Holiday Eclairs with Chocolate Peppermint Ganache

Name: Holiday Eclairs with Chocolate Peppermint Ganache
Prep time: 1 h 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Global
Ingredients: 2 Tbsps cornstarch; 4 egg yolks; 4 larges eggs; 2 Tbsps flour; 237 milliliters heavy whipping cream; 2 teaspoons mint extract; 0 teaspoons salt; 340 grams semisweet chocolate, chopped finely, use 12 ounces of chips; 6 Tbsps sugar; 2 Tbsps unsalted butter; 1 teaspoon vanilla; 237 milliliters water; 473 milliliters whole milk

You can never have too many side dish recipes, so give Holiday Eclairs with Chocolate Peppermint Ganache a try. This recipe serves 8. One portion of this dish contains around 10g of protein, 37g of fat, and a total of 525 calories. It can be enjoyed any time, but it is especially good for Christmas. A mixture of cornstarch, water, eggs, and a handful of other ingredients are all it takes to make this recipe so yummy. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes around 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Instructions

For the Pastry: Center two racks in the middle of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Prepare a pastry bag with a large, round tip. If you don't have a pastry bag, a zip-top bag with a corner snipped off will work just fine.

Equipment you will use

Baking Paper

Baking Sheet

Pastry Bag

Oven

Combine butter, water, sugar, and salt in a pot and bring to boil over medium heat.

Ingredients you will need

Butter

Sugar

Water

Salt

Equipment you will use

Pot

Sprinkle in the flour and stir quickly with a wooden spoon. Stirring constantly, cook the dough for about 2 minutes, or until the dough forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the pan and there is no more water pooled at the bottom.

Ingredients you will need

Dough

All Purpose Flour

Water

Equipment you will use

Wooden Spoon

Frying Pan

Remove from heat and let sit for 2 minutes, stirring four or five times to keep the dough from sticking to the bottom of the hot pan.

Ingredients you will need

Dough

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan

Transfer the dough to a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat in the eggs one at a time. After all eggs are added, keep beating until the dough is a uniform consistency; it should be sticky and form soft peaks.

Ingredients you will need

Dough

Egg

Equipment you will use

Hand Mixer

Bowl

Spoon the dough into a pastry bag or large zip-top bag with a big corner snipped off. Pipe the dough onto the prepared baking sheet in 6-inch long strips, about the width and length of an Italian sausage. Make sure to leave 2-inchs of space between the pastries.

Ingredients you will need

Italian Sausage

Dough

Equipment you will use

Baking Sheet

Pastry Bag

Slide the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes, or until pastries puff up and are a gorgeous golden color.

Equipment you will use

Baking Sheet

Oven

Let cool completely on the baking sheet. Once completely cool, cut the eclairs in half length-wise using a serrated bread knife.

Ingredients you will need

Bread

Equipment you will use

Baking Sheet

Bread Knife

While the pastries are cooling, prepare pastry cream.

Ingredients you will need

Pastry Cream

For the Pastry Cream: In a heavy-bottomed 3-quart pot, whisk the milk and egg yolks together. Set aside. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt.

Ingredients you will need

Pastry Cream

Corn Starch

Egg Yolk

All Purpose Flour

Sugar

Milk

Salt

Equipment you will use

Whisk

Bowl

Pot

Set the pot of milk and yolks over medium flame, heating just until bubbles form around the edges and the surface starts to steam.

Ingredients you will need

Egg Yolk

Milk

Equipment you will use

Pot

Sprinkle in the flour mixture, whisking quickly to break up any lumps. Bring the pastry cream just to a boil, stirring constantly, and reduce heat to low. Cook until the cream thickens and heavily coats the back of a spoon.

Ingredients you will need

Pastry Cream

Cream

All Purpose Flour

Equipment you will use

Whisk

Remove from heat.

Stir in the butter and vanilla, mixing until fully incorporated.

Ingredients you will need

Vanilla

Butter

Let pastry cream cool completely before using.

Ingredients you will need

Pastry Cream

Pour chocolate into a metal mixing bowl. Find a pot large enough to comfortably accommodate the metal mixing bowl without the whole bowl dropping inside. Set the bowl with the chocolate aside. Fill the empty pot halfway with water and set over medium heat to boil. Once the water is at a boil, reduce flame to low so that the water stays hot without boiling away.

Ingredients you will need

Chocolate

Water

Equipment you will use

Mixing Bowl

Pot

Add whipping cream, butter and mint extract to a small saucepan over medium heat.

Ingredients you will need

Whipping Cream

Peppermint Extract

Butter

Equipment you will use

Sauce Pan

Whisking constantly, heat the cream to just about boiling, but don’t let it actually come to a boil. You should see bubbles forming around the edges of the pot. If you’re using a thermometer, the temperature of the cream should be about 180 degrees.

Ingredients you will need

Cream

Equipment you will use

Whisk

Kitchen Thermometer

Pot

Set the bowl of chocolate into the pot of boiling water, creating a double boiler. Immediately pour hot cream over chopped chocolate and whisk until completely smooth.

Ingredients you will need

Chocolate

Cream

Water

Equipment you will use

Double Boiler

Whisk

Bowl

Pot

Remove chocolate from heat and allow to cool for a 5 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Chocolate

Remove the top half of the eclairs and spoon pastry cream into the bottom portion of the puff pastry. Replace the top and set the pastries on a cooling rack with a piece of foil spread underneath.

Ingredients you will need

Pastry Cream

Puff Pastry Sheets

Spread

Equipment you will use

Wire Rack

Aluminum Foil

Drizzle the eclairs with warm ganache, scooping up any extra icing from the foil and pouring it back into the bowl. If the ganache begins to harden, set it back over the double boiler and stir until it warms up and loosen a bit.

Ingredients you will need

Icing