Chocolate Eclairs or Cream Puffs

Today I decided (Since I was feeling good) to try and cook/bake something different. They turned out yummy good even though I'm starting to regret being up on my feet for that amount of time. I did rest in between times, but I'm hurting now. It was easier than I was expecting to make them. I'm still kind of shocked at how easy they actually were to make.

The Puff Pastry

1 cup of water
1/2 cup of butter
1 cup flour
3 eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Heat water and butter to boiling point. Add flour and stir constantly until mixture is smooth and forms a ball when tested in cold water. Remove from heat and let cool. Beat in 3 eggs, one at a time. Drop dough from tablespoon onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes or until light brown. Set aside to cool.

The Chocolate Cream

2 cups of whole milk
1 tsp Almond flavoring
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp of sugar
5 Tbsp of cake flour
3 Tbsps of cocoa powder
pinch of salt
1 egg
2 egg yolks

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp of heavy cream

In a medium saucepan bring the milk and almond flavoring to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the sugar with the cake flour, cocoa and salt. Whisk in the egg and egg yolks. Slowly add the hot milk, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking constantly. Continue to boil the pastry cream, whisking constantly, until thick, about 30 seconds longer. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or until cool.

In a medium bowl, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Whisk the pastry cream, then fold in the whipped cream until blended.

Cut the puff pastry in half with a serrated knife. Spoon pastry cream into pastry. Set Aside.

The Chocolate Glaze

2 Tbsp melted butter
2 Tbsp cocoa
2 Tbsp Hot Water
1 Cup of Powdered Sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Mix melted butter, cocoa, and hot water. Blend the butter mixture with the powdered sugar and vanilla.

Dip the filled eclairs into the chocolate glaze. The glaze will harden as it dries. This yields about 20 eclairs.