Do you dare to eclair?

Eclairs used to seem like one of those unattainable pastries — something you had no choice but to pay $8 for in a fancy French patisserie in New York or Europe if you wanted to cure your craving. Why, they simply couldn’t be made at home by a cheeseburger-eating American girl with no formal training! … Or so I had myself convinced for years.

This is, of course, 100% ridiculous. For all the fanciness of their name — éclair means lightning, by the way — they really are not all that hard to make. Sure, there are three steps, but even all together, they can still be tackled in around two hours. The filling can even be made ahead of time.

Though they had originated in France around the turn of the 19th century, the first known recipe for eclairs appears in the Boston Cooking School Cook Book by Mrs. D.A. Lincoln, published in 1884. These originals were such a hit, even the trendiest of bakeries today barely change the basic recipe — a testament to true deliciousness. If you’re looking to enjoy that classic eclair taste at home, this is the recipe for you.

Classic Chocolate Eclair

Filling

2 cups whole milk

½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise

6 egg yolks

2⁄3 cup sugar

¼ cup cornstarch

1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter

Choux pastry dough

½ cup water

½ cup whole milk

1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter

1 teaspoon sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 eggs

Chocolate glaze

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

½ cup heavy whipping cream

What else you’ll need

2 large piping bags

½-inch round tip for piping

Baking sheet

Silicon liner or parchment paper

Small, sharp, pointy tip for piping filling

Strainer

Wire rack

Plastic wrap

Make pastry

In a medium saucepan, add the first five ingredients (milk, water, butter, sugar, salt). Bring to a boil on medium heat, then remove from heat and add flour all at once. Stir until incorporated.

Place mixture back over medium heat for about 2 minutes to partially cook flour and rid of excess moisture. Dough should start to come together and a thin film may form on the bottom of the pan.

Transfer dough mixture to a large mixing bowl and beat with hand mixer for 1 minute. Add eggs, 1 at a time, and beat until each is fully incorporated before adding the next. Finally, beat dough until smooth and thick, somewhat stringy ribbons form when you pull up on beaters.

Attach your ½-inch tip to pastry bag and fill bag with dough. Pipe 18-20 eclairs (4 inches long and ¾ inches wide) in strips, leaving about 1½ inches between them to spread while baking. Use your finger to smooth out any bumps or points on the surface of the dough.

Bake eclairs at 425ºF for 10 minutes. Then, without opening the oven door, reduce temperature to 325ºF and bake for 20-25 more minutes, or until golden brown.

Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Make filling

Add 2 cups milk to medium saucepan, then scrape vanilla beans from the pod into the milk. Stir constantly as you bring to a boil (to prevent film from forming). Turn off heat and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until fluffy. Add cornstarch and whisk until no lumps remain.

Begin to add in hot milk mixture, ¼ cup at a time until fully combined. Set empty saucepan aside. Pour mixture through strainer and back into saucepan.

Cook filling on medium- high. Whisk constantly until thickened and lightly boiling. Remove from heat, add butter and stir. Set aside to cool slightly.

Cover filling with plastic wrap, pressing on the wrap so it touches the surface of the filling. Refrigerate 1 hour before filling eclairs.

(Note: Filling can be made up to 24 hours in advance.)

Filling eclairs

Fit a medium or large pastry bag with a small, pointy tip. Fill bag with pastry filling. Flip over each eclair and gently poke a hole, filling with custard. Poke up to three holes in the bottom (one near each end and one in the middle) and pipe custard just until the inside is full. If custard seeps back out due to overfilling, use a knife to scrape the bottom. Repeat with each eclair until ingredients have been used up.

Make chocolate glaze, dip

In a small saucepan, heat cream until it reaches a slow boil, then quickly remove. Add chocolate then whisk until mixture becomes smooth. Dip the top of each eclair in the warm chocolate and set on sheet pan or wire rack. Chill, uncovered, for 1 hour, or until glaze sets.

Store refrigerated. Best served chilled.

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