These chocolate chouxnuts (essentially éclair donuts) are delicate choux pastry donuts, filled with chocolate pastry cream and topped with a chocolate glaze. This special treat is fun to make and totally irresistible.
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Instructions
Preheat oven to 180C / 350F / 160C fan forced. Line 2 large baking sheets with baking paper.
FOR THE CHOUX PASTRY: Combine water, butter, sugar and salt in saucepan and heat over medium heat until it starts to boil.
Add the flour and beat with a wooden spoon until combined. Cook, beating and moving constantly, for a further 2 minutes or until you see a shiny film on the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and let it cool for 5 minutes.
Beat 3 eggs lightly. Add about ⅓ of the eggs to the dough and beat with a wooden spoon until fully combined (or you can use a stand mixer with paddle attachment). Repeat with the remaining eggs half at a time until each is fully incorporated.
If it’s not smooth and glossy yet, lightly beat a 4th egg. Add it a little at a time until your dough is smooth and a little glossy. You may not need the whole last egg so don’t add more than you need.
Once the dough is the right consistency you can pipe immediately. Prepare a piping bag with a 1 ½cm (just over ½ inch) large open star nozzle (or round) then fill it with the dough.
Using a non-toxic marker, trace around a round cookie cutter about 8cm (3 ¼ inches) in diameter.
Flip the paper and place on your baking tray. Holding the piping tip about 1 ½ cm above the paper, pipe circles of dough using the drawn circle as a guide.
Bake for 30 minutes or until light golden (don’t open the oven before this point). Turn the trays and cook another 20 minutes until golden brown.
Remove the trays from the oven and use a chopstick or small knife to carefully drill two small holes, opposite one another, in the base of each chouxnut.
Turn the oven off and place the puffs back in with the door wedged open to rest for half an hour.
Take them out and let them cool to room temperature before filling and topping.
FOR THE FILLING: Make this chocolate creme patissiere while they cool. let it cool at room temperature until it is at room temperature.
FOR THE CHOCOLATE GLAZE: Combine the glaze ingredients in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 30 second increments, stirring well between each, until fully melted and combined. You can also do this over a bain marie if you prefer.
ASSEMBLE THE CHOUXNUTS: If the pastry cream is in the fridge, take it out ½ an hour before you start piping.
Transfer the pastry cream to a large piping bag fitted with a long puff nozzle (notes). Pipe the filling into the holes in the base of each chouxnut, Point it one way and fill, then point in the other direction and fill until you feel a slight resistance, then repeat on the other side - if you leave the chouxnut sitting on the tray as you do this, the pressure will push the piping tip out.
Dip the tops in the chocolate glaze then let them set upright on a wire cooling rack to set. Can be eaten nearly immediately or you can chill until required.
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Notes
Tablespoon: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons).
Glucose syrup: Glucose syrup can be substituted for light corn syrup, golden syrup or rice malt syrup.
A long puff nozzle is a piping tip that has a long narrow tube and it's perfect to poke inside cream puffs, eclairs and donuts to fill the centres. If you don't have one, or don't want to get one, you can make larger holes in the base of the chouxnuts, then just poke the piping bag into the holes.
The pastry cream is the perfect amount for 9 chouxnuts, just, so don't overfill them. If you're worried about not having enough, just fill each with a little filling, then go back and fill up further at the end. They should feel quite weighty when full.
See the post for more tips and tricks and storage options.
Have you tried this recipe?Don't forget to leave a rating and comment below and let me know how it was! I love hearing from you. Nutrition information is approximate and derived from an online calculator. The brands you use may cause variations.