Choux Éclairs
A delicious and festive dessert for treating guests! Choux éclairs are very tasty pastries. They’re quite popular, yet people rarely attempt them at home due to the effort involved. However, if you know all the secrets of preparation, they turn out perfectly even at home!
Updated : 08 July, 2025
About 45 min.
Ingredients
Dough
500 milliliters
Water
300 grams
Wheat flour
200 grams
Butter
1 teaspoon
Sugar
8
Eggs
Filling
750 milliliters
Milk
450 grams
Sugar
4
Eggs
160 grams
Wheat flour
200 grams
Butter
to taste
Vanillin
Table
Table of volume measurements:
- teaspoon - 5 ml
- dessert spoon - 10 ml
- tablespoon - 20 ml
- glass - 200 ml
Preparation
Step 1
Sift the flour ahead of time. The milk for the cream can be of any fat content. However, choose butter with 82% fat. It should be fresh and flavorful.
Step 2
To make the choux pastry, combine water and butter in a saucepan or pot with a thick bottom. Place over heat, bring to a boil, and simmer for a couple of minutes so the butter completely melts and mixes with the water. Don’t use high heat, so the mixture heats evenly and doesn’t burn.
Step 3
Add the flour into the boiling mixture and quickly stir everything together. The flour will begin to cook and form into a dough ball.
Step 4
Keep stirring the choux dough on the heat for about a minute. Then remove the pot from the heat and let it cool to a warm temperature, stirring occasionally so it cools faster.
Step 5
Meanwhile, you can start making the cream. Combine milk and sugar and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Step 6
In a separate bowl, mix eggs with flour and vanilla. Add a little milk from the total amount.
Step 7
Mix everything with a mixer until no lumps of flour remain. While stirring, gradually pour the hot milk into the egg mixture.
Step 8
Then pour everything back into the saucepan and return to the heat. While constantly stirring, bring the cream to a boil. It will thicken as it cooks.
Step 9
Add the butter to the hot cream. It will begin to melt. Mix the butter into the cream.
Step 10
You can use a mixer for blending. The finished cream should be thick and smooth. Cover it with a lid and let it cool.
Step 11
The choux dough should now be warm. Add the eggs one at a time, thoroughly mixing them into the dough. The number of eggs may vary depending on their size and the quality of the flour. If the eggs are small, you might need one or two more. Adjust based on the consistency of the dough.
Step 12
The choux dough should look like a thick cream. It should slightly fall from a spoon but not spread flat on the surface.
Step 13
Using a piping bag with a star-shaped nozzle, pipe the dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a Teflon mat. Be sure to leave at least 2-3 cm (about ¾–1 inch) of space between the éclairs, as they will expand and may stick together. My éclairs are about 12-13 cm (about 5 inches) long, but yours might be shorter or longer depending on your baking sheet size and preference. For example, you can make two rows of long éclairs or three rows of shorter ones.
Step 14
Bake the éclairs in a preheated oven at 180°C (about 355°F) for about 20-25 minutes. Check your oven and the readiness of the éclairs. Do not open the oven door while baking, or the éclairs may collapse. The éclairs should expand in size and turn golden brown. Remove them from the oven and let them cool.
Step 15
Make a side cut and fill the éclairs with the prepared cream.
Step 16
The choux éclairs are ready! I got exactly 31 filled éclairs, and there wasn’t a drop of leftover cream. You can dust the finished éclairs with powdered sugar or decorate them with melted chocolate. Enjoy!