Eclairs with vin cuit

Hello food lovers!

Bénichon (Fribourg festival) is just around the corner! Here in Fribourg, we use vin cuit very often at Bénichon.

I really wanted to combine a classic pastry with a regional product. Let me introduce you to eclairs filled with a vin cuit diplomat cream, topped with the traditional pastry fondant flavoured with vin cuit. :-)

Vin cuit is an iconic speciality of the cantons of Fribourg and Vaud, also known as "raisinée". This product is made from pear, apple or grape must.

Let's get started with the recipe!

To make approximately 25 eclairs, you will need:

Vin cuit diplomat cream

- 2 gelatine leaves

- 300gr whole milk

- 100gr vin cuit

- 60gr egg yolks (approximately 3 yolks)

- 30gr sugar

- 15gr flour

- 15gr cornstarch

- 200gr heavy cream

- 100gr mascarpone

Choux pastry

- 100gr whole milk

- 100gr water

- 90gr butter

- 8gr sugar

- 1 pinch of salt

- 128gr flour

- 200gr eggs (approximately 4 eggs)

Filling and decorations

- 200gr pastry fondant

- 20gr vin cuit

- "Basket Weave" piping tip N°150

- Caramelised hazelnuts

- Gold leaves

We will start with the vin cuit diplomat cream as it will need to cool for a minimum of 3 hours.

Vin cuit diplomat cream

First, soak 2 gelatine leaves in a jug of very cold water.

In a bowl, whisk together 60gr egg yolks (approximately 3 yolks), 30gr sugar, 15gr cornstarch and 15gr flour.

Set the mixture aside.

For this recipe we don't need the egg whites. On our blog we have another typical Bénichon recipe, ideal for using your egg whites: the meringue recipe! :-)

In a saucepan, pour 300gr whole milk and 100gr vin cuit.

Bring everything to a boil.

Once the milk/vin cuit mixture is hot, pour 1/3 of it over the previous preparation.

Mix well and then pour everything back into the saucepan.

Heat over medium heat until the first "PLOP" (approximately 82°C), stirring constantly to prevent the eggs from cooking.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the 2 gelatine leaves, well squeezed out.

Stir well so that they melt into the mixture.

Transfer the diplomat cream base into a bowl. Cover the cream with cling film directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming.

Refrigerate the preparation for a minimum of 3 hours. Ideally, prepare it the day before and leave it in the fridge overnight.

We will now move on to the choux pastry, which you may have already seen in the "raspberry eclairs" recipe.

Choux pastry

Start by preheating your oven to 220°C, fan-assisted.

To make adding the eggs easier later, crack 4 eggs into a jug.

In a saucepan, pour 100gr whole milk, 100gr water, 8gr sugar and 90gr butter cut into pieces.

Add 1 pinch of salt and heat everything until it comes to a boil.

Turn off the heat and add 128gr flour all at once.

Heat over medium heat, stirring vigorously with a spatula for approximately 2 minutes. A ball of dough will form and you will quickly see a small white film appear on the bottom of the saucepan.

The dough is ready when it pulls away from the sides of the saucepan.

Transfer the dough into the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the flat beater (K) and mix on low speed for 2 minutes to cool the mixture.

After 2 minutes, incorporate the eggs in 4 additions while mixing.

You will get a smooth and shiny dough.

The choux pastry is ready, we can now pipe it! :-)

Use a 10 mm star tip and place it in a large piping bag.

To fill the piping bag neatly, place it in a jug and pour the choux pastry inside.

For this recipe, we chose to use the "AirPlus Eclair" mould from Silikomart.

It's great — it's a 3D perforated mat. Your eclairs will puff up evenly and be guided by the shape of the mould.

Place the mould on a perforated baking tray. For me, the perforated tray is essential for perfectly baked eclairs.

Pipe your eclairs onto the mat.

For this recipe, I piped approximately 30 eclairs. You will have some left over after filling, but baked choux pastry freezes very well for your next desserts!

I piped the rest of my choux pastry onto a perforated impression mat to get nice even eclairs. Of course, my perforated mat is placed on a perforated tray! ;-)

Whisk 1 egg yolk and brush the eclairs with it using a pastry brush.

Read the following carefully for a perfect bake!

Place your eclairs in your oven preheated to 220°C. But TURN OFF your oven completely for 15 minutes.

You read that right. Our eclairs will bake in the preheated but switched-off oven for 15 minutes.

Then turn your oven back on to 170°C fan-assisted for a further 15 minutes.

Never open your oven during baking!

To summarise, the eclairs will bake for 30 minutes in total (15 minutes in the switched-off oven and 15 minutes at 170°C).

This method ensures nice straight eclairs.

Once the eclairs are baked, let them cool completely before filling them.

Once all the elements are cooled (eclairs and diplomat cream base), we can continue with the recipe.

Filling and decorations

First, we will prepare the pastry fondant to glaze the eclairs.

In a small bowl, pour 200gr pastry fondant and 20gr vin cuit. Heat everything in the microwave for 30 seconds at 600Watt.

Then leave to cool completely for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Note! If you are eating them within the next 3 hours, you can glaze the eclairs straight away. However, if you plan to enjoy them later, I recommend completing this step at least 3 hours before eating them. Otherwise, the fondant may melt.

We will now finish the diplomat cream.

Whip 200gr heavy cream and 100gr mascarpone into a firm whipped cream.

In a large bowl, pour in the vin cuit diplomat cream base. Whisk it to loosen it up.

Fold in the whipped cream in 2 additions, mixing well to obtain a smooth, homogeneous cream.

Transfer the diplomat cream into a piping bag fitted with a 10 mm star tip.

Cut the eclairs in half lengthways using a bread knife.

Pipe rosettes of vin cuit diplomat cream then replace the tops.

We can now glaze the eclairs.

Place the "Basket Weave" N°150 piping tip into a small piping bag and fill it with the previously prepared pastry fondant. Remember that the fondant must have cooled for at least 30 minutes. ;-)

Pipe a line of fondant along the top of the eclairs.

If you want a thicker line, go over it once more. Be careful not to apply too much, otherwise the fondant may run!

Sprinkle a few crushed caramelised hazelnuts over the fondant.

And for the finishing touch, add a few gold leaves. Use precision tweezers to place them on the eclairs.

Whatever you do, don't pick them up with your fingers as they will stick to them. ;-P

And here is the result! Delicious vin cuit eclairs, ready to be enjoyed!

They will keep for 2 days in the fridge (without glaze) in a well-sealed container.

I hope you enjoy this recipe! :-)

Wishing you a wonderful Bénichon celebration!

Sophie

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