Heart Shaped Chocolate Éclairs Recipes

CHOCOLATE ECLAIR HEARTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Using a 2 1/2-inch heart cookie cutter and a pencil, trace 12 hearts on a piece of parchment paper, spacing 1 inch apart. Repeat with another piece of parchment. Lightly coat 2 rimmed baking sheets with cooking spray; line with prepared parchment, traced side down. Set aside.
• Make the pate a choux: Sift flour and cocoa powder into a medium bowl. Put milk, butter, sugar, and salt into a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat, and add flour mixture all at once. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until flour has been incorporated.
• Set pan over medium-low heat. Continue to cook, stirring, until dough pulls away from sides of pan and forms a ball, about 1 minute. Transfer dough to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until just warm to the touch.
• Raise speed to medium. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Transfer dough to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain tip (such as Ateco #802). Pipe onto prepared parchment, tracing outlines of hearts and then filling centers. Pipe another heart on top of first layer.
• Place hearts in oven. Reduce temperature to 400 degrees. Bake 10 minutes, then rotate sheets. Reduce to 350 degrees; bake 7 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to wire racks to cool slightly. Turn off oven.
• Using a serrated knife, halve hearts horizontally. Arrange, cut sides down, on wire rack. Place rack on baking sheet; transfer to oven. Prop open door slightly, and let hearts cool completely, 45 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven; set aside.
• Make the filling: Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside. Pulse chocolate in a food processor until finely chopped. Put 1 cup cream and the sugar into a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Add hot cream mixture to the food processor. Carefully pulse until completely smooth. Transfer to a large bowl set in the ice-water bath. Let cool completely, whisking occasionally, 30 to 45 minutes. Pour through a fine sieve into a medium bowl.
• Put chocolate cream into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add remaining cup cream. Beat on low speed until medium peaks form (do not overbeat).
• Make the glaze: Pulse chocolate in a food processor until finely chopped. Put cream and corn syrup into a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stirring until syrup has dissolved. Add hot cream mixture to the food processor. Carefully pulse until completely smooth. Pour through a fine sieve into a bowl; use a rubber spatula to eliminate air bubbles.
• To assemble: Spoon glaze over tops of hearts. Let stand until set, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, spread filling onto cut sides of bottoms of hearts. Sandwich tops and bottoms. Serve immediately, or refrigerate, uncovered, up to 4 hours.

HEART-SHAPED CHOCOLATE ÉCLAIRS

Steps:

• Prepare the pastry cream: Cut vanilla bean in half crosswise, then cut a slit lengthwise down each half. Use the edge of the knife to scrape out all the seeds. Discard the pods or reserve for another use.
• Combine sugar, cornstarch, salt, egg, egg yolks, milk, and vanilla seeds in a saucepan; whisk until well combined.
• Place over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom surface of the pan, until thick, about 10 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and whisk to release some steam. Add butter and keep stirring until melted. Pass through a fine sieve to remove any fibrous bits from the vanilla pod. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pastry cream to cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 to 3 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone liner (such as Silpat®).
• Combine butter, water, and salt for the pate choux in a saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a simmer. Add flour and stir with a wooden spoon until a buttery dough forms. Continue to cook and stir until a starchy film forms on the bottom of the pan. Turn off the heat and continue stirring for 1 more minute.
• Transfer to a bowl. Add one egg and mix it in with a little dough. Once that's incorporated, mix it in with the remaining dough. Repeat with the second egg. Continue stirring until you have a very sticky dough. Use a spatula to clean off the whisk if necessary.
• Transfer the dough into a pastry bag and snip off the tip making a ½-inch opening. Pipe two 6-inch heart shapes on the prepared baking sheet. Start by making thin shapes and then pipe extra dough to make them thicker. To fine-tune the hearts, dip your fingers in water and fix any imperfections if desired.
• Bake in the center of the preheated oven until beautifully browned, about 30 minutes. Turn off the heat, leave the pastries in the oven, and prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon. Let sit until crispy and dried out, about 1 hour.
• Use a serrated knife to slice the hearts in half horizontally.
• Remove pastry cream from the refrigerator and transfer to a pastry bag. Generously pipe cream into the bottom half of each heart, then place the top halves on the cream.
• Heat cream in a saucepan until simmering.
• Place chocolate chips in a small bowl and pour hot cream over top. Let sit for 2 to 3 minutes, then whisk until chocolate has melted and ganache is thick and shiny. Let cool for about 5 minutes.
• Spoon ganache on top of each heart. Reserve any remaining ganache for another use. Refrigerate éclairs until the ganache is firm, about 15 minutes.
• Place éclairs on serving plates. Fill the center of each heart with raspberries and sift cocoa powder over top. Sift powdered sugar over just the raspberries and serve. (Each éclair is enough for two people.)