Eclairs

If food is art, then Chef Christophe Adam's cookbook ?clairs certainly are worthy of a First Place award. June 22, 2017 is official Chocolate ?clair Day. The very word "?clair" fills our minds with images of opulent cream, light dough, and a creamy topping that just melts in our mouth. Chocolate ?clair Day celebrates one of the most decadent of treats to come out of the confectioner's trade since, well, forever. The oldest recorded eclair recipe was discovered in an American cookbook dated 1884. There are as many varieties of ?clairs but the one that leaves us all drooling is the Chocolate ?clair. The most popular chocolate eclair filling is vanilla cream or whipped cream. In the United States, a chocolate eclair is sometimes referred to as a "Long John." A Long John is an elongated doughnut, filled with custard, cream, or jelly and covered in chocolate frosting. ?clair means "flash of lightning" referring to, I suppose, the speed at which these elegant treats disappear if left unguarded. Read Chef Christophe cookbook/trainer, "Eclairs, Easy Elegant and Modern Recipes. We gave this book 5 stars. Make your own eclairs. Heaven knows with 500+ step-by-step photos you CAN do this! Take a break, go to the doughnut shop to order an ?clair with a latt? on the side. See how theirs compares with yours. How gracious of Chef Christophe to give us insight into his world by thoughtfully introducing us to the exact steps to make perfect ?clairs. No detail is overlooked so even novice bakers can begin to create these delightful pastries. You will have to invest in the proper equipment and then practice, but if you love ?clairs, then fresh, home baked deliciousness can be yours--plus your family and friends will delight in tasting all your samples! A topic I simply cannot resist in cookbook reviews is to talk about the photography. Sometimes it doesn't exist or is simply under-whelming. But not in this cookbook! Rina Nurra deserves mention for her stunning photography displaying ?clair art, and for assisting Chef Christophe in actually showing us with photos how to make perfect ?clairs--this is truly a step-by-step illustrated manual. Cooking with a friend is always fun, and baking together using this beautiful guide will be super sweet! Invite your friend for coffee and review your ?clairs cookbook. Select your recipes, check your available equipment, list what you need, and head for Williams-Sonoma or your favorite cooking store. One or each of you must make the glaze and/or filling the day before you make your ?clairs so this not spur of the moment baking. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! Of course, you could make them on your own, but it would be so much fun with a friend. Chef notes that the Choux pastry keeps very well in the freezer. Make enough pastry so you can each have some extra to freeze--after you make them once, you'll surely want to make more with a different filling or glaze. Bon App?tit!-- "FoodWineTravelChixs.com" (3/8/2017 12:00:00 AM)
Do you like eclairs? Of course, you do! I can remember my first attempt at making eclairs when I was about twelve. I walked to the grocery store to buy the ingredients with my babysitting money. They were not exactly pretty, but they tasted delicious. The new Eclairs book by Christophe Adam can help you make treats that look and taste wonderful. There are a total of 35 recipes. 15 of them are great for beginners. The others are best for intermediate or advanced cooks. What makes this book extra special is the photos. There are over 500 of them that demonstrate the step by step process for each recipe. This makes it easy to refer back to the book as you are working to end up with beautiful desserts.-- "Sweeps4Bloggers.com" (2/4/2017 12:00:00 AM)
How many of you love ?clairs? Ever since I was a kid, I loved when my mother allowed us to get ?clairs in the store, or even better, made ?clairs at home. Since they were a bit time consuming, my mother rarely made them, making it a true, delicious treat that all of us looked forward to during the summer (she preferred to cook them with less humidity). Since it was such a fickle recipe, I was always terrified to make ?clairs at home and honestly never even attempted it as an adult. When I heard that one of my favorite publishers, Robert Rose, who is fantastic about making approachable cookbooks, came out with an ?clair cookbook, I know I had to try it for myself. When the book arrived in the mail, I couldn't wait to get into the book and start looking at all the fantastic recipes! Do you want to learn how to make ?clairs at home? If so, we think you will love ?clairs: Easy, Elegant and Modern Recipes by Christophe Adam. This fun cookbook has fantastic, unique recipes and amazing step by step pictures that make baking ?clairs at home easy! As someone who truly LOVES ?clairs, I couldn't wait to get into this cookbook. As someone who had only had traditional ?clairs, I was blown away by all the modern, very fun recipes, that sound absolutely delicious. To me, however, the best part is all the step by step instructions. The author (and chef) make preparing ?clairs look easy and approaching, something that seemed truly amazing to me, especially since it seemed so complicated when I saw my mother making her own recipe growing up. Never had I thought making ?clairs would be so approachable and now I can't wait to try making them at home after seeing just [how]approachable Chef Adam made all of his recipes. Based on our own experience, we are delighted to give ?clairs: Easy, Elegant and Modern Recipes an A+ rating and highly recommend it to anyone who loves baking!-- "Budgetearth.com" (2/4/2017 12:00:00 AM)
Judging by my kids' (and husband's) reactions, ?clairs are having a moment, eclipsing cupcakes, doughnuts, and other treats. And the amazing recipes shown here reveal why! Such vivid and delightful flavors and designs that are really the hit of any party. And yet, these colorful and cutting-edge confections are surprisingly simple and straightforward to make. Many use new ingredients that have only recently been made available at your average super store -- candies, metallic shimmer dust, and more. The 20 recipes include unconventional and imaginative flavors, such as currants, apricot, pistachio, and passion fruit. With these basic recipes, and the educational (and fun!) techniques, one could imagine infinite variations.-- "SharingFoodFun.com" (2/17/2017 12:00:00 AM)