream to a simmer in the microwave. Dump all the chocolate into the heavy cream and stir.

Fill the puffs and éclairs with the filling using a pastry bag. Dip the tops into ganache. YUM!