By Seren Charrington Hollins
A good chocolate eclair is nothing short of spectacular and is something worthy of praise. Light, yet crisp choux pastry filled with fresh dairy cream and topped with chocolate; in short the chocolate eclair – what is there not to like?
The name Éclair comes from the French, meaning “flash of lightning” and quite what the connection between this term and the pastry itself is remains unclear. Some historians adopt the theory that it is an old joke between pastry makers relating to the fact that the Éclair is always eaten “in a flash’’, which in one way fits with the definition found in the Chambers English Dictionary which reads “a cake, long in shape but short in duration.” Whilst another theory is that the delectable pastry gained its name from its appearance; as the éclair glistens when coated with confectioner’s glaze, making it look like a streak of lighting. Whatever, the reason for its name the éclair is a legendary piece of our bakery history.
Like many of our iconic foods, the exact history of these cream-filled choux-pastry temptations is hard to pin down. It is widely accepted that they originate in the nineteenth century and whilst many trusted sources and indeed food encyclopaedias’ describe éclairs; a detailed history is not given, this is part due to the fact that the chocolate éclair is in many respects a bakery item that has evolved from earlier baking creations.
There is an opinion amongst food historians that Antonin Careme (1784-1833), a famous pastry chef for French royalty (who could be termed as a celebrity chef of his day) applied his skill and flair to a cake previously known as “pain à la duchesse” or “petite duchesse” and is thus widely accredited with creating the éclair and making it legendary. Carême certainly had a culinary prowess that explains why the éclair is so delectable as he was the chef who amongst other things baked Napoleon’s wedding cake; created masterpieces for the Prince de Talleyrand at the Chateau of Valencay and even made soufflés flecked with real gold for the Rothschild’s.
One of the interesting titbits of history surrounding the beloved éclair is that despite it being heralded as a French creation the earliest record of a recipe is actually featured in an American publication: The ‘Boston Cooking School Cook Book’ written by Mrs. D.A Lincoln back in 1884. Perhaps the early publication of the recipe for French patisserie shows how seriously the Americans took their love of these elongated pastries.
History aside a true chocolate éclair should avoid the deadly sins of under-baking, (which causes collapsing) flatness, ageing, cracking and runniness. None of these traits are desirable as they will not lend to good eating or aesthetic qualities. A well baked éclair is heavenly and should have a rich, brown colour. The mark of a perfectly baked éclair is a dark-golden brown shell that is thin and crisp. It should be perfectly straight and free from cracks. An improperly made éclair will be flat instead of puffy, which means that they will be difficult to fill and they will be back of the queue when it comes to looks. When it comes to texture, age really does matter.
