This delicacy few people can leave indifferent. The classic eclair is an oblong-shaped cake made from the most tender custard dough, stuffed with custard and covered with a layer of chocolate glaze.
In many ways, the taste of this delicacy depends on the filling. After all, it is known that choux pastry is quite bland - it is made without sugar. The filling for eclair can be either sweet or not very, or even salty. But in any case, it will be a decoration for dessert (or snacks). Both salty and sweet fillings for eclairs harmonize with the test for taste combination.
In the hands of an experienced hostess, any ingredients will turn into a real culinary masterpiece. In our article, we propose to get acquainted with various recipes for the filling for eclairs. We will pay special attention to the sweet filling - the favorite of many.
Quick reference
The name of this dessert in translation from French means “lightning”, “flash”. According to one version, with this “sparkling” name, the custard cake was named due to its almost weightless lightness. Someone explains the name of the eclair as the fact that the amazing taste of the delicacy provokes the sweet tooth to its lightning absorption. Another option - the process of preparing an eclair is so simple and fast that it reminded its creators of lightning. The universally recognized historical homeland of dessert is France. Its creator is the French chef Marie Antoine Karem.
How can I start eclairs?
There is a huge variety of fillings for custard eclairs. A variety of sweet fillers are very popular. The most popular sweet fillings for eclairs include such creams:
- protein
- custard;
- creamy;
- cottage cheese;
- oil.
No less willingly, the housewives use chocolate and yogurt with condensed milk when creating cakes.
There are also many types of unsweetened fillings for eclairs. They are no less tasty and satisfying. As a filling for eclairs eclairs hostesses, as a rule, choose a cheese or meat mixture, as well as very unusual - salted herring.
Let's start with the basics
As you know, eclairs are cakes quite tender, so they should not be stored for a long time. Ideally, prepare the filling on the day of serving. You can bake cakes yourself earlier, even using freezing technology. The choice of cream (like glaze) depends on such factors:
- how long cakes will be stored from the time of their filling until serving;
- at what temperature the finished product will be stored.
About the features of creams
Experts consider ganache to be quite dense and stable - a cream that is created on the basis of chocolate (milk, bitter or white). The cakes stuffed with it will not get wet and can withstand prolonged transportation. Mistresses recommend slightly boiling the liquid, which will be added to this sweet stuffing for eclairs. These cakes can be transported without a refrigerator.
An excellent and most common cream is custard. This classic product is cooked on starch or flour. Since it is brewed, eclairs filled with such a cream can be stored for several days in the refrigerator.
Fans of the Soviet classics often choose an oil cream, which experts consider extremely stable and not softening the walls of cakes. Mistresses recommend sweetening it with condensed milk or sugar.
Eclairs filled with Chantilly cream (whipped cream with sugar) should not be stored or transported for too long. It’s better to eat them right away. Well, or a maximum of two hours after cooking.
The Swiss meringue cream will also not withstand long storage and transportation. Choux pastry goes well with the cheese version of the filler. Cakes with this filling can be stored for several days in the refrigerator.
Eclairs with kurd - lemon, blackcurrant, grapefruit, etc. are very tasty. It is recommended to add whipped cream or mascarpone to lemon, otherwise the pronounced taste of the product will overwhelm all the charm of the custard dough.
Curd cream is prepared with condensed milk and butter. He is chosen mainly by lovers of dietary treats. The fat-free cottage cheese used in the preparation of this filling should be passed through a sieve. It is better not to store such cakes for a long time, but to eat them during the day.
Sweet fillings for eclairs: recipes
There is nothing complicated in the manufacturing process of eclairs. With a little experience, effort, diligence, wonderful home-made cakes will appear on the table.
Classic Custard Recipe
This traditional sweet filling for eclairs. It’s easy to cook. To do this, prepare the following products:
- one glass of powdered sugar;
- three tablespoons of flour;
- 500 ml of milk;
- four yolks;
- a few drops of vanilla essence.
Cooking
Now let's move on to the manufacturing process of the filling:
- First you need to beat the yolks, gradually adding sugar or icing sugar to them.
- Then add flour a little while continuing to whisk until the composition of the mass becomes homogeneous.
- Pour milk into the mass, mix and place on the stove.
- Now it is very important to continue stirring the future cream until small bubbles appear in it.
- After the brew boils and begins to thicken, stirring should continue to avoid sticking the filling and the appearance of lumps.
In terms of density, the cream should resemble a thick semolina. At the end, vanilla essence is poured into it, once again stirred and removed from the heat. If it is not planned to start the eclairs immediately, it is cooled and sent to the cold.
Condensed milk as a filling for eclairs
This version of the cream is ideal for preparing treats for the children's holiday. But the filling for eclairs with condensed milk is loved not only by kids, but also by adults. The recipe for making such a cream is called the simplest and fastest mistress. The ingredients for creating a cream will need only two:
- 200 g of boiled condensed milk;
- 200 g of butter.
First, beat the butter until it turns white. Then boiled condensed milk is introduced there. Beat thoroughly again to make a thick mass.
Cream for eclair
Required Products:
- 500 ml of milk;
- 200 g butter;
- 1 egg
- 1 cup of sugar;
- 2 tbsp. l flour.
Cognac, rum, vanillin in a small amount are used as a flavoring.
How to cook?
First you need to combine the egg with sugar and flour. Grind the mixture. The milk is brought to a boil, then it is poured in a thin stream into the resulting mass, stirring thoroughly. Put the container on the stove and heat the mixture over low heat until it begins to “puff”. Vanillin, rum, cognac, etc. are added at the very end. After the cream has cooled, it is whipped with softened oil.
Low Calorie Butter Cream Recipe
Required Products:
- 30 g of oil;
- four yolks;
- 100 g of sugar;
- 30 g of powdered sugar;
- 400 ml of milk;
- a bag of vanilla;
- salt.
The yolks are combined with powder, stirred and slowly introduced flour. The mass is well mixed. They warm milk, avoiding boiling. Then sugar with vanilla is introduced into it. If a pod is used, then you must remember to remove it after a while. Add oil and beat the mixture with a mixer. Milk and yolk mass are combined in small portions, mix and begin to warm. At the first sign of boiling, turn off the heat. The pan must be covered with something so that a film does not form on its surface. Set aside and let the cream cool.
Protein Cream Recipe
It is distinguished by tenderness and airiness. For the preparation of protein cream use:
- four egg whites;
- half a glass of powder;
- flavoring (vanilla or any other).
Cooking features
You should be extremely careful about the separation of proteins: they should not contain a single drop of yolk. A container of proteins is put in a water bath and, warming up, they begin to beat with a mixer. Do not immediately use high speed. It is better to start small to achieve uniform brewing cream. Powdered sugar is carefully introduced, then they switch to maximum speed. The cream should be whipped for 10 minutes. The product should become dense and shiny. Now it is removed from the stove and begin to stuff the eclairs.
Curd cream
Eclairs with such a filling can be called a modern invention. A huge advantage of such a cake, many consider it a relatively low calorie content. By their taste, cakes are not inferior to analogues with a traditional filler.
The first way to make curd filling
You will need such products:
- 220 g of cottage cheese (not too fat);
- 220 g cream;
- 200 g of powder;
- 2 sachets of flavor or vanillin.
Cooking method:
- First, grind the cottage cheese through a sieve and add powder or sugar into it.
- If the product after grinding does not become soft, beat it up a little.
- Cream should also be lightly whipped and added to the curd.
- Then add flavoring there.
It is necessary to continue to beat until a homogeneous mass is formed.
Second option
This recipe is more complex and high-calorie, but cheaper. It is necessary to prepare:
- 200 g of fat sour cream;
- 200 g of cottage cheese;
- 1 glass of sugar or powder;
- 1 tsp vanilla sugar.
First, beat the powder with the curd until smooth. Add sour cream and vanilla and continue to whisk for some time. The mass should become dense, shiny and smooth.
How to make chocolate cream?
For cooking use:
- 200 g butter (butter);
- ½ cans of condensed milk;
- 3 tbsp. l cocoa.
Put softened butter in a container and add condensed milk. Beat the cream, then add cocoa and mix again. If desired, you can add 1 tbsp. l cognac.
Pistachio Cream Filling
Nuts are always an ideal option for milking desserts. Cream of pistachios turns out to be extraordinary, with an interesting and original taste. Ingredients:
- milk - 350 ml;
- corn starch - 2 tbsp. l .;
- sugar - 100 g;
- peeled chopped pistachios - 100 g;
- butter - 100 g;
- fat cream - 150 g.
A couple of tablespoons of milk are mixed with starch, the rest with sugar. The second part is brought to a boil. Then a thin stream injected milk mixture with starch, stirring constantly. Bring the cream to a boil, turn off the fire. After the mass has cooled, beat it with softened butter and add the nuts. Cream is whipped separately, then mixed with a starchy-milk mass.
Cream based on Italian meringue
Delicate, lightweight, weightless filling ideal for exquisite eclairs. You will need:
- two proteins;
- 130 g of sugar;
- 40 ml of water.
Sugar is mixed with water, the syrup is brought to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook until caramel threads are formed. Squirrels are whipped in parallel. When the mass becomes sufficiently airy, they begin to gradually pour syrup into it with a thin stream. The mixer is turned off after the cream becomes elastic, dense and shiny. If desired, flavorings or cocoa are added to it.
Unsweetened toppings
Modern housewives have significantly expanded the types of eclairs. They can be prepared without cream, filling with savory filling:
- Cheese. To prepare it, rub 200 g of hard cheese, add chopped dill, crushed clove of garlic and mayonnaise.
- Salty herring. Fillet is passed through a meat grinder with a slice of rolls soaked in milk. Boiled chopped egg and green onions are added to the mixture. Dilute a little with vegetable oil and mix well.
- Mushroom. They are boiled, chopped, add the fried onions and 1 spoon of sour cream. The mixture should be slightly darkened over low heat. At the end, grated cheese is added to it.
- Meat. It is prepared according to the same principle as mushroom.
How do eclairs fill with stuffing?
There are two ways. You can cut the cake in half, fill the hollow part with the filling and connect the halves.
It is also possible to fill the eclairs without destroying their integrity. To do this, make a neat hole in the cake and inject the cream into it with the help of a pastry syringe.