An éclair ( or , ; ) is a pastry made with choux pastry dough filled with a cream and topped with a flavored icing. The dough, which is the same as that used for , is typically piped into an oblong shape with a pastry bag and baked until it is crisp and hollow inside. Once cool, the pastry is filled with custard (crème pâtissière), whipped cream or chiboust cream, then iced with fondant icing.[Montagné, Prosper, Larousse gastronomique: the new American edition of the world's greatest culinary encyclopedia, Jenifer Harvey Lang, ed., New York: Crown Publishers, 1988, p. 401 ] Other fillings include pistachio- and rum-flavored custard, fruit-flavored fillings or chestnut purée. When the icing is caramel, the dessert may be called a bâton de Jacob (). A similar pastry in a round rather than oblong shape is called a religieuse.
Etymology
The word comes from the French éclair, meaning 'flash of
lightning', so named because it is eaten quickly (in a flash);
[ Éclair , Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 8th edition] however some believe that the name is due to the glistening of the frosting resembling lightning.
History
The éclair originated during the 19th century in
Lyon,
France where it was called pain à la Duchesse
('Duchess-style bread') or petite duchesse ('little duchess') until 1850.
The word is first attested both in English and in French in the 1860s.
[Oxford English Dictionary, 1861. Petit Larousse, 1863.][ "On a changé, depuis une vingtaine d'années, le nom de ces gâteaux pains : on les désigne actuellement sous le nom d 'éclairs."]
Variants
Dunkin' Donuts markets Long John donuts as eclairs in the United States.
National Eclair Day is celebrated on June 22 in the U.S.
In Brazil, a dessert resembling a miniature éclair is known as a Carolina.
Photo gallery
File:Eclairs at Fauchon in Paris.jpg|Éclairs at Fauchon in Paris.
File:0 Frameries - Boulangerie-pâtisserie Godefroid (8).JPG|Bakers in Belgium using a machine to make éclairs
File:Eclair 1120005560.jpg|A classic éclair
File:Polish eclair from Poznan.jpg
File:Schubert's Bakery Chocolate Eclairs (27768570991).jpg
File:Lyon 2e - Hôtel-Dieu - Le Théodore - Éclair à la fraise.jpg
See also
-
French cuisine
-
List of choux pastry dishes
-
List of custard desserts
-
List of French desserts
Bibliography
External links