Today our chefs from Yesovens would like to propose an extraordinary French recipe: delicious éclairs baked in our MOOD oven.
The origins
The origins of confectionery made with choux pastry date back a long time, as far back as the golden age of the Renaissance at the court of the Medici dynasty in France and Italy. It is believed, in fact, that this type of pastry was first developed by a famous French chef, Marie-Antoine Carême (1784-1833), who probably also invented this delicious pastry.
The origin of the name éclair, from the French “flash of lightning”, probably stems from the speed with which this oblong cake filled with aromatised cream is savoured, thanks to the soft consistency of the cream and the practical shape of the cake that is easily held between the fingers and easy to bite.
The Dictionnaire de l’Académie française also confirms the etymology of the name in this way: “In a figurative sense, this is the term used for a sort of cream-filled cake, named in this way because it is eaten in a flash”.
The name was first used both in French and in English to define certain types of buns, starting around 1860. The first known recipe, however, was published in 1884 in the book by Mrs. D. A. Lincoln, the Boston Cooking School Cook Book.
Preparation
Great skill and precision in terms of timing and preparation are needed to achieve perfection in this exquisite confectionery product. Aided by the technology offered by the MOOD range, our master confectioners successfully achieved the characteristics of this particular type of preparation and cooking method.
In the first few minutes, after popping our éclairs into the oven, the climate control provided by YesSteam technology guaranteed the ideal conditions to allow the éclairs to rise to perfection, without the typical cracks that form when they rise too quickly or in an oven that is too dry, thus also creating the space needed for filling the éclairs with different creams, according to the creativity of each confectioner.
In the subsequent baking phase, the ventilation in the oven is slightly reduced to improve the result. As with many confectionery products, the lightness and delicacy of éclairs is crucial for the final result, and great skill and experience are required both during preparation and baking.
If necessary, ventilation during baking can be reduced more slowly, an essential condition for even more delicate products, which allows the operator to adjust the baking process even more accurately.
Finally, ventilation enabled our chefs to obtain a perfect, even golden colour of the entire batch, without the need to open the oven door at any stage, with the risk of the éclairs “falling”. This also saves time, always a limited resource in professional bakeries.
In fact, the ovens in the MOOD range adapt to the needs of the operators in fact, not vice-versa, affirming their role of loyal companions for all your daily baking activities.
