Eclairs with praline crème

This time we would like to share a recipe for eclairs with praline crème, a subtle note of cardamom and cherry curd.

You will fall in love with that tasty combination!

For the choux pastry:

• Milk – 125 g
• Water – 125 g
• Butter – 100 g
• Sugar – 8 g
• Salt – 2 g
• Flour (premium) – 75 g
• Flour (strong) – 75 g
• Eggs – 225-250 g

Bring milk, water, diced butter, salt and sugar to a boil; remove from the heat, and add all the flour. Place it back on the heat, and brew the dough for a few minutes. Remove it from heat, and let the dough cool to 60C (140F). Next, gradually add the slightly whisked eggs. Knead well each time.

Let the dough rest a little, and form the eclairs using a “Circle” or an “Open Star” pastry nozzle. Put the éclair blanks in the freezer for an hour. Preheat the oven to 200C (392F). Take the eclairs out from the fridge; sprinkle them with flour, and place them in the oven. Reduce the temperature to 180C (356F), and bake the eclairs for 25 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 160C (320F), and dry the eclairs for 25 more minutes. Cool them on a wire rack.

First, make the nut paste with cardamom.

You will need:

• Hazelnuts – 100 g | 3.55 oz
• Almonds – 100 g | 3.55 oz
• Sugar – 125 g | 4.40 oz
• Cardamom seeds (or ground) – 5 g | 0.20 oz
• Vegetable oil – 5 ml | 0.20 fl oz

The nuts can be peeled or not (at your discretion).

Preheat the oven to 200C (392F). Cover the baking sheet with parchment paper, and spread the nuts over the entire surface. Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the nuts get slightly golden brown. Transfer them immediately to a deep heavy-bottomed saucepan. Keep it on a medium heat, adding the sugar from time to time (as it melts). Add the cardamom.

Stir the nuts with a wooden spatula - they should all be covered with the melted caramel. Cook until the sugar gets amber (from 10 to 15 minutes), and spread the caramelized nuts evenly on a silicone mat. Let them cool completely, and then break into pieces.

Next, grind the nuts with vegetable oil first to a flour consistency, and then keep mashing until a thick viscous paste. It is more convenient to use an immersion blender in the end. Just place everything in a special tall bowl, and continue grinding the nut mixture in a pulse mode. After a while, it will start thickening, and becomes shiny (almost of a liquid state).

For the praline nut crème:

• Egg yolks – 3 pcs | 3.00items
• Sugar – 75 g | 2.65 oz
• Corn starch – 30 g | 1.05 oz
• Milk – 210 g | 7.40 oz
• Chocolate dark – 40 g | 1.40 oz
• 1/2 vanilla pod | 1.00 item
• Soft butter – 100 g | 3.55 oz
• Cream 33% - 200 g | 7.05 oz
• Praline nut paste – 100 g | 3.55 oz

Cut the vanilla pod, and remove the seeds. Fold it in a saucepan, and pour over the milk. Bring it to a boil over a medium heat. Turn off the heat, and cover the saucepan; let it brew for 1 hour. Remove the pod, and heat the milk again. Whisk the yolks with sugar and corn starch. Pour in the hot milk in a thin stream while whisking. When the mixture is smooth, pour everything back into the pot. Place it on a low heat, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or a whisk. Continue stirring for another 3 to 5 minutes until thickened. Remove the mass from the heat.

Add the chocolate, and stir until it dissolves completely. Add the butter in portions, stirring until smooth. Cool the mix in a water bath while stirring the crème continuously. Mix the cooled crème with praline nut paste. Whip the cooled cream to soft peaks. Stir the cream into the crème, and refrigerate for a few hours.

For the cherry curd:

• Pitted cherries – 120 g | 2.45 oz
• Egg yolks – 4 pcs | 4.00 items
• Sugar – 80 g | 2.80 oz
• Butter – 60 g | 2.10 oz

Puree the cherries. Combine the cherry puree with sugar and yolks in a saucepan. Boil the mix over a low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes until thickened, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove it from the heat, and add the finely chopped butter; stir and cool.

For the glaze:

• Powdered sugar – 110 g | 3.90 oz
• Milk – 1 tbsp | 1.00 tbsp
• Glucose syrup – 1 tbsp | 1.00 tbsp
• Dye drop | 0.00 to taste

Rub the powdered sugar with milk, and add the glucose syrup and the dye; combine.

Cut off the bottoms of the eclairs. Fill them with praline crème, curd and crème again. Cover the eclairs with the glaze. Let the excess glaze drain on the wire rack. Decorate them with the chocolate balls.

For the chocolate balls:

• White chocolate – 100 g | 3.55 oz
• Glucose syrup – 30 g | 1.05 oz

Melt the chocolate, and add the glucose. Wrap the mass in foil, and let it rest.

Sculpt the balls. Cover them with the golden powder.

Bon Appetit!