These crisp Choux shells are filled with honeycomb swirled vanilla pastry cream and dipped in shiny chocolate glaze with a sprinkle of honeycomb candy bits. These eclairs are elegant, dainty, and so dreamy! Eclairs with honeycomb pastry cream are what your Mom wants for Mother’s Day. And wine. Lots of wine! So make a dozen of these for the best Mother’s Day treat ever!
My favorite chocolate growing up was dark chocolate covered honeycomb, or hokey pokey. The texture is unbeatable and the warm, rich caramelized honey flavor is incredible.
Every Sunday my Mom took us to a local chocolatier or bakery to pick out a special treat. I always picked chocolate covered honeycomb or pastry. For Mother’s Day I wanted to recreate those chocolates as a special dessert for my Mom. So these eclairs with honeycomb pastry cream are an elevated pastry take on those chocolates.
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Honeycomb
Making honeycomb candy is simple and yields an airy, crisp, unique confection.
The first step to making these eclairs with honeycomb pastry cream is to make the honeycomb. It takes only minutes to make. But it does need an hour or more to fully set and crisp up.
Homemade Honeycomb takes 4 ingredients: golden syrup, sugar, baking soda, and a touch of salt.
Tips for making honeycomb.
Have all of your ingredients measured out and ready.
Use a digital thermometer.
Do not stir the honeycomb until you add baking soda. But do swirl the mixture occasionally.
Be careful not to burn the honeycomb. Like caramel or butterscotch, the mixture continues to cook even after removed from the heat. So remove the mixture from the heat and stir in baking soda as soon as the sugar and golden syrup caramelized at 260 degrees.
Allow honeycomb to cool completely before breaking up. Use a Silpat to easily remove honeycomb after cooling.
Use as much crushed honeycomb as you desire for the pastry cream. Just note that if you crush it too finely you’ll lose the crispness. Additionally, use any leftover as a mix in for ice cream or for a topping. Or dip it in chocolate.
Eclairs
Eclairs use Choux batter. The difference is in how they are piped out and shaped. Then they are filled with pastry cream and dipped in chocolate.
Eclairs, like Choux, can be tricky. It’s important to get the batter to the corrrct consistency. Furthermore, the shells should be smooth and without cracks. They should rise and give a hollow center ready for filling. So here are some Tips for making perfect eclairs.
First, make sure you dry out your batter by following the recipe instructions.
Traditional eclairs use either a French star piping tip or open star tip to get those classic ridges. *To prevent the eclairs from getting soggy, fill them right before serving.
Pipe the batter with a steady pressure. If you have a point at the end of piping just moisten your finger with water and dab it against the peak.
Don’t open your oven while baking or remove the eclairs too soon or they will deflate. I find that baking Choux at 350 d F for 30-35 minutes always works for me.
To pipe the pastry cream into the eclairs, wait for them to cool completely. Then cut two little holes in the bottom of pastry. Use those to put small piping tip and fill.
To glaze eclairs, dip them into the glaze rather than spreading the glaze on.
If topping with honeycomb bits, sprinkle it on before the glaze sets.
Thanks for making these eclairs with honeycomb pastry cream! Please share this recipe with pastry lovers and social media. And follow me on Instagram for more free recipes and IGTV videos.
Eclairs With Honeycomb Pastry Cream
Eclairs filled with honeycomb pastry cream and a chocolate glaze. Topped with bits of crispy honeycomb confection.
Ingredients
Honeycomb
- 100 grams granulated sugar
- 50 grams golden syrup
- pinch teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Pastry Cream
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 cups whole milk
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/8 cup cornstarch
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup crushed honeycomb candy from above
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream whipped
Chocolate Glaze
- 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate 60 %
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
Choux For Eclairs
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup AP Flour
Instructions
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To make honeycomb, set golden syrup and sugar into a heavy bottom saucepan set over medium low heat.
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Swirl to combine a few times until the sugar dissolves.
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Then turn to medium heat. Let it caramelize. It will turn an amber color. Once it reaches 260 degrees F, remove from the heat.
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Immediately, stir in baking soda and salt using a wooden spoon.
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Then pour into silpat lined baking sheet.
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Cool at least 1 hour. Then break into bits Crush some of it for filling. Save some for topping.
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Then make pastry cream. In a saucepan, combine 1.5 cups of the milk, sugar, and salt.
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In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks with the cornstarch and remaining milk.
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Then when the milk barely reaches a simmer and sugar is dissolved, temper into egg yolks by pouring a pencil thin stream while whisking.
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Put whole mixture into saucepan and cook over medium low heat. Stir constantly. It will thicken in about 6-8 minutes.
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Then remove from heat. Whisk in the vanilla bean paste.
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Then chill. Right before filling, whip up some heavy cream to stiff peaks and fold into pastry cream with a cup of the crushed honeycomb bits.
Glaze
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After you have made choux eclairs and filled them, glaze them.
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Use a double boiler to melt the chocolate with the corn syrup and butter until smooth. Stir gently as it melts.
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Then warm heavy cream in a bowl.
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Add the chocolate and stir gently until smooth.
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Dip eclairs. Then sprinkle with bits of honeycomb.
For Choux
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats. Fit a large piping bag with a french star tip.
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In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.
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Then add milk, water, salt, and sugar. When it comes to a low boil, remove from heat.
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Add flour all at once. Then mix to a dough.
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Put back onto heat and cook 2 minutes while stirring, to dry it out.
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Then remove to a bowl and cool 5 minutes.
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Then add eggs, one at a time, stirring vigorously to combine after each addition.
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Pour batter into piping bags.
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Pipe out 5 inch lines of dough using steady pressure. Space them at least 1.5 inches apart. I do this at a diagonal with 2 rows per baking sheet.
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Then bake 30-35 minutes.
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Cool completely. Then use a small and sharp knife tip to gently make two holes in the bottom of each shell.
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Fill each shell with pastry cream.
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