Hello DFK fans –
After a long hiatus we are back with our first video recipe and boy is it a good one! Let me first briefly say how thankful I am to have so many supporters out there who have expressed both their dismay at the lack of new DFK posts and also encouragement for the launch of the video format. Speaking of the format, I’d love to hear from you about what you DON’T like (in a constructive way would be nice, but if you have to yell, that’s ok) so that I can better improve the experience for you!
For those of you who enjoy reading and enjoy reading what I have to say, rest assured I will not abandon the pen (…or keyboard) and I’ll still be posting essays on various culinary topics. Ok, on to the eclair.
Savvy Devil’s Food Kitchne-ers may recall I have shared a chocolate eclair recipe once before. This is true. But! With the video format I can show a myriad of details in how I manipulate various stages of the recipe that I could never capture in static images, so I want to show you the process again. If you’d like to check out the original analog version, have at it here.
Eclair are a wonderful and versatile fundamental in anyone’s baking bag of tricks, most specifically mastering pate a choux. For that reason alone I hope you give the recipe a try! As I’ve mentioned before, I choose to fill my eclair with cremeux as opposed to pastry cream, not the least because I prefer the richness and creaminess of cremeux. Just as importantly, though, cremeux (or custard if you aren’t fancy French) can be frozen, which makes it much more versatile than pastry cream, which has a short shelf life and can’t be frozen without turning into a watery mess.
You’ll also notice that the chocolate cream is decidedly milk chocolate, but I’ve added a touch of very dark chocolate (91%) which takes some of the sweetness edge off and adds a deep, cocoa note to it that I really enjoy (and hope you do too). A little chocolate glaze, a touch of gold leaf, and we’re off to the eclair races.
Cheers – Chef Scott
The video says it was removed by the user. Is it just a broken link?
Looks like it’s all set now! Great video! I was just thinking about making some eclair, came at the perfect time! I always have problems with my eclairs cracking, hopefully your tricks will help! Thanks!
Hi John,
Sorry for the video hiccup! One more tip to mention – it’s important to take a full 1-2min. drying the dough out in the sauce pot before adding any eggs. This lets excess water evaporated and allows the starch in the bread flour to gelatinize. Sometimes people don’t dry the dough long enough, and the water leftover combined with the water in the eggs is just too much and causes cracks during baking. Good luck with your eclair! I’m sure they’ll be delicious no matter what!
Cheers – Chef Scott
I’d love to see some macarons in a video! Mine never seem to come out right, always slightly lopsided. I mix until you can form a 8 before the line melts back into the batter. I took a class years ago and they came out perfect, have tried to use the same recipe but never works for me at home.
So glad to see you back, love the videos but keep looking over your shoulder jonesing for your studio…and at your work table…did you make it?
Hi Donna,
Thanks! It’s good to be back. Haha funny you should mention that, I may just have a video coming out soon giving a little tour of my work space…
This particular work table I did not make (although I modified it slightly), but I do have plans for a custom one to make soon!
Cheers – Chef Scott
Excellent videos. I like the format in which you address the science and tips of the bake, followed by the process.
I spent about 3 weeks in the Fall working on pate a choux doughs everyday. My biggest challenge was eliminating the cracked tops. It seemed no matter what adjusts I made, about 25% of the eclairs cracked in every batch. I tried different temperatures adjusting the egg, different protein levels. I came to the conclusion that there’s no exact amount of egg, that egg is added until the dough hangs off the paddle attachment to form a V shape, and is glossy and smooth.
I was beyond impressed to see not one of your eclairs cracked!!
I will definitely try your recipe. Questions about the flour and gelatin sheets you use.
1. Is it unbleached or bleached flour?
2. Protein percent of flour?
3. Malted or unmalted flour?
4. Bronze, silver, or gold gelatin sheets?
I normally keep silver gelatin sheets in the pantry, but will purchase whatever you recommend.
Thank you for the great video.
Hello Cate,
Thank you, I’m glad you like the videos! You’re right in that their is a definite art to the “right” amount of egg and that visual cues are the way to go. I’ve found that being sure to dry the dough base out in the sauce pot for a full 1-2min. is a big help in avoiding cracks, as it helps strengthen the dough and eliminates extra moisture. Just curious, have you noticed the cracks form on the same location in your baking pan? Once culprit could just be the heat flow of your oven, with one are being too hot and causing rapid baking that creates cracks.
Happy to answer your questions:
1-3. It is unbleached, unmalted flour at a percentage of about 12.5%.
4. I use silver gelatin as well, so for this recipe you can use silver (or bronze) with not much change in final texture. Gold would create a texture that is a bit too firm for my preference of a filling.
Please feel free to request any recipes you’d love to see in video form!
Cheers – Chef Scott
Hi Scott, big fan of your blog, I actually just today made your version of peach hand pies,but used desert apple and cinnamon, my local grocery didn’t have peach and lemon verbena forget it. Any way I just opened a small cafe and about 2 weeks back I attempted your croissants, they came great except the bread-like dough inside texture rather than the honeycomb,after reading all the comments I have tried proofing them longer,or less ,baking them at a slightly initial higher temp for a little longer but it’s still not where they should b, I think the problem is in the lamination, if u could do a video on rolling the dough by hand that would b amazing, thanks all the way from Malta
Hi Jesse,
Thanks for supporting the blog! If you have any photos of the interior of the croissant that would help to try and troubleshoot. I’ll also be able to quickly tell you if lamination is the issue. Generally, if you have a dense honeycomb structure it’s the result of either 1. over proofing or 2. protein that is too weak to support the weight of the croissant/open honeycomb. The first issue is easy to check, simply proof the croissant for a bit less time, say 15-30 minutes less (although be very specific in documenting this during your test). The second issue could mean you need a stronger bread flour, or need to add a small amount of dough conditioner, or need to either mix the dough longer to develop the gluten OR add a bit more water to the dough prior to mixing to allow more gluten to develop. Many people forget that gluten can only develop with water as a “fuel” so under-hydrated dough can lead to the issue you’re experiencing.
This may seem all a bit overwhelming, but really just tackle the problem one step at a time. First, start with the proofing test. If that doesn’t fix the issue, check the gluten strength of the dough. If the dough passes the window pane test during mixing but you still get a dense croissant, then you may need still need a stronger flour, but first I’d try just adding a bit more water (a very small amount, like 2-5% more at first).
Send those pics to me! And I will DEFINITELY be doing a croissant video in the near future!
Cheers – Chef Scott
ABSOLUTELY loved the video! Great explanations, background music, attention to detail.. really, I was a bit upset about not having the full recipe in written format but this so made me want to bake more now!
Please, keep them coming!
Thank you.
So I filled the recipe exactly and they do still have cracks in them. My cracks are never super big, it’s just runs the length of the eclair and is probably double the thickness of one of the lines from the star tip, but it makes it so that the filling oozes out. Also my shells are never hallow. Is there something else that causes that? I use King Arthur bread flour and I believe the protein is 12.6%
Hi John,
Do you have any photos you can send me at Chefscott@devilsfoodkitchen.com? It might be easier to help you troubleshoot this issue if I can see a few examples. Not to worry! We will get to the bottom of this and get your eclair looking lvl100.
Cheers – Chef Scott
I will bake some up later on and send them over! Thanks for the help!
Sounds good!
Sent!
LOVE your videos- the way you display the recipes and how you break down the science. Thank you so much for sharing with us! I’ve bought and tasted so many soso eclairs, but the few rare ones that were so good make me appreciate a great one.
Hi Debbie,
Thank you!! I’m so glad you enjoy them. Please feel free to request any topics or recipes you’d like to see! Do you remember which eclair was the best you’ve ever had?
Cheers – Chef Scott
Eclairs! Arghhhhh, my nemesis! For someone who likes to weigh and temp everything they pose a challenge with their ever shifting variables: how long you dry the dough affects how much egg you can add, and how much egg you add affects the texture of the dough and that affects how high they rise and if they crack.
But, I digress. I have never baked eclairs from frozen. It’s an interesting idea and Cookies baked from frozen hold their shape better. Is it true with eclairs? Does freezing diminish the rise? What is the purpose of spraying them with a pan spray? Doe it keep the tops from drying out in the freezer? Also, fan or no fan for the bake and how many sheet pans at a time?
Struggling in Evanston, Illinois.
Are you still in Chicago? Would you consider a class: “ Eclairs for Dummies”.
Hi Julie,
Eclair can definitely be a challenge, especially if baking them in a home oven, which lacks the specific and even heat distribution of a professional deck oven. Some of the variables are unfortunately a matter of practice. Timing the drying process on the stove is a good way to start, and although it depends on the size of the batch and strength of the burner, drying for 60-90 seconds is a good starting point. This recipe is pretty dialed-in, so if you dry your dough that long, the egg quantity should be correct.
I don’t actually bake the eclair from frozen, the freezing process is just so I can handle them to cut them uniformly. I will place the frozen eclair on my baking pan and then let them come to room temp before baking. The pan spray does prevent them from drying out (although keep the dough wrapped tightly if being held in the freezer for longer than it takes to freeze solid for handling) and helps to even the coloring during baking. I would not use a fan, and instead rely on steam to make the choux rise. This most closely mimics a deck oven. You could get away with two sheet pans, as long as you rotate and switch which racks they are baking on when it’s the right time. That means not opening the oven door too soon, which will cause them to deflate.
Don’t give up, It’s just a matter of practice! Send me pics of your next attempt and I can help you get this right!
Cheers – Chef Scott