Simply Delicious for your Valentine

Show your love this Valentine's Day with an elegant yet surprisingly simple dessert. 

Chocolate Eclairs

The pastry shell is very easy to make.

You heat just to boiling:

1 Cup water and 1/2 Cup butter or stick margarine.

Stir in 1 Cup flour and stir constantly(I use a wood spoon) 

over low heat until the mixture forms a ball. (about 1 minute) 

Remove from heat and allow to cool some. 

Beat in 4 eggs one at a time.

(I use a hand held electric mixer)

mix until dough is smooth and shiny

(This recipe yields 8 large or 12 med.)

Drop from spoon onto un-greased baking sheet. 

I bake them on a Silpat. 

I baked them for many years on a plain

ungreased baking sheet so no Silpat is needed.

Bake in a Preheated 400 degree oven 45-50 minutes

The baking time will depend on the size of your eclair shell.

The shells puff up and become hollow. 

It's best to leave the oven door closed and let them do their thing.

Once the shells have gotten very hard, poke each shell with a sharp knife to release steam and continue to bake. You want the shells to get very dry and hard. 

Remove them from the oven and allow to cool.

To fill:

Cut the shells in half (I use a sharp steak knife).

Pull out any soft dough in the centers.

Shhhhhh........ don't tell anyone but,

I fill mine with Jello brand French Vanilla Pudding (Instant)

Fill the top and the bottom of the shell with pudding 

then put the shell back together.

I then ice them with a fudge icing that I make from scratch.

I'm sorry I don't have a real recipe for the icing.

Fudge Icing Directions from scratch:

Melt 1 stick of butter or margarine in a pan. Turn off heat.

Add cocoa powder to the butter and blend with a whisk.

Amount of cocoa powder depends the darkness of chocolate you prefer.

Add powdered sugar (about 2 #) and stir with a wooden spoon.

The icing will be shiny and soft.

Add a bit of milk if needed for easy spreading.

(This icing sets up like fudge so make it just before you are going to use it)

Ice the top of each eclair and store in fridge

until you are ready to serve your

Valentine!