Asparagus Eclairs

Hey foodies,

Asparagus season is finally here! :-) For the occasion, I'm sharing a recipe for mini asparagus eclairs today.

Made with choux pastry, parmesan craquelin, asparagus mousse and whipped cream, these eclairs will be enjoyed by everyone! :)

Perfect as a starter or a dinner aperitif.

For 30 mini eclairs, you will need:

Asparagus mousse

- 600gr green asparagus

- 4 gelatin sheets

- 150gr heavy cream

- 30gr heavy cream

- Salt and pepper

Savory craquelin

- 40gr butter

- 50gr parmesan

- 50gr flour

- 1 pinch of salt

Choux pastry

- 62gr milk

- 62gr water

- 55gr butter

- 3gr salt

- 2gr sugar

- 70gr flour

- 2 whole eggs

Decoration

- 30 mini green asparagus

- 250gr heavy cream

- Salt and pepper

- Edible dried flowers

First, we will prepare the asparagus mousse.

Asparagus mousse

With a knife, trim the ends of the 600gr asparagus (about 5 cm). We won't be keeping that part.

You will end up with 400gr of trimmed asparagus.

Place them in a pot of water and bring to a boil.

The asparagus should be well cooked and tender.

Prepare a bowl of very cold water to stop the cooking of the asparagus. This way, they will stay nice and green.

Once the asparagus are cooked, drain them through a sieve and plunge them into the bowl of very cold water.

Let them cool.

Meanwhile, place 4 gelatin sheets in a jug of cold water.

In a bowl, whip 150gr of heavy cream into a firm whipped cream.

Once the asparagus are well chilled, drain them and blend them in a mixer.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. You can always adjust the seasoning once the whipped cream has been added.

Heat 30gr of cream in the microwave for 30 seconds at 700Watt.

Squeeze out the gelatin and add it to the warm cream, mix well.

Pour the cream/gelatin mixture into the asparagus cream using a whisk and mix well.

Add the whipped cream to the mixture and fold in gently with the whisk.

Finish mixing with a spatula to obtain a smooth, homogeneous mixture.

Once the mixture is well combined, grab a piping bag and a 10 mm star tip.

Quick tip: to avoid mousse getting everywhere, place a clip right after the tip.

Pour the mousse into the piping bag and add another clip to close it.

Place the piping bag in the fridge for a minimum of 2h.

Now, we are going to make the craquelin.

The craquelin

The craquelin will help the eclairs rise beautifully and will add a little extra flavour.

In a bowl, place 40gr of butter and 50gr of grated parmesan.

Add 50gr of flour and a pinch of salt.

Mix everything by hand until a dough forms.

Form a ball and place it on a sheet of baking paper.

Cover the dough with another sheet of baking paper.

Using a large rolling pin, roll out the dough. Use 1.5 mm guide strips to get an even thickness.

Place the dough in the freezer. Meanwhile, we will prepare the choux pastry.

Choux pastry

In a saucepan, pour 62gr of milk and 62gr of water.

Add 55gr of butter, 3gr of salt and 2gr of sugar.

For weighing small quantities, I use a measuring spoon scale.

Bring everything to a boil.

Once boiling, add 70gr of flour and reduce to low heat.

With a wooden spoon, dry out the dough. It is thanks to this step that the eclairs will puff up during baking.

Mix vigorously. A ball will gradually form.

The dough is dry enough once it pulls away from the sides of the pan and a small crust forms on the bottom.

Transfer the dough to a bowl. Using the flat beater (K beater), mix for about 30 seconds at speed 1.

With a fork, lightly beat 2 eggs in a small bowl, this will make them easier to add later.

Add the beaten eggs little by little while keeping the K beater running (speed 1).

Mix until you obtain a smooth and shiny dough.

Prepare a piping bag with a 10 mm star tip.

Place the choux pastry inside the piping bag.

To make 30 mini eclairs, prepare two perforated baking sheets, each lined with a perforated mat.

Thanks to these two tools, you will achieve an even bake.

For this recipe, I wanted mini eclairs, which is why I piped them to 6 cm in length.

To get eclairs of the same size, use a ruler.

Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan-assisted.

Once all the eclairs are piped, take the craquelin out of the freezer and cut rectangles 6 cm long and 1.5 cm wide.

Place the craquelin on top of the eclairs.

Bake one tray at a time for about 15 minutes in the middle of the oven.

The eclairs are baked and have risen nicely.

Let them cool.

Then cut them in half lengthwise with a serrated knife.

Make sure to keep track of which top belongs to which bottom.

Take the asparagus mousse out of the fridge and pipe it neatly into the eclairs.

Close the eclairs with the tops.

Place them in the fridge while you prepare the decorations.

Decorations

To decorate these mini eclairs, I used mini green asparagus, nice and thin.

Plunge the mini asparagus into boiling water.

Cook them until they are nice and tender. As before, cool them immediately in a bowl of very cold water.

To finish the decoration, whip 250gr of heavy cream, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Prepare a piping bag with a petal tip no. 104.

Pipe the whipped cream onto the eclairs in a St-Honoré style (in waves).

Place an asparagus tip on each eclair.

To give the eclairs a springtime touch, I use these pretty dried flowers.

And here is the result! :)

Ideally, fill and eat the eclairs on the same day, but if you want to make this recipe over several days, you can absolutely do so, for example:

- D-2: Choux pastry and craquelin. Once baked, store everything in a well-sealed bag away from moisture at room temperature.

- D-1: Asparagus mousse

- Day D: Decorations and assembly

I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Have a wonderful Sunday, foodies! ;-)

Sophie

P.S.: All the equipment used can be found at the bottom of the recipe.