These mini chocolate éclairs combine a cocoa choux pastry, dark chocolate pastry cream filling and chocolate glaze topping. They are the perfect little treat to make for a special occasion or to simply enjoy for afternoon tea!
Pour the milk into a medium saucepan, turn on low heat and bring to a simmer. In the meantime, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a large heat-proof bowl for about a minute. Add the cornstarch and whisk well until smooth.
Once it starts to simmer, slowly pour the hot milk over the egg mixture while constantly whisking (see note 1). Pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan and place back on the stove over low heat. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the custard has thickened. Make sure the cream doesn't boil - it should only ever just simmer (see note 2).
Remove from the heat and add the finely chopped chocolate. Stir with a spatula until the chocolate has completely melted and you get a smooth, shiny mixture (see note 3).
Pour the chocolate pastry cream into a clean bowl or shallow pan, cover with plastic wrap touching the surface of the cream and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Chocolate Choux Pastry
Place the water, sugar, pinch of salt and butter in a medium size saucepan on medium low heat. In the meantime, sift together the flour and cocoa powder.
When the butter has completely melted and the liquid is simmering, take away from the stove and drop in the sifted flour and cocoa powder at once. Using a stiff heat-proof spatula or wooden spoon, vigorously stir until the mixture turns into a thick paste (called a "panade").
Place back on the stove under medium heat and cook for 2 minutes while constantly mixing and pressing the dough against the side and bottom of the saucepan to dry it out. You should see a thin skin form at the bottom of the pan.
Transfer into a large clean bowl (or bowl of a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment). Set aside to cool for 10 to 15 minutes (see note 4).
In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs until the whites and yolks are well combined. Pour a little bit of the eggs (1 to 2 tablespoons at a time) into the panade and mix well using a stiff spatula (or your mixer) until the eggs get fully incorporated (see note 5). Continue to add a little bit of egg at a time and mix well until you reach the desired consistency, even if you still have a bit of egg left.
To know you have reached the right consistency, pick up some of the mixture with the spatula and lift it up. When the mixture falls back down into the bowl, it should leave some of the mixture hanging from the spatula a "V" shape. The mixture should be smooth, shiny and slightly fluid.
Preheat your oven on 180 degrees Celsius / 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare a large baking sheet with baking paper or with a silicone baking mat.
Transfer the chocolate choux pastry into a large pastry bag fitted with a 1,2 cm (about 1/2 inch) open star tip or french start tip. Holding the pastry bag at on a 45 degrees angle, pipe small logs of pastry that measure about 8 cm (3-inch) in length onto the prepared sheet (see note 6). Leave some room between each éclair as they will expand in the oven.
Bake for 25 minutes or until the éclairs have nicely puffed and are completely dry, making sure not to open the oven door at all. Turn off the oven, slightly open the door using a wooden spoon to keep it open and leave for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack and allow to cool down completely.
Take the chocolate pastry cream out of the fridge and stir it with a spatula to loosen it. Transfer it into a pastry bag fitted with a bismarck piping tip or small round tip. Make two or three small holes on the bottom of each éclair using either the bismarck tip or a small knife. Pipe the chocolate custard into the éclairs, place them on a flat tray and set aside (see note 7).
Chocolate Glaze
Finely chop the chocolate, place it in a medium heatproof bowl and melt it either in the microwave in 30 seconds increments or over a double-boiler. When fully melted, mix in the melted coconut oil or neutral oil. Stir until you get a very shiny and smooth glaze.
Dip the top of each eclair shell in the warm chocolate glaze. Gently shake the eclair over the bowl to remove any excess chocolate. Tip back over and place back on the flat tray. Serve straight away or within a few hours. If making in advance, you can keep them in the fridge but the shells will start to turn soft and soggy.
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Notes
This step allows to temper (or slowly rise the temperature of) the egg yolks. This will help avoid overcooking and scrambling the eggs on the stove later.
The time it will take to reach the right temperature will depend on the exact heat of your stove. Ideally, the pastry cream needs to reach 82 to 84 degrees celsius (around 180 degrees Fahrenheit) to be properly cooked.
Optionally, use an immersion blender to create a super smooth emulsion (but be careful not to blend for too long or your custard will turn liquid).
Make sure the mixture doesn't feel hot to the touch before you start adding the eggs or your risk cooking the eggs with the residual heat.
The mixture will seem to split at first but will come together after some strong mixing. It is not the easiest thing to do by hands so if you have a hand or stand mixer, you will find the process much easier.
Try to pipe in a fast, confident way to insure the thickness of the éclair is even all along its length. To finish piping, gently push down the piping tip towards the baking sheet to "cut off" the pastry and lift the bag up.
You know the éclair is fully filled when some of the cream tries to escape from one of the holes while you pipe it in. The eclairs should feel heavy too.