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8/31/08

Daring Bakers: Eclairs

August brought a new challenge from the Daring Bakers: eclairs! I was beyond excited. I've loved eclairs ever since I was a little girl. My mom claims making them, but I don't remember that :)

The recipe was to make 24 eclairs, and I knew for sure I did not want to be the sole consumer of these marvelous things. I decided to have a potluck and invite a few friends over. And then I set out to bake the eclairs.

The recipe, which you will find posted on Meeta's blog, was very straight-forward and I loved that I was able to make the chocolate glaze and the filling a day ahead. Both the glaze and the filling were easy to make and tasted delicious. In fact, I still have the leftovers sitting in my fridge...wonder how long they will last ;)

Then, on the day of the potluck, August 24th, after cleaning my apartment, scrubbing bathroom floors and making a white bean dip, I set out to make the dough for the eclairs.

The process of making the dough in a pot from milk, butter and flour was new to me, but seemed to work out well. Once I added the eggs, the dough seemed a bit thicker than I thought it would be, but I decided to go ahead and continue the process. Shaping eclairs was quite a "to do." And I definitely did not end up with 24 eclairs: more like 13 with a few random round ones.

Following Tartelette's advice, I froze the formed eclairs, and defrosted them while the oven was heating up. Once in the oven, the eclairs appeared to do nothing: I was worried. And then, all of a sudden, they browned and rose: they were gorgeous! I was thrilled and did a little happy dance.

But then, just as I was about to take a few pictures, they completely deflated, as did my mood. My mom thinks I did not bake them long enough. I was devastated. With no time to remake them, I continued with the recipe.

Right before deflation happened....

I cut the eclairs in half and discovered that the insides were still wet. The clock was ticking, my friends were coming over soon, and I wanted to nix the entire idea. Then I got a hold of myself. I put the cut eclairs back into the oven in order for them to finish baking.
I then used a pastry brush to "paint" the tops with the chocolate glaze, filled the other half with the filling and put the two together.

They did not turn out as beautiful as I had hoped, but the taste was definitely good. I think all my friends liked them (they even took the leftover eclairs home).

Here's a picture of a mini puff I made: I think they are "funner" to eat than a full eclair :)

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

You did great! They look delicious!

Paz

Speedbump Kitchen said...

They look wonderful! I think filling was invented to cover up fallen choux!

Anonymous said...

Looks great and glad that you didn't give up. That's the DB spirit.

Amy J. said...

Awesome job! No wonder your friends were taking them home. I agree on the cream puffs, too! Something about them is just more. . . FUN!

Anonymous said...

These look beautiful and delicious. And, I too, agree about the cream puff. It looks really really good.

Eat4Fun said...

Congrats on your second DB Challenge! This challenge definitely was quite the challenge trying to produce eclairs that didn't deflate. However, I bet they sure were tasty! :-)

AJ said...

They look great!!

Apu

http://annarasaessenceoffood.blogspot.com/

Pam said...

Great job for not giving up. They look beautiful! I wish I would have made a few cream puffs too.

Anonymous said...

Aw, they're still lovely if you as me!

Anonymous said...

I love you attitude! Just keep going and hope for the best. I agree with the smaller eclairs, too. Much easier to eat and last longer, too!