Recipe(tried): French Chocolate Eclairs Cream Puffs

French Chocolate ECLAIRS:

1 batch choux pastry:

7 tbs. unsalted butter
1 cup water
3 tsp. sugar
pinch salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs, beaten slightly

Combine the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl, set aside.

In a thick bottomed pot, melt the butter in the water till boiling. Take off the stove and add the flour combination. Return to the heat and beat quickly till it is a shiny paste that balls together.

Let the dough cool for a few minutes then add the eggs, beating well to incorporate one at a time. Add almost all of the eggs (you will need a little less than the four). Beat well till the dough is like a thick mayonnaise.

Spoon the dough into a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch nozzle and pipe out 3-4 inch long rectangles of dough onto a lightly greased sheet for the eclairs. The eclairs will rise at least double if not triple their size when baked. Make sure you leave room for them to expand a little.

Bake in a 425*F oven for 20 minutes. Take out the eclairs, prick a hole in the bottom or sides and return to oven to dry out for 5 minutes more. They should be golden brown when done.Cr me P tissi re(Pastry Cream)

1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 egg yolks
3 TBS sugar
1 1/2 TBS flour
1 1/2 TBS cornstarch
2 TBS heavy cream

Whipped Cream, 1 cup cream, whipped till firm, to mix with pastry cream before filling.

In a small heatproof bowl place the egg yolks and mix with the sugar until light and creamy. Add the flour and cornstarch and beat until smooth.

Bring the milk to a boil and then pour onto the egg combination and mix together. Pour the whole mixture back into pan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly, it can scorch so stir and make sure you don't boil to high or with a thin bottomed pan. Simmer two minutes, remove from heat.

Add the vanilla and cream, mix well and pour into a bowl, lay a piece of saran wrap on top to keep it from forming a skin. Let cool for at least two hours before using.

Topping

6 oz semi sweet chocolate

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler for glazing the top of the eclairs.Take the cooled eclairs and cut off the very tops, scrape out any extra, wet doughy insides. Mix together the whipped cream and the cr me p tissi re and spoon into a pastry bag with a star tip. Fill the eclairs with the cream.

Take the eclair tops and lay in the melted chocolate to cover then replace the tops on the eclairs, there you're done and they taste sooooo gooooood. Try adding strawberries or raspberries for a different variation.