Pistachio and raspberry eclairs
Eclairs, the PetitChef team's favourite French pastries. Coffee, chocolate, hazelnut flavoured, but we admit that the ones we like best are filled with pistachio cream and fresh raspberries: a delicious recipe that no one will be able to resist. Make them yourself by following the written recipe explained step by step and our video tutorial at the bottom of the page. Enjoy preparing them!
Ingredients
Choux pastry:
Pistachio mousseline cream:
Craquelin:
Materials
- Pastry bag
- Smooth tip
- Shaped tip
- Template for eclairs
Preparation
The pistachio mousseline cream:
Bring the milk to the boil. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until the mixture becomes light and creamy. Then incorporate the cornflour and mix well.
Now pour on, a little at a time, the boiling milk. Then stir well. Then pour the resulting mixture into the saucepan.
Return the cream to the saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly until it thickens. Once the ideal consistency is reached, remove from the heat.
Add 1.7 oz butter to the still-warm cream. Leave the butter out of the fridge to soften. Now cover the cream with foil and let it cool down at room temperature.
The craquelin :
Whisk the soft butter with the brown sugar. Then add the flour and mix until you obtain a paste. Finally, add the pink food colouring and mix well.
Now roll out the dough between two sheets of baking paper (it must be 2 millimetres thick). Then place in the refrigerator.
The choux pastry:
In a saucepan, heat the water with the butter and salt. When the butter has melted, add all the flour and stir well until the dough comes away from the sides of the saucepan.
Now remove the saucepan from the heat and add the eggs, one at a time. Remember to stir each time you incorporate an egg (stir vigorously as the elasticity of the mixture is at stake during this step).
Lay a sheet of baking paper on the baking tray and place the eclairs shapes underneath.
Then fill a pastry bag fitted with a smooth tip with the choux pastry and form your eclairs.
Take the craquelin out of the fridge and cut pieces the same size as your eclairs. Be careful, the craquelin must remain hard, if it is too hot, do not hesitate to put it in the freezer to prevent the butter from melting quickly.
Now place the pieces of craquelin on top of each eclairs (if it breaks, it's no problem because it will even out during baking).
Bake for 35 minutes at 350°F (180°C).
At the end of baking, do not immediately take the tray out of the oven, your eclairs may deflate. So leave the oven door half-open for at least 10 minutes before taking them out.
When the eclairs have cooled, you can finish the cream mousseline:
Add the room-temperature pistachio cream and beat with electric hand beater. Incorporate 1/3 of the remaining soft butter and beat at maximum speed.
When the first piece of butter is well incorporated, repeat the operation until it is finished. After you have incorporated all the butter, continue to process the mixture for two to three minutes, until you obtain a thick cream.
Now cut your eclairs in two lengthwise. Then fill a pastry bag with the mousseline cream and fill them generously.
Lay a few raspberries on top of the cream, taking care to place them on the ends so that they can be seen.
Close the eclairs and dust them with icing sugar.
Et voila, pistachio and raspberries eclairs are ready!
Observations
Can I store the pistachio and raspberry eclairs?
Yes you can, for a maximum of 48 hours.
What do I do at the end of the baking?
Do not open the oven door suddenly, otherwise the choux pastry will deflate. The pastry swells due to the evaporation of water during baking: leave it ajar for at least 10 minutes before taking it out.
Is it necessary to prepare the craquelin?
It is not essential, but it will give a crispy touch and colour to your eclairs. If you don't want to prepare it, don't forget to brush the eclairs with beaten egg and run the tines of a fork over their surface to line them.
