Paris-Paris | Whole-Wheat Èclairs with Hazelnut Non-Dairy Cream and Chocolate Glaze

This looks like an everyday pastry. But there is quite a bit of work involved. You have to make the éclair shells and the hazelnut praline cream filling. Then put a swipe of chocolate glaze on top. Each of these components is a lesson in pastry making of which I don’t mind learning and doing more. The name Paris-Paris, from My Paris Kitchen, is the creation of David Lebovitz, based on the classic Paris-Brest.

First, make the hazelnut praline. It entails toasting chopped hazelnuts in caramelized sugar until you see smoke. That happens fast! Cool the mixture and pulverize them into hazelnut powder. Then incorporate the caramelized nut powder into the pastry cream. It tastes somewhat like Nutella, except you can put it in a pastry bag and pipe it.

To make the pastry cream, I took a slight detour. Made a non-dairy pastry cream by using almond milk (or any nut milk you prefer) without adding any butter. Honestly, I can’t tell the difference in taste between a butter pastry cream and a non-dairy one, once the hazelnuts are added to it. As long as I can pipe it, it’s good to go. I’m sticking with this essential non-dairy formula. Lighter and lower in fat. That always works for me.

One of the coolest dough preparations is the pâte à choux (2 parts water: 1 part butter: 1 part flour: 2 parts egg). The choux dough is very versatile. It can be turned into many sweet or savory things: gougère, parisienne gnocchi, beignet, churro or profiterole. One dough; many uses.

Éclair shell filled with hazelnut dairy-free pastry cream

It begins with stirring together water, sugar, salt and butter over low heat, until the butter melts. Off the heat, add the flours. (I used 50% all-purpose and 50% whole wheat flour. Next time, I’ll replace all-purpose with bread flour. See the tips below.) Back on the stove, the flours absorb the water. The starch gelatinizes and the mixture becomes stiff, doughlike and forms a ball. Transfer the batter to the mixer. If you have an instant-read thermometer, the temperature should be below 125°F. Add the eggs, one by one, stirring occasionally. What you have is a partially cooked dough. It puffs into an airy bread when baked. The éclairs are filled with the hazelnut dairy-free cream (above) and coated with a chocolate glaze (below).

What I like about David’s chocolate glaze recipe is the use of cocoa powder instead of melted chocolate. Mix together 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder and 2 tablespoons of hot water to one cup of powdered sugar. You’re done! By the time I got to the glaze, I was eager to get to the finish line and can’t be bothered with tempering the chocolate. So, an easy, no-pressure, chocolate glaze is so right. It got me through a lengthy baking process without feeling totally spent.

Baking tips, tricks and totally subjective advice:

• To avoid those unsightly cracks from developing, I’d set the convection- steam oven at 375°F with 30% humidity for the initial 15 minutes. (I baked these at 400°F and they were too high; the shells expanded too quickly.) Once the éclair shells have reached their full size, turn off the steam. Rotate the baking sheets midway through to ensure even baking. Continue baking at 375°F, until the shells are deep golden brown.
• High-gluten flour, like bread flour, and more eggs in the choux dough may help for a smoother surface.
• When they were done bakiing, I turned off the heat and left the éclair shells in the oven for 30 minutes with the door ajar. I do that all the time with my breads. That works for éclairs too for a crispier and sturdier crust.

See how our friends at Cook-the-book-Fridays tackle the Paris-Paris, please visit the site.

No-pressure chocolate glaze using cocoa powder

Print Recipe

Non-dairy pastry cream

Ingredients

• 16 ounces almond or coconut milk
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped or 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 3 whole eggs (about 4.4 ounces)
• 1 egg yolk
• 5 ounces sugar
• 1.5 ounces cornstarch
• 1/8 tsp kosher salt

Instructions

1

Bring the milk, along with the vanilla bean (and/or other flavoring agents), to a boil in a large pot. Turn off heat and set aside to steep for at least one hour, or as long as overnight in the fridge, just take care if steeping an ingredient that gets bitter over time, like tea.

2

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and yolks together with the sugar, cornstarch, salt, and vanilla bean seeds. Whisk vigorously to break up any lumps.

3

Meanwhile, bring the milk back to a simmer. Remove the vanilla bean, using a spatula to scrape out the milky-vanilla goo inside each pod half before discarding the bean. If using other flavoring agents, strain them through a sieve and re-weigh the milk to make sure you haven’t lost too much in the process. Coffee beans and nuts, for example, can absorb a lot of milk. If needed, add more milk to bring it back to 16 ounces.

4

Next, whisk a little hot milk into the eggs; it will be thick at first but will loosen up as the milk incorporates. Temper in more hot milk to warm the eggs.

5

At this stage, add the tempered egg/milk mixture back into the hot milk on the stove, whisking all the while. Continue to whisk over medium heat until the mixture becomes quite thick. Once the mixture starts to bubble (sluggishly, as it’s so thick), carry on for a full minute to thoroughly cook the starchiness out of the cornstarch.

6

Now, do one of two things: A) Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and let it go at the lowest speed until the pastry cream has cooled. B) Pour the pastry cream into a container, press plastic wrap against the surface to prevent it from skinning, then cool in an ice bath or the fridge until cold.

7

Before using, use a hand or stand mixer to beat the cold pastry cream for two or three minutes to restore its creamy texture.