Chocolate Éclairs

Makes 12 to 14

    Choux Pastry

  1. Combine the water, butter, salt, and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
  2. Reduce the heat and add the flour all at once, mixing quickly with a wooden spoon until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pot and forms a ball around the spoon.
  3. Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer and allow it to cool slightly.
  4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each until combined, and scraping down the sides of the bowl.
  5. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
  6. Grease and flour a baking sheet.
  7. Cut a 1 1/2 inch slit at the edge of a disposable pastry bag and fill it with the choux paste.
  8. Pipe 3 inch logs onto the baking sheet in two rows of six or seven each.
  9. Bake for 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through the baking time.
  10. Reduce the heat to 375°F and bake another 20 minutes, again rotating halfway through the baking time, until the éclairs are puffed and golden.
  11. Remove form the oven and cool to room temperature.

    12. Chocolate Pastry Cream

  12. Stir cornstarch, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt together to break up the lumps in the cornstarch and cocoa powder.
  13. Combine the milk, heavy cream, and dry ingredients in a medium saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until hot but not bubbling.
  14. Reduce the heat.
  15. Slowly pour 1/2 cup of the hot mixture into the egg yolks while whisking constantly.
  16. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan while stirring constantly.
  17. Return the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick and bubbling.
  18. Remove from the heat.
  19. Add the vanilla and chocolate.
  20. Stir to combine.
  21. Transfer to a bowl and cover the surface directly with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming, and cool to room temperature.
  22. Refrigerate until cold.

    23. Chocolate Glaze

  23. Combine the cream and chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat.
  24. Stir constantly until smooth.
  25. Cool until thick enough to spread.

    26. Assembly

  26. Split the éclairs in half with a knife.
  27. Fill the bottom halves with about 2 Tbs of the pastry cream.
  28. Replace the top halves and spread with about 2 tsp of the glaze.
  29. Allow the glaze to set.

Bucholz, Dinah. The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook. Pages 180-181. Avon, Massachusetts: Adams Media, 2010. (with modifications)