Sinful Eclairs with Sour Cream Ganache

Today is my Birthday! Officially 30, and celebrating with one of the most decadent, sinful desserts I can think of!

It starts with a classic pâte à choux (choux paste), and is filled with rich whipped cream, and finally topped with a silky sour cream ganache.

So, without further ado, here is the recipe!

Sinful Eclairs with Sour Cream Ganache

So rich, so delicious, so wrong, but so right. Makes 8 large eclairs, or 16 medium.

1 cup (or 250 ml) of water

1/2 cup (or 125 ml) of salted butter

Pinch salt

1 1/3 cups (or 310 ml) of sifted, unbleached, all-purpose flour (for my American readers, you may want to use cake flour as it is closer to Canadian all-purpose flour)

4 large eggs + 1 egg yolk

1.5 cups (or 375 ml) of cold whipping cream

1/2 cup (or 125 ml) of sifted confectioner's sugar

1 tsp (or 5 ml) of pure vanilla extract

2 cups (or 500 ml) of dark or semi-sweet baking or couverture chocolate

1 cup (or 250 ml) of sour cream

1 tbsp (or 15 ml) of salted butter

1 tsp (or 5 ml) of vanilla extract

1) Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper, and set aside.

2) In a medium saucepan, bring the water, butter and salt to a rolling boil. Remove from the heat, then add the flour, stirring vigourously; the mixture will ball up. Return to the heat, and stir until the mixture relaxes, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool for 10 minutes.

3) Stir in the eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. The mixture will be sludgy and slightly curdled, but with enough stirring, it should smooth out once more by the time the last egg is added. Once smooth, transfer to a piping bag fitted with a wide round tip.

4) Pipe the eclairs in clean lines, about 3" long for medium, and 6" long for large eclairs. Bake for 15 minutes, then drop the temperature to 350°F/175°C and bake for an additional 25 minutes. Using a sharp paring knife, a toothpick, or a turkey trusser (a long metal toothpick), poke a hole into the side of each pastry. Bake for an additional 3-5 minutes, or until a lovely golden brown.

5) Transfer to a cooling rack, and cool completely. Widen the side holes just enough for a wide round piping tip to fit in.

6) Whip the cream until soft peaks form, then add the confectioner's sugar and continue beating to stiff peaks. Fold in the vanilla, and transfer to a piping bag fitted with a wide round tip.

7) To fill the eclairs, place the tip of the piping bag about 1/2 inch into each one, then depress with constant pressure. Imagine you're squeezing the air out of an inflatable pool or kid's toy. With consistent pressure, the whipped cream will reach the end of the pastry before forcing the bag back out. Repeat for each eclair.

8) In the top of a double boiler, melt the chocolate with the sour cream. Add the butter, and stir until smooth. Stir in the vanilla, and remove from the heat.

9) Dip each eclair in the ganache. If you're having trouble with this, you can also spread the ganache over top of each eclair. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes, then transfer to a sealed container and refrigerate. These need to be consumed within 4 days.

#Birthday #Desserts #Decadent #Chocolate #Eclairs