Mini Chocolate Éclairs 迷你朱古力閃電泡芙

An éclair is a finger-shaped French pastry made with choux paste (or pâte à choux), which is the same paste that is used for other French pastries such as profiterole (cream puffs), gougère, religieuse, croquembouche, Paris–Brest and St. Honoré. The flour is cooked with milk, water, sugar, salt and butter first to form a dough. Eggs are then added to the slightly warm dough to form the choux paste, which is then piped into different shapes. When baked properly, the eclair shell is thin and crispy with a golden brown color and hollow center. Once cooled, it is filled with pastry cream or whipped cream of various flavors and then glazed with chocolate ganache or poured fondant.
法式甜點éclair是長條形狀泡芙，由泡芙麵糊(choux paste 或 pâte à choux)製成。泡芙麵糊亦可製作忌廉泡芙 (profiterole 或cream puffs)、鹹泡芙 (gougere)、修女泡芙 (religieuse)、焦糖泡芙塔 (croquembouche)、巴黎車輪泡芙 (Paris–Brest)及聖安諾泡芙 (St. Honoré)等法式甜點，麵粉首先與牛奶、水、糖、鹽及牛油煮成糰，稍放涼後再拌入蛋液成為泡芙麵糊，再擠成不同做型。焗好的長形泡芙外殼薄而脆，表面呈金黃色而內部中空，填入不同口味的卡士達醬或忌廉後，表面再以朱古力醬或糖霜裝飾。

The French word “éclair” translates into “lighting” in English. It is believed that it receives its name because either (a), it sparkles and shines when coated with glaze, or (b), it is too delicious that it is devoured at the speed of lightning. Today I’m sharing with you how I made mine. Eclairs are typically 5 inches in length. I’ve turned mine into mini ones (about 3.5 inches long) so my kids can consume them more easily.
Éclair是閃電的法文，中文翻譯是閃電泡芙，有說因為閃電泡芙表面有閃亮的裝飾糖面，如閃電般明亮，也有說是因為閃電泡芙太美味，總是讓人們以閃電般速度吃光，因而得名。今天EC將分享做法，閃電泡芙一般約長5寸，而EC做的是3.5寸迷你版，方便家中的小鬼食用。

Mini Chocolate Éclairs
迷你朱古力閃電泡芙

Makes 16 to 18 mini eclairs
約16至18個

Ingredients

For the Pâte à Choux
75 g all purpose flour
60 g water
60 g milk
1/2 tsp granulated sugar
1/8 tsp salt
50 g unsalted butter, cubed
2 large eggs, slightly beaten, plus 1 egg white if needed

For the Pastry Cream
80 g whipping cream
80 g milk
25 g granulated sugar
10 g cornstarch
1/16 tsp salt
2 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
10 g unsalted butter, softened

For the Chocolate Glaze
60 g premium dark chocolate, chopped
40 g whipping cream
6 g unsalted butter, softened

Notes: The eggs I use each has a net weight of 50 – 55 g.

材料

泡芙麵糊
中筋麵粉 75克
水 60克
牛奶 60克
細砂糖 1/2茶匙
鹽 1/8茶匙
無鹽牛油 (切丁) 50克
大蛋 2顆(打散)，另加一顆蛋白備用

卡士達醬
牛奶 80克
淡忌廉 80克
細砂糖 25克
粟粉 10克
鹽 1/16茶匙
大蛋蛋黃兩個
雲尼拿醬 1茶匙
無鹽牛油 (室溫放軟) 10克

朱古力醬
優質黑朱古力，切碎 60克
淡忌廉 40克
無鹽牛油 (室溫放軟) 6克

註：EC使用的大蛋每隻淨重50-55克

Directions 做法

For the Pâte à Choux 泡芙麵糊
Preheat oven to 375ºF/190ºC. Line baking tray with parchment paper or silicon mat. Fit piping bag with a medium open star tip (I used a French star tip). A star tip is recommended as its teeth will create ridges in the shells, which helps them expand in the oven without cracking. Set aside
焗爐預熱375ºF/190ºC，焗盆墊上牛油紙或矽膠墊，將星形花嘴放入唧袋中(EC用中號菊花嘴)備用，EC建議使用星形花嘴，因為花嘴上的齒紋能在泡芙上留下條紋，有助泡芙在焗爐中膨脹而不爆裂。

Combine water, milk, sugar, butter and salt in a saucepan. Set over low heat until the butter has melted then turn heat up and bring mixture to a rolling boil. Remove from heat.
水、奶、糖、鹽及牛油放入小鍋中先開小火煮至牛油融化，然後轉中火煮至沸騰後離火。

Add the flour all at once and stir vigorously with a spatula until you get a smooth and thick paste that comes away from the sides of the pan. Return pan to medium-low heat to dry out the paste and gelatinize the starches in the flour. Keep stirring, without scraping the bottom, until a thin film forms on the bottom of pan.
一口氣倒進所有麵粉，以膠刮不斷攪拌至無粉粒呈漿糊狀且麵糊不會黏着鍋邊，開中小火蒸發水份並將麵粉中的澱粉質煮至糊化，炒至鍋底有白色薄膜後離火(炒時不要刮黏着鍋底的乾麵糊)。

Transfer the paste to a mixing bowl and cool slightly. With a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add in half of the eggs and beat with medium speed until incorporated. Add the remaining eggs in three to four increments, beating well after each addition. Stop adding eggs when the paste is smooth, shiny and falls off your spatula in a V shape. Not all the eggs may be required so use your judgment. If the paste still looks dry after adding all the eggs then add the egg white a teaspoon a time until the right consistency is reached.
麵糊轉放鋼盆，稍凉後先加入一半蛋液，以電動打蛋器或座枱式攪拌器(使用攪拌槳配件)中速混合，餘下蛋液分三至四次加入，每次添加前須待蛋液被麵糊充份吸收，當麵糊變得順滑有光澤，以膠刮拉起麵糊呈V形時可停止加入蛋液，此步驟要靠目測，因為或許會剩下些蛋液，若蛋液用光了但麵糊仍然偏硬可逐茶匙的加入蛋白，繼續攪拌至所需軟硬度。

Here’s a test I learned from Gesine Bullock-Prado. Place some choux paste on a plate. Dip a wet finger into the paste then drag it through. If you see a peak from both your finger and the paste and the trough doesn’t collapse into itself, your choux paste is properly hydrated and is ready to be shaped.
EC跟Gesine Bullock-Prado學會了以下的小測試，取少量麵糊放在小碟中，手指沾水後往麵糊表面劃線然後拉起，若指尖及被拉起的麵糊均呈尖角，且凹槽不會往下塌，泡芙麵糊便有足夠的水份可以預備做形了。

Transfer the choux paste to the prepared piping bag. Pipe strips about 3.5 inches long about 1 inch apart onto the prepared baking tray.
把泡芙麵糊填入唧花袋內，在焗盆上擠出約3.5寸長條狀，長條間約距離1寸。

Bake for 10 minutes until puffed up then lower the oven temperature to 350ºF/180ºC . Continue to bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven then poke two holes on both sides of the shell for the steam to escape. Return them to oven with oven door ajar to cool. It is crucial to thoroughly bake the shells or they will collapse when cooled.
焗10分鐘至膨脹後調低溫度至350ºF/180ºC，多焗20至25分鐘至金黃色後取出，在泡芙兩端戳小洞釋出蒸氣後放回焗爐內關門留小縫放涼，泡芙必須徹底焗透，否則放涼後便會塌下。

If you break open a shell you will see the hollow interior. Before filling, poke in a wooden skewer from each side, wiggle it to loosen up the membrane to maximize the cavity.
切開泡芙後會見到很多小孔，填入餡料前先用竹籤在泡芙兩邊插入並搖動弄破薄膜可擴大泡芙內的空間。

For the Pastry Cream 卡士達醬
In a mixing bowl, combine egg yolks, sugar, salt, cornstarch and vanilla paste and whisk until pale, thickened, and expanded in volume. Set aside.
蛋黃、糖、鹽、粟粉及雲尼拿醬放鋼盆中用蛋拂打發至顔色轉淡、稠身及體積變大，備用。

Heat milk and whipping cream in a saucepan set over low heat (or in the microwave) until it starts to bubble around the edges. Remove from heat. Slowly pour it into the egg yolk mixture and keep whisking so as not to scramble the egg yolks.
牛奶及淡忌廉放入小鍋中以小火加熱(或用微波爐加熱)至邊緣冒泡後離火，慢慢倒入蛋黃糊中，其間不停攪拌以免蛋黃被燙熟。

Strain mixture to get rid of any lumps then pour back to the pan. Return to low heat with constant stirring until it thickens up. Remove from heat then stir in the butter until combined.
將混合物過篩去除顆粒後倒回鍋內，一邊攪拌一邊以小火加熱至濃稠後離火，加入牛油拌勻。

Spoon cream into a bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap pressed onto the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours or until cool. Re-whip until smooth before using.
把卡士達醬放進碗中，蓋上保鮮紙(保鮮紙要緊貼卡士達醬表面以免結皮)，冷藏一至兩小時或至冷卻，使用前需重新攪拌至順滑。

For the Chocolate Glaze 朱古力醬
Heat cream in a saucepan over low heat or in the microwave until it bubbles around the edges. Pour hot cream over the chopped chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes. Mix until the chocolate has melted. Stir in softened butter until well incorporated. Transfer glaze to a shallow dish.
將淡忌廉倒進小鍋小火加熱(或用微波爐加熱)至邊緣冒泡後離火，倒進切碎朱古力中，靜置兩分鐘後攪拌至朱古力融化，加入軟化牛油拌至順滑，將朱古力醬轉放在淺碟中。

To Assemble 組合
Transfer pastry cream into a piping bag fitted with a Bismarck tip (I used Wilton’s #230 tip). With a chopstick, poke two holes along the bottom of each eclair shell. Insert the tip into each hole and fill with cream. Stop squeezing when it begins to come out from the hole. Dip the top of each filled eclair into the glaze then decorate with sprinkles. Allow to set before serving.
將卡士達醬倒入己備長花嘴(EC用 Wilton #230花嘴)的唧袋中，用筷子在泡芙底部戳兩個洞後往洞中注入餡料，當餡料開始從洞邊溢出便可停止，為泡芙頂部沾上朱古力醬，洒上彩珠裝飾，待凝固後可食用。