Choux pastry piped into eclair shells, baked to perfection and filled with passion fruit pastry cream and a drizzle of chocolate, for a tropical dessert!
Paul Hollywood Loves Passionfruit Curd!
Since I’ve tossed my hat into the ring and tried out for the Great American Baking Show, to be filmed in England with Paul Hollywood, I’ve been watching every episode of The Great British Bake Off to see what he likes and doesn’t like!
For sure, if given the chance, I am definitely making passion fruit eclairs for Mr. Hollywood.
It seems that with all the sweet treats he has to taste, awakening his taste buds with something striking and a bit tart, catches his attention.
Now I just need to execute a choux pastry and creme patisserie that will get his attention!
Passion Fruit For Hot Summer Days
When filling out the application for the show, which took nearly 3 hours plus a video that needed to be made to submit, I realized the show would be filmed in the heat of the summer.
I often turn to a classic summer strawberry dessert, such as my strawberry and coconut tart, or strawberry and rhubarb ice cream, but it seems that a ‘Patisserie Week’ would be the best time for me to showcase my passion fruit eclair recipe with a splash of Chocolate.
In my original recipe, I use a bit of matcha to produce a more vivid color to the cream, however I’ve also learned that Prue Leith, the other judge, doesn’t prefer matcha flavor in desserts.
An Easy Passionfruit Eclair Recipe
Egg yolks are what make the pastry for eclairs so luscious, while egg whites are what make them airy and easy to fill once baked.
The ratio of eggs to flour in the pastry mixture is nearly double, and that is what makes eclairs rich yet light, and bake with a center that hollows, making it perfect to fill.
Making a fruit creme patisserie couldn’t be easier.
With the help of a little gelatin, heavy cream, sugar and a passion fruit puree, it quickly sets in the fridge with a film of plastic touching the cream to prevent a crust ‘skin’ from forming on top, keeping it smooth and creamy.
How To Make Choux Pastry For Eclairs
The technique of making choux pastry is not difficult, so long as you plan on a pastry that needs to be cooked twice; once on top of the stove, and then again in the oven.
Cooking the flour and butter mixture on top of the stove first, not unlike making a roux, is to cook the flour flavor out and marry it with the butter.
Once cooled, the flour mixture goes into a mixing bowl with a handheld (or stand up), electric mixer and whisk until smooth and glossy until the batter drops off a spoon readily, leaving a V-shape.
The mixture is then transferred to a piping bag and piped into éclair shell shapes to bake.
For an added tip that always works for me, I brush the parchment paper lined baking sheet with water to create a little steam, which then makes the choux pastry puff up.
Passion Fruit With Chocolate
While there are a variety of choices in flavor one could choose to make a creme patisserie to pipe inside the baked éclair shell, nothing will grab your attention at first bite quite like a passionfruit éclair! Just ask Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith!
Drizzle or brush an added depth with chocolate, and I’d say you have the perfect classic dessert.
The added chocolate can be a heavy handed drizzle, or simply a light brush of chocolate’s color and flavor that lays beautifully between the baked pastry shell.
Ingredients Needed
- Heavy cream
- Passion fruit pulp or pure passion fruit juice
- Gelatin
- Butter
- Water and milk (to form choux pastry)
- Flour
- Caster sugar a super fine sugar best used in delicate baked goods.
- Salt
- Eggs
- Chocolate Square
Equipment Needed
- Sauce pan
- Electric mixer or hand-held mixer – my favorite has an added pro whisk attachment.
- Wooden spoon
- Measuring cup and measuring spoons
- Piping bags and nozzles – wide for choux and narrow for the filling
- Basting brush
- Cookie sheet with parchment paper
- Fork for chocolate drizzle
- Stovetop or burner
- Oven
Passion Fruit Eclair Recipe With Chocolate
Equipment
- Saucepan
- 2 piping bags with small and large nozzles
- Sheet pan with parchment paper
- Basting brush
Ingredients
- Ingredients for Passion Fruit Cream
- 1 1/2 cups Heavy cream or double cream
- 1 cup Caster sugar
- 14 oz Passion fruit pulp freezer section, thawed
- 1 Gelatin envelope, unflavored
- pinch Salt
- Ingredients for Pastry
- 8 oz Unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/2 cup Water
- 1/2 cup Milk
- 1 cup Flour
- 2 tsp Caster sugar
- 1 tsp Salt
- 4 Eggs room temperature
- Chocolate Drizzle
- 1 oz Chocolate square
Instructions
- Cream
- Once the passion fruit pulp is thawed, puree it in a blender or food processor and transfer to a medium size bowl.
- In a small cup, dissolve gelatin in a little of the passion fruit pulp (or ¼ cup water)
- In a small saucepan, heat the cream until it begins to form bubbles on the sides of the pot. Pour the sugar into the heated cream and stir until it dissolves. With an electric hand whisk, whisk the heated sweet cream into the bowl of passion fruit puree, along with the dissolved gelatin. Whisk until creamy. Place plastic wrap over the bowl, touching the top of the cream, and allow it to thicken in the refrigerator.
- Pastry
- Preheat oven to 400
- In a small bowl, whisk the eggs until well blended, set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, place the butter, water and milk. Melt and stir with a wooden spoon. Stir in the sugar, salt and flour. Continue to stir until it comes together in a paste, pressing the paste against the sides of the pot with the back of the wooden spoon so as to cook the flour into the butter, much like a roux. Cool.
- Transfer the flour paste to the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk in the egg mixture a little at a time, saving a few tablespoons of the egg mixture to use as egg wash before baking. The batter will look shiny and pasty.
- Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a large hole, or simply put the pastry in a zip bag and cut a half inch angled hole at the corner. Brush a little water on a parchment lined cookie sheet, squeeze out ‘hotdog’ shaped logs, about 5 inches long. Keep an inch or two between them. Brush lightly with remaining egg mixture.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350 and continue baking another 10 – 13 minutes. Do not open the oven door until the final time. If a little more color is needed, continue baking a minute or two more until desired color is obtained.
- Remove from the oven and place on a cooling wire rack, piercing a tiny air hole in each pastry to allow the steam out.
- After the pastry is cool, pipe the custard into the pastry shells from the ends, or the eclair shell can be cut open lengthwise and the pastry can be decoratively piped, exposing the filling once top of eclair is placed on top.
- Chocolate Drizzle
- For a final presentation, melt the chocolate square and drizzle across the top. Serve.
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I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.
