Éclair (pastry)
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 Eclairs at Fauchon in Paris |
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| Origin | |
|---|---|
| Alternative name(s) | custard stuffed buns (US) |
| Place of origin | France |
| Details | |
| Type | Pastry |
| Main ingredient(s) | Choux pastry, coffee- or chocolate-flavoured cream, icing |
An éclair is an oblong pastry made with choux dough filled with a cream and topped with icing.
The dough, which is the same as that used for profiterole, is typically piped into an oblong shape with a pastry bag and baked until it is crisp and hollow inside. Once cool, the pastry then is filled with a vanilla-, coffee- or chocolate-flavoured[1] custard (crème pâtissière), or with whipped cream, or chiboust cream; and then iced with fondant icing.[1] Other fillings include pistachio- and rum-flavoured custard, fruit-flavoured fillings, or chestnut purée. The icing is sometimes caramel, in which case the dessert may be called a bâton de Jacob.[2]
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Etymology [edit]
The word comes from French éclair 'flash of lightning.' The semantic connection is unclear.
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History of the éclair [edit]
The éclair originated during the nineteenth century in France where it was called "pain à la duchesse"[3] or "petite duchesse" until 1850.[4] It is a popular type of cake served all over the world. The word is first attested both in English and in French in the 1860s.[5][6] Some food historians speculate that éclairs were first made by Antonin Carême (1784–1833), the famous French chef.[citation needed] The first known English-language recipe for éclairs appears in the Boston Cooking School Cook Book by Mrs. D.A. Lincoln, published in 1884.
Outside France [edit]
In some parts of the United States, Long Johns are marketed under the name éclairs, though the two are not identical. A Long John uses donut pastry and is typically filled with vanilla pudding or custard, making it a simpler and inexpensive alternative to the éclair.
Notes [edit]
- ^ a b Montagné, Prosper, Larousse gastronomique: the new American edition of the world's greatest culinary encyclopedia, Jenifer Harvey Lang, ed., New York: Crown Publishers, 1988, p. 401 ISBN 978-0-517-57032-6
- ^ (Montagné 1961, p. 365, Éclair)
- ^ (Gouffé 1873, p. 288)
- ^ (Montagné 1961, p. 357, Duchesses)
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 1861. Petit Larousse, 1863.
- ^ Gouffé, Jules (1873). "Entremets détachés". Le Livre de Pâtisserie (PDF) (in French). Paris: Hachette. p. 288. Retrieved 2009-03-24. "On a changé, depuis une vingtaine d'années, le nom de ces gâteaux [pains à la duchesse] : on les désigne actuellement sous le nom d'éclairs."
References [edit]
- Jules Gouffé, Le livre de pâtisserie, 1873 [1], Deuxième Partie, Chapitre IX, "Pains à la duchesse au café"
- Prosper Montagné, Larousse Gastronomique, The Encyclopedia of Wine, Food & Cookery (English translation), 1961
External links [edit]
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