An éclair ( or , ; ) is a

pastry Pastry refers to a variety of Dough, doughs (often enriched with fat or eggs), as well as the sweet and savoury Baking, baked goods made from them. The dough may be accordingly called pastry dough for clarity. Sweetened pastries are often descr ...

made with choux dough filled with a cream and topped with a flavored icing. The dough, which is the same as that used for

profiterole A profiterole (), ''chou à la crème'' (), also known alternatively as a cream puff (US), is a Filling (cooking), filled French choux pastry ball with a typically sweet and moist filling of whipped cream, custard, pastry cream, or ice cream. Th ...

s, is typically piped into an oblong shape with a

pastry bag A pastry bag (or piping bag in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth) is an often Cone (geometry), cone- or triangular-shaped bag made from cloth, paper bag, paper, plastic bag, plastic, or the intestinal lining of a lamb, that is squeezed b ...

and baked until it is crisp and hollow inside. Once cool, the pastry is filled with

custard Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with Eggs as food, egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in con ...

(),

whipped cream Whipped cream, also known as Chantilly cream or (), is high-fat dairy cream that has been aerated by whisking until it becomes light, fluffy, and capable of holding its shape. This process incorporates air into the cream, creating a semi-soli ...

or chiboust cream, then iced with

fondant icing Fondant icing, also commonly just called fondant (, ; ), is an icing used to decorate or sculpt cakes and pastries. It is made from sugar, water, gelatin, vegetable oil or shortening, and glycerol. It does not have the texture of most icings; ...

. 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 Other fillings include

pistachio The pistachio (, ; ''Pistacia vera'') is a small to medium-sized tree of the Anacardiaceae, cashew family, originating in Iran. The tree produces nut (fruit)#Culinary definition and uses, seeds that are widely consumed as food. In 2022, world ...

- and

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...

-flavored custard,

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

-flavored fillings or

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description ...

purée. When the icing is caramel, the dessert may be called a (). A similar pastry in a round rather than oblong shape is called a religieuse.

Etymology

The word comes from the French , meaning 'flash of

lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

', so named because it is eaten quickly (in a flash); however some believe that the name is due to the glistening of the frosting resembling lightning.

History

The éclair originated during the 19th century in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, France where it was called ('Duchess-style bread') or ('little duchess') until 1850. The word is first attested both in English and in French in the 1860s.

Variants

Dunkin' Donuts DD IP Holder LLC, doing business as Dunkin', and originally Dunkin' Donuts, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 19 ...

markets Long John donuts as eclairs in the United States. National Eclair Day is celebrated on June 22 in the U.S. In Brazil, a dessert resembling a miniature is known as a .

Photo gallery

File:Eclairs at Fauchon in Paris.jpg, Éclairs at Fauchon in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

File:0 Frameries - Boulangerie-pâtisserie Godefroid (8).JPG, Bakers in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

using a machine to make éclairs File:Eclair 1120005560.jpg, A classic éclair File:Polish eclair from Poznan.jpg File:Schubert's Bakery Chocolate Eclairs (27768570991).jpg File:Lyon 2e - Hôtel-Dieu - Le Théodore - Éclair à la fraise.jpg

References

Bibliography

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External links

A brief éclair history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eclair Albanian cuisine Belgian desserts Custard desserts French pastries Choux pastry Chocolate-covered foods Doughnuts Stuffed desserts French cakes