Eclair au Craquelin Filled with Chocolate Crème Patissière
After diving into choux pastry for my Food in Film project, I wanted to master a base recipe. Craquelin was a must-try, and I couldn’t resist filling these éclairs with the chocolate crème pâtissière I made for The Grand Budapest Hotel pastries. Simple in appearance but not in flavour, these éclairs are a decadent treat.
Makes approx. 10
Hands-on Time 30 minutes (plus cooling)
Baking Time 34 minutes
Ingredients
45g unsalted butter
55g demerara sugar
65g plain flour (divided)
1 portion choux pastry
560ml full-fat milk
100g milk or dark chocolate (broken up)
5 medium egg yolks
90g caster sugar
25g cocoa powder
15g cornflour
Equipment
Mixing bowl
Baking parchment
Rolling pin
Baking sheet
Piping bag with a round tip (at least 1.5cm diameter) and a narrow tip (approx. 5mm diameter)
Knife
Wire rack
Saucepan
Spatula
Whisk
Method
1. Make the craquelin topping
In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, demerara sugar, and 55g plain flour using your hands until a crumbly dough forms.
Place the dough between two sheets of baking parchment and roll into a rectangle about 3–5mm thick. Trim and neaten the edges.
Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
2. Prepare the choux pastry
Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C (fan)/325°F/Gas Mark 3.
Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Pipe the choux pastry into 7cm lengths, spaced evenly apart. Smooth any pointed ends with a wet finger.
Let the choux rest for 30 minutes.
3. Assemble and bake the eclairs
Cut the chilled craquelin dough into rectangles slightly wider than the choux lengths.
Place a rectangle on top of each choux pastry and gently press down.
Bake on the middle shelf for 34 minutes, or until golden.
Cool on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. Make the chocolate crème pâtissière
In a saucepan, heat the milk and chocolate over medium heat until the chocolate melts and the milk steams. Stir occasionally.
In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar for 1 minute until thick.
Add 10g plain flour, cocoa powder, and cornflour. Whisk until combined.
Gradually whisk in half the warm chocolate milk, then pour the mixture back into the saucepan.
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened to a custard consistency.
Transfer to a clean bowl and let cool to room temperature.
5. Fill the eclairs
Use the narrow piping tip to make 3 holes in the underside of each eclair (one at each end and one in the middle).
Fill a piping bag fitted with the narrow tip with the chocolate crème pâtissière.
Pipe the filling into the middle hole until it emerges from the end holes.
6. Serve
Let the eclairs sit for 30 minutes to allow the filling to set slightly.
Enjoy the same day for the best texture.
Enjoy!























