Something yummy this way comes!

A Saturday night experiment.
I had a pretty hectic Saturday but made a wonderful meal to wrap up the day and then made the promised dessert of miniature eclairs.  I have never made these before and the recipe is not very descriptive so there was some trial and error involved.  First, they were too small.  I thought that they would puff up but they didn't do that at all so the first batch turned out to be large eclairs but only if you were a Barbie-sized doll.  I made then a little bigger but they were still too small so I made them in a size that I thought was way to big.  They were just right.

Add in some homemade whipped cream as a filling and top with a semi-sweet chocolate swath and you have the perfect mini sweet treat.  But beware, they are small and deceivingly good so don't make more then you are willing to eat in one sitting.  Take my word on this.  The recipe is below the stunningly delicious photos.  Can I just say that I am glad that they are all gone.

Mini Chocolate Eclairs   Printable Version
Adapted from The Illustrated Quick Cook book

Ingredients
6 Tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
2 cups cold water
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs, beaten
2 cups heavy cream
2-3 Tablespoons confectioners sugar
Vanilla to taste
7 oz. semisweet chocolate

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Melt butter in a saucepan with water then bring to a boil.  Once the water boils, remove from the heat and add all of the flour at once.  Mix with a spoon till the batter is thick and shiny and starts to pull away from the pan.
Lightly beat the eggs and pour in a small amount at a time and stir in completely before adding more.  Stir until the mixture is smooth and thick.  Let the batter cool and then put into a piping bag.  Using a large tip, I did not use any tip on the bag and the bead that it pushed out was just perfect, pipe 2-3 inch lengths onto parchment paper or a silpat.  These only rise slightly so you can pipe them pretty close together.
Bake for 25-30 minutes but watch them closely.  They should be a pale golden brown.  Let them cool and then slice them in half the long way to open them up for filling.  These are not dense, but airy and hollow inside.
Whip your cream to stiff peaks and add sugar and vanilla till incorporated.  Melt the chocolate and set aside.
Pipe the whipped cream into the bottom half of each eclair and then top with the other half and paint top with chocolate.
Don't eat them all at once.

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