sugar daddy's éclairs

you know. i never say no when offered an éclair. i just dont. no matter what time of the day or year - i truly believe there is little out there in the world that i like more than a decent éclair. all crisp and gooey at the same time. oh my, whoever invented it - i owe him big time.
so when this month's recipe for the daring bakers was out, i was all over the place. i mean out of joy. baking éclaires, mais bien sur! there was only such a thing as a big trip abroad in the month august - meaning: little time to bake. so while i was packing up all my stuff, doing laundry, hoovering the apartment and doing last calls i did this with chocolate-smeared fingers. chocolate on my forehead, on my hipps, on that white t-shirt i wanted to pack... so basically i did it all wrong, cos i did it in such a rush it should be simply forbidden for such a nice little dessert. éclaires need time. and love. and care. especially if it's from pierre hermé, aka sugar daddy.

so sugar daddy does some fancy recipes as our queen bee tartelette proves every now and then on her fabulous blog. this months recipe wasn't too complicated if you follow it step by step. make sure you dont do this in a rush... you want those little cream puffs to rise and shine in the oven... that kinky chocolate glaze to be all smooth and shiny. takes time. i agree.
i went all chocolate with the filling and glaze - of course there is about a gazillion ways to do this: mocca, vanilla, a french pastry cream infused with rosebuds, with cinnamon - oh the list goes on and on.
just make sure you assemble it last minute - or it might go all soggy.


i'll dash if you dont mind. got about 20 éclairs in the kitchen. and an empty belly. and i jeans i need to fit in tomorrow. somehow...
before i leave, i'd like to put my hands up for this month's host meeta and tony. great job, thanks guys!


PS: i hope you dont mind if i am not posting the recipe here, as it is very long. head over to meeta or tony to get the full list or simply check out pierre hermé's book.