I was inspired to make these when I first saw them over at Ellie Won's Blog Kitchen Wench. Eclairs have always been one of my favorite pastries but I've never made a vanilla version with the crackly sweet pastry crust on top. I don't make eclairs very often because they are my downfall-I'm addicted to them. That light pastry crust,the Crème Pâtissière filling, and the chocolate ganache coating-oh so delicious. I thought the the chocolate ones were addictive, let me warn you now-the Laduree Vanilla Eclairs are like crack. First of all the Crème Pâtissière -you must put it under lock and key until you are ready to use it-otherwise ,trust me, you will find yourself sitting at the table with a spoon and bowl of pastry cream and a huge calorie consumption you will never recover from ! And the sweet pastry crust that covers these,another caution, the dough is delicious raw, I can't even explain how scrumptious it is when it's baked.
These are definitely over the top. I really want to make them again because I did a couple things wrong on my first attempt. I didn't roll the sweet pastry topping thin enough or wide enough to drape over the sides. The thickness reduced the rise you would expect on the choux pastry shell (still delicious but not as puffy as it should have been). And while I thought I whipped my heavy cream to a good thick consistency -I didn't. Will I try these again ? Most definitely-but first I need to spend a lot of time on my treadmill ! Head over to Ellie's blog if you want the recipe or buy the beautiful Laduree:The Sweet Recipes here. Bon Appetit!
