Chocolate Éclairs

I don't know why I don't make these more often.  I remember the first time I made them many years ago, I thought they were the most time consuming, difficult thing to make.  They are not difficult to make.  They are time consuming because of cooling time for the custard.  Start early in the day.

Confession:  In this picture, I cheated and used canned frosting, but the recipe for the chocolate glaze from the original recipe is below.

Choux Paste (Shells):

1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs

Grease 2 large cookie sheets.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, heat butter, water, and salt until butter mixture boils.  Remove from heat.  Add flour all at once.  With wooden spoon, vigorously stir until mixture forms a ball and leaves side of pan.  Add eggs to flour mixture, one at a time, beating well after each addition, until smooth.  Cool mixture slightly.  

Drop 1/4 cup choux paste onto cookie sheets 2 inches apart (5 éclairs per pan).  Spread each mound into rectangles, rounding edges.  Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cut slit inside of each shell and bake 10 minutes longer.  Turn off oven. Dry shells in oven for 10 minutes.  Cool on rack.  Meanwhile, prepare vanilla pastry cream and semi-sweet chocolate glaze.

Vanilla Pastry Cream:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk
6 egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/4 cups heavy or whipping cream

In a 2-quart saucepan, combine sugar, flour, and salt.  Stir in milk.  Over medium heat, cook, stirring until mixture thickens and boils, about 10 minutes.  Boil and keep stirring 1 more minute.

In a small bowl with a fork, beat egg yolks slightly.  Beat a small amount of the milk mixture into the yolks.  Slowly pour egg mixture back into milk mixture, stirring.  Cook over medium-low heat, stirring until mixture thickens and coats spoon well, about 8 minutes (do not boil). To check thickness, lift spoon from mixture and hold up for 15 seconds.  Spoon should not show through mixture.  Remove from heat.  Stir in vanilla.  Pour custard into a medium-sized bowl.  Cover the surface of the custard with plastic wrap so it doesn't form a skin.  Chill well, for about 2 hours.

After the custard is chilled, in a small bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat heavy or whipping cream until stiff peaks form.  With a rubber spatula, gently fold whipped cream into custard.

Slice about 1/3 from the top of each shell and fill bottom of shells with cream filling.  Replace tops and spread with glaze.  Refrigerate until serving time.

Semi-Sweet Chocolate Glaze:

2 squares semi-sweet chocolate

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons milk

In a 1-quart saucepan over low heat, melt semi-sweet chocolate and butter, stirring constantly. Stir in powdered sugar and milk until smooth.  Let cool.