Friday, November 12, 2010

Eclairs Filled with Pumpkin Cheesecake and Bathed in Dark Chocolate!


I've had this pumpkin, cheesecake and chocolate craving I couldn't kick!  Probably all the amazing pumpkin recipes you all have been dangling in front of me.  So I combined the three into these eclairs.  Some may call it crazy; I'd call it crazy good!  Just a warning though, you may never look at eclairs the same way.  I hope everyone is ashamed of themselves for driving me to this.

Pate a Choux:
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Add butter, water and salt to a small saucepan and heat on low till melted and almost boiling.  In a small bowl combine flour and cinnamon.  Add flour mixture to water, turn heat off and stir.  Turn back on heat and stir until a film forms on the bottom of the pan.

Place dough into stand mixer and turn on medium speed for 1 minute or so to cool.  Then slowly stream in eggs until completely incorporated and dough looks shiny.  Place dough into a piping bag without a tip.

Pipe eclairs 1" wide by 4" long onto silpat mat or parchment paper placed on baking sheet.

Bake in a 400 degree F oven for 20 minutes, then turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake 20 minutes longer until completely dried out.  Rotate the pans every ten minutes, from top to bottom.  Remove from oven and let cool on racks.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling: 
4 ozs. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Add heavy cream and vanilla to a mixer and beat until stiff.  Set aside.  Beat cream cheese and sugar, until smooth.  Add pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice, mix until combined.  Remove from mixer and fold whip cream in.  

Place filling into a piping bag fitted with a bismarck tip.  Place tip into side of eclair and squeeze till full, take it easy here or you will have a cheesecake explosion.  Here is a picture of the tip you will need.  If this happens, don't stress do as I did and eat the evidence!


Dark Chocolate Glaze:
4 ozs. dark chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Heat heavy cream in small saucepan and pour over chopped chocolate placed in bowl.  Whisk until combined.  Make sure bowl is wide enough to dip eclair in.  Let it cool for 10 minutes or so before dipping.  Store in refrigerator.

Did you think I was going to leave you hanging about the Food buzz festival!. There was a finale of brunch and an exhausted bunch of new friends and a little sadness to say good-bye!  I'm hoping next year to meet even more of you that I enjoy reading so much.  

Enjoy,

Gina

28 comments:

  1. That is pretty funny that we both posted on eclairs today, I do have to say that yours look delicious! I love your wording "bathed in chocolate". Hope you have an awesome weekend!

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  2. Wowza...talk about a fantastic flavor combo!! I could go for one of these today...craving chocoalte something fierce!! For some reason, choux intimidates me. Maybe I should give it a try sometime and face those fears...

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  3. Your photos just keeps getting better and better and better!!!! This looks AMAZING! I almost grabbed one haha. Definitely saving this recipe!!!

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  4. Wendy just try choux it's way easier than it sounds and you can change it alot of ways!
    Thanks Sommer, practice, practice, practice or at least for me, plus moving your dish to find the light. Other than that I'm still using auto.

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  5. Oh my! These sound too amazing to not try! Thanks for sharing - might be on the Thanksgiving dessert bar.

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  6. OH GIna. These look so good. I wish you would have brought these in addition to the yummy cookies to the festival. Loving the photog and thanks for the kudos on my video (=

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  7. those are really luscious eclairs, gina! man, i'm drooling for those :)

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  8. OMG Gina......stuffed with pumpkin cheesecake!!! How could you not bring these along, your cookies were so good I can only imagine how good these were and they are positively beautiful!!!
    Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
    DEnnis

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  9. Gina, you are a genius! These cheese-filled eclairs look so good!

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  10. Those are incredibly, ridiculously sinful and amazing!!! Great job!

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  11. Now that's one I've never heard of before! What an awesome combination. Those must have been incredible!

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  12. Gina - I am dying here..I haven't had breakfast yet and then you show me these ridiculously luscious eclairs?!! Fabulous!

    -Veronica

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  13. That filling sounds wonderful. I bet you could substitute white chocolate in the glaze, too, for an amazing variation. I think it's about time for me to make some cream puffs again.

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  14. It does look crazy good! I love it. FEED ME.

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  15. Gina...these deserve to be in a magazine...these deserve to be in book...these are simply amazing! I can only imagine how heavenly one of these guys would taste! Thank you so much for sharing. I hope you are having a relaxing weekend!

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  16. OK... this is absolutely amazing! Definitely magazine worthy. You have to enter this somewhere, I'm sure it would win!
    Liv would go crazy for these! Maybe a Thanksgiving break project? Looks like something for a day when we have some time. I've never made eclairs... I think I might!!
    Thanks again for all of your super sweet comments Gina!!!

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  17. Gina-those photos are stunning! What a creative recipe. I would love to try one. Great job!!!

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  18. Oh good grief! What else can we dangle in front of you so you create something as amazing as these are? Holy cow they look incredible. And contain some of my favorite things; cheesecake and pumpkin. I'm in heaven.

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  19. Ok are you trying to kill me by teasing me with your amazing eclairs? Pumpkin Cheesecake filled eclairs, now that is music to my ears or is it bell. They look soooooo good, my mouth wont stop watering. I really need to go buy that pipping bag for sure,

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  20. Holly all things delightful...I would just love to have one of these. They are amazing and wow with the tempting flavors :)

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  21. WHOA - I'm pretty sure you just combined my all time favorite things in one. They are jumping out of the screen on me. I want. ;)
    Btw, it was really nice meeting you at the Foodbuzz festival! :)

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  22. Gina, these eclairs look so insanely perfect, I'm quite happy to bathe in a sea of them (the eclairs, not just the chocolate ganache) all day! Oh, and eat a few along the way, of course... ;-)

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  23. Wonderful! I used to make eclairs for my husband years ago. He'll be so please when I make these for him.

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  24. I just checked this morning, and if I'm not mistaken your eclairs made Top 9. Congratulations!
    Gina, they are simply...SUPERB...and the filling to "die for". Amazing job you did, so light, perfect, and the cholotae so gloriously glistening!

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  25. Gina-No wonder why when I clicked on that photo of the eclair it clicked over to your friend Lisa's blog...thought it was a mistake, came back to you, and avoided telling you...LOL

    Now, I went back to her blog again, and incidentally that was back in July, 2010. Anyway, I am following her blog now...sorry I'm a little ahead of myself for already placing you in the Top 9...where your eclairs should belong to!

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  26. Oh thanks Elisabeth! No such luck though. That's okay eating them was enough to make me happy!

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  27. OMG - You're killing us out here! Beautiful photos, Gina and you're brilliant to think of combining these flavors into an eclair :)

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  28. WOW!They are just beautiful; I haven't made éclairs in years; you are inspiring me.

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