Coconut Eclairs
Thank you, Bob’s Red Mill, for sponsoring this post!
Hello from Cleveland! Where I’m jetlagged, car-less, and currently watching The Holiday. I’m here without Olive and Reuben because someone needs to watch the loaf and the loaf isn’t ready to be without her parents yet. I sleep at the best at my parents’ house so I’ve been finally catching up on sleep and then planning my big dim sum menu to celebrate my grandma’s birthday this weekend. I’ve never made this much homemade dim sum before, so wish me luck…
Whenever I’m home for the holidays, I feel like all I want to do is relax, veg out, and allow my parents to do everything for me (lol). But then I get roped into some big cooking project or feel the urge to bake everyone a cookie box or pink box of Chinese bakery buns. A baker never rests. Or a baker’s family never lets her rest 😝
If you’re in the same boat and looking for a fun baking project to occupy your time this weekend and impress everyone around you, then make these Coconut Eclairs! They are filled with a dreamy and creamy coconut milk pastry cream and topped with just a touch of toasted coconut.
Coconut Milk Pastry Cream
Making pastry cream with full-fat coconut milk is a game changer. The flavor is so delicious and delicate (I hate artificial coconut flavor), I could seriously just eat a whole bowl of the pastry cream by itself. Since the full-fat coconut milk is already so rich it makes a beautifully luscious pastry cream without the need of extra butter.
Master the Choux
This choux pastry is actually from my cookbook. While I was testing this recipe, it gave me such a hard time because the results were so inconsistent. I thought I had mastered it and then one day my puffs deflated or came out dense and not hollow. I finally nailed the proportions, but what I realized that in order for this choux to work you have to really have to take your time and not rush the process. Make the recipes according to the indicators written. Like when cooking the dough, there should be a thin layer cooked onto the bottom of the pan. Or that the pastry dough should be smooth and shiny. So take it easy, enjoy the process!
And please use a digital scale!!! It’s essential to the success of this recipe!
Dreamy Coconut Eclairs
Cream puffs and eclairs always remind me of the winter for some reason. Not sure if it’s really seasonal, but in my mind it is. In the winters I have a reason to turn the oven on to warm the house and indulge in a sweet pastry. If you wanted to turn these eclairs into small cream puffs you can definitely do that! Just pipe small rounds instead of logs.
Assembling the eclairs is probably the easiest part of this whole process. And once they are filled to the brim with coconut pastry cream and topped with glaze and toasted coconut they are ready to be torn apart and enjoy. There’s something funny about how it only takes a few seconds to devour a pastry that took hours to make, right?
coconut eclairs
makes 10
Coconut Milk Pastry Cream:
1 13.5 oz can full-fat coconut milk
4 large egg yolks
75g (1/3 cup) sugar
30g (3 tbsp) Bob’s Red Mill cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla extract
Choux pastry:
75g (1/3 cup) milk
75g (1/3 cup) water
65g (4 1/2 tablespoons) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
75g (1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon) Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose flour
150g (3 large) eggs
Topping:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk or water
3/4 cup Toasted coconut
Make pastry cream:
In a large mixing bowl, whisk to combine egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla extract.
Heat coconut milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly and bring to a gentle simmer (tiny bubbles around the rim). Turn off heat and pour in about 1/3 cup of coconut milk at a time in a thin steady stream while whisking constantly. Continue to whisk and incorporate coconut milk into the egg mixture until well combined.
Pour everything back into the saucepan and heat over medium-low heat. Whisk constantly until thickened and the whisk leaves trails behind, 3 to 4 minutes.
Transfer the pastry cream into a heat proof container and cover with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic wrap to the surface of the cream. Chill for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
Make the choux:
Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, water, butter, and salt over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer and then immediately turn off the heat and add the flour. Using a flexible spatula, stir to form a thick, smooth paste. Return the saucepan to medium heat and continue to cook to dry out the pastry, stirring constantly, 3 to 4 minutes. There will be a thin layer of cooked pastry at the bottom of the pan.
Transfer the pastry to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed to release the steam from the pastry, 2 to 3 minutes. The bowl will feel very warm still. Increase the speed to medium and add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. (The mixture will look curdled at first). Continue to mix on medium until the pastry is smooth and thick, scraping down the sides as needed, about 2 minutes.
Fit a pastry bag fitted with a large (about 1/2-inch) round or star piping tip. Fill the bag with the pastry dough and pipe 4-inch long logs, on the rimmed baking sheet, spacing at least 2 inches apart.
Place the baking sheet in the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 375°F. Bake for 20 minutes and then open the oven to release the steam. Close the door again and bake until the pastry is deep golden brown, 15 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and allow the puffs to cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, and then transfer to the rack to cool completely.
In a small, deep bowl whisk to combine powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Adjust if needed to achieve a thick consistency. Dip the eclairs into the glaze and allow any excess glaze to drip off. Top with toasted coconut and allow for the glaze to set up. Repeat with remaining eclairs.
Cut a small list into the end of all the eclairs with a paring knife. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a round or bismarck piping tip. Fill all the eclairs with pastry cream and serve.