This Ferrero Eclair is inspired by the classic chocolate-hazelnut combo and crispy and creamy textures of the Ferrero Rocher. It is delicate yet indulgent and is perfect for lovers of chocolate and nutty flavours.

Here we use the technique of freezing the choux dough for perfectly consistent eclairs. By freezing the dough and then cutting them we have greater control of the length and width. The choux dough can be made ahead of time and stored for a while before baking.

Ingredients

Choux Dough

• 125g milk
• 125g water
• 110g unsalted butter
• 15g invert sugar
• 5g salt
• 150g flour
• 200g eggs 

Chocolate-Hazelnut Craquelin

• 100g unsalted butter
• 125g all purpose flour
• 125g light brown sugar
• 15g cocoa powder
• 1 egg white
• 50g chopped hazelnuts

Buttercream Base

• 55g milk
• 42g egg yolk
• 67g caster sugar
• 244g unsalted butter (room temp)

Italian meringue

• 24g water
• 55g sugar
• 36g egg white

Pastry Cream Base

• 35g milk
• 25g cornflour
• 55g egg yolks
• 1g salt
• 280g milk
• 35g cream
• 70g caster sugar

Creamy Hazelnut Filling

• Pastry Cream Base
• Buttercream Base
• Italian Meringue
• 50g hazelnut paste
• 100g hazelnut praline

Chocolate Hazelnut Crispy Crunch

• 70g hazelnut praline
• 90g hazelnut paste
• 50g milk chocolate
• 30g dark chocolate
• 45g feuilletine

Chocolate Feathers

• 500g chocolate
• Gold powder

Assembly

• 100g hazelnut praline

Method

Crunchy Hazelnut Craquelin

1. Chop the hazelnuts into pieces of roughly 2mm.
2. Mix the butter, flour, sugar and cocoa powder together in a stand mixer on low speed with a paddle attachment until just combined.
3. Roll the dough thinly (about 1-2mm) with a rolling pin in between 2 pieces of baking paper.
4. Brush the tops with egg white and sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts.
5. Lightly press the hazelnuts into the dough.
6. Store in the freezer until ready to use.

Eclairs

1. Sift the flour onto baking paper
2. Bring the milk, water, butter, invert sugar and salt together to a boil.
3. Take off the heat and immediately use the baking paper to add flour in one go.
4. Return to heat, working the mixture with a wooden spoon well for about 3-4 minutes until the mixture is dry (it pulls away from the sides and starts to form a film on the bottom or the dough starts breaking apart while stirring). Working the mixture creates elasticity in the dough. Don’t let the mixture sit or it will catch and burn.
5. Transfer dough to a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat on low speed and allow mixture to cool slightly.
6. Add the eggs a little at a time, waiting for them to fully incorporate before adding more. It may separate at the beginning which is ok, it should come together eventually. You may need to adjust the amount of eggs added which depends on the flour and how much the dough was dried in the previous step. The dough should eventually be smooth and shiny and it should drop from the paddle under its own weight, forming a long ‘V’ shape.
7. Pipe the mixture into long strips using a 18mm french-star tip onto a lined baking sheet.
8. Allow to freeze in the freezer.
9. Once frozen, cut the strips into 12cm long pieces. 
10. Place onto a baking tray lined with a perforated silicone mat evenly spaced.
11. Cut 3cm x 13cm out of the craquelin and place on top of the choux.
12. Bake for 20 minutes 180°C then 160°C for 15 minutes to dry.
13. Allow to cool completely at room temperature before adding the filling.

Pastry Cream Base

1. Whisk in sifted corn flour into half of the sugar. Whisk in egg yolks.
2. Bring milk, cream and remaining sugar to a boil. 
3. Temper the egg mixture with a third of the milk mixture.
4. Combine the entire mixture and whisk continuously until thickened.
5. Transfer to a tray and cool completely.

Buttercream Base

1. Prepare the room temperature butter in a stand mixer with whisk attachment.
2. Boil milk.
3. Whisk egg yolk with sugar.
4. Temper the egg mixture with a third of the milk.
5. Combine entire mixture and cook to 82-84°C to make an anglaise.
6. Pour the anglaise over the butter and whip together.

Italian Meringue

1. Whip the egg whites to soft peaks.
2. Boil the water and sugar to make a syrup and bring to 121°C.
3. While whisking, gradually pour the syrup into the egg white to form an Italian meringue. Whisk to stiff peaks.

Creamy Hazelnut Filling

1. Fold the Italian meringue into the buttercream mixture.
2. Whisk the pastry cream, hazelnut praline and hazelnut paste together until combined.
3. Fold together the italian meringue buttercream into the pastry cream.

Chocolate Hazelnut Crispy Crunch

1. Melt chocolates together in short 20-30 intervals in the microwave stirring in between each interval.
2. Mix in praline.
3. Carefully fold in feuilletine.
4. Reserve at room temperature.

Chocolate feathers

1. Add a dab of oil to a paper towel and wipe the edge of the surface to stick a strip of acetate to the edge.
2. Temper the chocolate using your preferred method.
3. Use a knife with a symmetrical pointy tip, dip into the tempered chocolate. Tap off the excess chocolate and wipe one side of the knife on the edge of the bowl.
4. Place the knife chocolate side down just above the edge of the acetate. Lightly press down, then pull directly up and pull back towards the edge of the table to form the feather line. Repeat until acetate sheet is full.
5. Before the chocolate has set, place the acetate in rings to give the feathers a slight curve.
6. Allow to set completely.
7. Lightly brush on gold powder.
8. Using a hot knife, cut small slits to create the illusion of a feather.

Assembly

1. Carefully cut open the eclair using a serrated knife.
2. Pipe the feuilletine crunch along the base of the eclair.
3. Pipe swirls of the creamy hazelnut filling.
4. Inject a small amount of hazelnut praline into the filling with a piping bag
5. Add the top of the eclair back on and pipe small dots of the creamy filling to adhere the chocolate feathers.