Recipe of the month

CHOCOLATE CARAMEL ÉCLAIR

Recipe for 10 portions.


COCOA CHOUX PASTRY

  • Milk 100 g
  • Water 100 g
  • Butter 80 g
  • Caster sugar 4 g
  • Salt 2 g
  • Flour 110 g
  • Cocoa powder 12 g
  • Eggs 183 g

Boil milk, water, butter, sugar and salt. Add sifted flour and cocoa powder and dry out on medium heat, stirring with a spatula. Place into a mixing bowl with a paddle and gradually add eggs. Pipe with a smooth piping tip 13 cm eclairs 1.5 cm wide onto a tray lined with baking paper.


CACAO CHOUX

  • Butter 100 g
  • Raw "unrefined" sugar 135 g
  • Flour 110 g
  • Cocoa powder 25 g

Mix the 4 ingredients with a paddle to form a homogeneous mass without incorporating any air. Roll out between two sheets of baking paper to 2 mm thick. Blast freeze before cutting 14 x 3 cm rectangles. Place a rectangular crunch onto each éclair before baking. Bake at 150°C for 45 minutes in a fan forced oven.


CARAMEL CREAM

  • Water 130 g
  • Glucose 63 g
  • Caster sugar 396 g
  • Cream 35% fat 664 g
  • Vanilla bean, Tahitian 1/2 piece
  • Egg yolks 203 g
  • Gelatin (200 Bloom) 8 g
  • Cream 35% fat 148 g
  • Salt "fleur de sel" 3.3 g

Boil 664 g cream with the vanilla bean that has been cut and scraped. Cover and infuse for 30 minutes. Cook a dark dry caramel with water, sugar and glucose. Stop cooking of caramel with hot infused cream. Pour onto egg yolks and cook to 82°C (crème anglaise). Add soaked gelatin, 148 g remaining cream and salt. Set aside at 3°C for minimum 12 hours.


CACAO CRUMBLE

  • Flour T55 200 g
  • Butter 115 g
  • Caster sugar 115 g
  • Raw "unrefined" sugar 30 g
  • Cocoa powder 15 g
  • Water 7.5 g
  • Silver luster dust as nec.

Mix all ingredients together with a paddle without incorporating any air. Sprinkle the dough onto a baking tray with a perforated silicon mat. Bake at 150°C for 15 to 20 minutes. Cool before adding silver luster dust.


WHIPPED GANACHE

  • Cream 35% fat, hot 150 g
  • Cream 35% fat, cold 150 g
  • Milk chocolate Orizaba 39% (Valrhona) 200 g

Boil hot cream and pour in three times onto melted chocolate to make an emulsion. Add cold cream, blending before refrigerating at 3°C for 12 hours minimum.


ASSEMBLY

  • Couverture Guanaja 70% (Valrhona) as nec.

Fill eclairs with caramel cream. Lightly whip ganache and pipe a tube on the top of each éclair with a straight piping tip. Decorate with three crumble pieces and three petals of Guanaja dark chocolate.

Recipe given by

CÉDRIC SERVELA
Chef Pâtissier, Royal Champagne Hotel et Spa, Champillon, Marne.

THE IDEA?

An indulging eclair with varying textures.


THE FLAVOURS?

Caramel and chocolate: dark, milk and cocoa.


THE TECHNICAL STEP?

The choux pastry is quite technical and a pastry basic which we love to work with.


SELLING POINT?

A simple dessert, appreciated by all. Chocolate and caramel are best sellers in any season.

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