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Overhead of mini chocolate eclairs on a cooling rack.
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5 from 9 votes

Mini Eclairs

Mini Eclairs are simply smaller versions of classic eclairs. These two-bite treats are made with classic, French pâte à choux pastry, filled with vanilla pastry cream, and topped with a chocolate glaze. They are easy to make and perfect for entertaining.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Filling and Dipping Time20 minutes
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: French
Servings: 50 mini eclairs
Calories: 64kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 425°F.
  • In a medium sauce pan, bring the water and butter to a boil, ensuring that the butter is fully melted.
    1 cup water, 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • Stir in the flour and salt all at once with a wooden or silicone spoon until a ball of dough forms. Continue to cook until the dough starts to form a film on the bottom of the pan, about 30-60 seconds longer. The dough should be about 175°F at this point.
    1 cup all purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Transfer the dough to the mixer bowl and turn onto medium speed for about 1 minute. The temperature of the dough needs to drop to 145ºF or less before adding the eggs to prevent the eggs from cooking. You can check the temperature with a food thermometer if you have one.
  • Add the eggs one at a time and beat on medium speed until each one is fully incorporated before adding the next. When the batter is fully mixed, it will resemble more of a thick cake batter rather than dough.
    4 eggs
  • Transfer the pastry dough to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch star tip (like a Wilton #21). You could also use a circle tip if you don’t want the eclairs to have ridges.
  • Hold the bag at a 45 degree angle about a half inch above a parchment or Silpat-lined (recommended) baking sheet and pipe a 2-inch line of batter. Repeat, leaving at least a half of an inch between each eclair, until the baking sheet is full. You may need to work in batches.
  • Smooth off any points of batter with a wet finger so that they don’t burn while baking.
  • Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool.
  • Place the pastry cream in a second pastry bag fitted with a small, circle tip like a Wilton #7 tip. Fill the eclairs by poking a small hold into each side of the bottom with the tip. Squeeze the pastry cream in slowly until you just start to feel the eclair expand. Smooth off any excess. 
    2 cups pastry cream
  • Repeat with the remaining eclairs.
  • To melt the chocolate, fill a small pot about 1/3 of the way full with water and bring to a boil. Place the chocolate in a medium or large mixing bowl. The bowl needs to be big enough so that it can be placed on top of the pot without touching the water.
    1 cup high-quality chocolate
  • Once the water is boiling, turn off the heat and place the bowl of chocolate on top of it. Let it sit for a minute or two, then use a spatula to stir until fully melted and smooth.
  • Dip just the top of the eclair into the melted chocolate, letting the excess drip off before turning it back over. Place on a cooling rack and allow the chocolate to set.
  • Dip just the top of the eclair into the melted chocolate, letting the excess drip off before turning it back over. Place on a cooling rack and allow the chocolate to set.

Notes

Tips and Techniques

  • Use a high-quality chocolate for the glaze. If you need to use a lesser quality chocolate, you an add about 1 tablespoon of light corn syrup to give the chocolate more of a shiny finish.
  • You can add a small dot of batter under each corner of the parchment paper, if using, to help hold the paper down as you pipe your eclairs.
  • Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature. Eclairs are best served the day that they are made, but will keep for a couple of days.
** Nutritional information is an estimate and may vary.

Nutrition

Serving: 1mini eclair | Calories: 64kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 39mg | Potassium: 51mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 98IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 0.4mg