White Chocolate-Vanilla Baby Éclairs

White Chocolate-Vanilla Baby Éclairs

Made from choux dough, these petite versions of the classic oblong French pastry are filled with Vanilla Pastry Cream that has secretly been tinted with either pink or blue and will serve to reveal the gender of the soon-to-be-born baby when the happy parents and guests take their first bites. White Chocolate-Vanilla Baby Éclairs pictured with Fruity & Nutty Bonbon Cookies

White Chocolate-Vanilla Baby Éclairs
Serves: 32
 
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter
  • ¼ cup water
  • ¼ cup whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 large egg white, room temperature
  • White Chocolate Glaze (recipe follows)
  • Vanilla Pastry Cream (recipe follows)
  • ⅛ teaspoon blue edible petal dust*
  • ⅛ teaspoon pink edible petal dust*
  • Garnish: assorted pink, blue, and white sprinkles*
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a pencil and a ruler, draw 16 (3-inch) evenly spaced lines onto each parchment paper sheet. Turn parchment paper over.
  2. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add ¼ cup water, milk, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil. Using a wooden spoon, stir in flour. Cook, stirring constantly, until a skin forms in bottom of pan, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. With mixer on low speed, beat dough until warm to the touch, approximately 1 minute. Add eggs and egg white, one at a time, beating until combined.
  3. Transfer batter to an 18-inch piping bag fitted with a 9/16-inch French star tip (Wilton #4B). Holding tip approximately ¾-inch above parchment paper, apply even pressure to bag and slowly pipe out an oblong shape along each traced line. As you reach the end of each line, begin lessening pressure on piping bag. Stop applying pressure, and lift bag, leaving a small curl at end of éclair. Wet a finger with water, and press down tips of éclairs.
  4. Bake for 15 minutes. Rotate pans, and bake until puffed and golden brown, approximately 10 minutes more. Let cool completely on wire racks.
  5. Holding éclair by bottom half and parallel to surface of White Chocolate Glaze, dip top of éclair in White Chocolate Glaze. Slowly lift one end of éclair, letting excess glaze run of . Keeping éclair parallel to glaze, lift éclair out of glaze. Place on parchment, glaze side up. Repeat for remaining éclairs.
  6. Reheat remaining glaze for approximately 30 seconds in microwave oven. (If needed, stir in 1 teaspoon heavy cream to make glaze more fluid.) Divide glaze between 2 bowls. Add blue petal dust to one bowl of glaze, stirring until desired color is achieved. Add pink petal dust to other bowl of glaze, stirring until desired color is achieved. Using a fork and working with one color at a time, drizzle pink and blue glazes over one end of éclairs. While chocolate is still wet, garnish with sprinkles, if desired. Let dry until glaze is firm, at least 10 minutes, but preferably several hours or overnight.
  7. Using a ¼-inch round piping tip (Wilton #3), poke 2 holes in bottoms of éclairs, approximately ¾ inch from each end. (Insert a skewer into holes, moving it around to create space inside entire éclair.)
  8. No sooner than an hour before serving, fill a pastry bag fitted with the ¼-inch round piping tip (Wilton #3) with desired hue of Vanilla Pastry Cream. Place piping tip into a hole in bottom of an éclair. Apply gentle pressure on piping bag to begin filling éclair. Pipe enough pastry cream into second hole until éclair feels heavy. Repeat with remaining éclairs and remaining pastry cream. Serve immediately.
Notes
*Available at most cake supply stores.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Éclairs will get soggy if filled with Vanilla Pastry Cream too soon, so it is best to pipe the cream into the éclairs just before serving.

White Chocolate Glaze
Serves: 2 cups
 
Ingredients
  • 2 cups white melting wafers*
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons whipping cream
Instructions
  1. In a microwave-safe bowl combine melting wafers and cream. Heat in microwave on high, approximately 1 minute. Let stand for 30 seconds, stirring until smooth. If needed, heat in 30-second intervals to make sure glaze is smooth. Use immediately.
Notes
*We used Ghirardelli White Melting Wafers.

Vanilla Pastry Cream
Serves: 1½ cups
 
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups whole milk
  • ⅓ cup granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
  • ¼ teaspoon clear vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon blue or pink edible petal dust*
Instructions
  1. In a medium saucepan, stir together milk and sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, just until bubbles form around edge of pan.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together cornstarch and salt. Whisk in yolks until well combined. (Mixture will be very thick.) Very gradually add milk mixture to yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Return mixture to saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Cook, whisking constantly, until thickened and an instant-read thermometer registers 190°, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla extract extract until butter melts. • Using a fine-mesh sieve, strain mixture into a glass bowl. Stir in desired color of petal dust. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, pressing wrap directly onto surface of pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 1 hour, but preferably overnight.
  3. Just before using, whisk pastry cream until smooth. Immediately transfer to a piping bag and use.
Notes
*Available at most cake supply stores.

 

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