Tomorrow, July 14, is La Fete Nationale in France, or more commonly known to other countries as Bastille Day. Fun fact that I just learned: Though the Bastille was stormed on July 14, 1789, Marie Antoinette was not beheaded by guillotine until Oct. 16, 1793. I mention this because in Philly’s Bastille Day celebrations, after the storming of the “Bastille”, Marie is beheaded. And I think Tastycakes are thrown from the ramparts in between.
Anyway, what does this have to do with cupcakes? I decided that I wanted to create a cupcake inspired by a French dessert in honor of Bastille Day and my fascination of all things French–it also doesn’t help that I just finished and recently enjoyed the Provencale summer menu at beloved Bistrot la Minette.
Deciding was not easy because I wanted to capture the essence of the dessert, but in many cases it’s not always in the flavor–c’est fou, non? Maybe it’s just my opinion, but I think the true essence of a number of French desserts is in the execution … the technique … and especially the texture of the pastries. These things are not the easiest to recreate as a cupcake. I didn’t want to force pate a choux into cupcake wrappers and hope for the best when it baked up … so I had to do a lot of thinking and asking for people’s opinions. Like I do.
I eventually decided upon making an eclair-inspired cupcake, though I had qualms for 2 reasons:
- Would an eclair be too simple as a cupcake? The flavors would be vanilla and chocolate.
- I had never had an eclair.
Ray assured me, like he does, that an eclair would be perfect. People would love the classic vanilla and chocolate combo and I would have a treat worthy of Bastille Day. So I went with it, and purchased my first eclair on Monday, after much hunting around Philly (apparently éclairs are a morning thing and most places were sold out by the time I left work).
Thankfully, Tiffany’s Bakery in the Gallery Mall in Philly didn’t let me down. While I’m sure these eclairs were a far cry from what Mr. Lebovitz finds in Paris, it was something. I noted the silkiness of the pastry cream filling and the not-too-sweetness of the chocolate frosting slathered on top. Then I got to planning.
The cake is my usual vanilla cake. It’s filled with a vanilla pastry cream, the recipe of which I adapted from A Farmgirl Dabbles (who used the recipe from –another great blog and baking resource). And to finish it in a classic eclair-fashion, I topped the cupcakes with a whipped chocolate ganache.
So, en l’honneur de la fete nationale, je vous donne le petit gateau eclair! Bon appetit!
Ingredients
Directions
Begin with the pastry cream so it has time to cool.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the cornstarch with 1/4 cup of milk until the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the whole egg, then the yolks, one at a time, into the cornstarch/milk mixture.
In a medium saucepan, add the remaining 3/4 cup milk and the sugar. Whisk to combine, then bring to a boil, whisking constantly.
Once the milk-sugar mixture has come to a boil, you must temper the eggs with it. Begin by whisking the egg mixture at a steady pace, then slowly pour approximately 1/4 of the hot milk-sugar mixture into it in a continuous stream.
Return the remaining milk-sugar mixture to the stovetop and turn the burner to medium heat. Pour the hot egg mixture into the saucepan in a thin stream, constantly whisking. You do not want the eggs to scramble.
The mixture will begin to thicken--remove from the heat and add the butter and vanilla and whisk until combined. Pour the vanilla pastry cream into a bowl and press a piece of plastic wrap down onto the surface so that it does not form a skin. Let it come to room temperature.
Once at room temperature, press the pastry cream through a sieve, to remove any lumps. Add the vanilla bean seeds and whisk to combine. Put pastry cream into a piping bag.
For the cupcakes, heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and position the racks toward the center. Line pans with cupcake papers.
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.
Whisk the egg for 20 seconds, then add the sugar and whisk an additional 30 seconds until thick and frothy.
Add the oil and vanilla, and beat until combined. Alternate the flour mixture and buttermilk and beat until combined.
Divide the batter between wrappers in cupcake tins and bake for 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack completely before coring and frosting.
For the whipped chocolate ganache frosting, heat the heavy cream until just boiling. Then poor over the chocolate chips in a bowl and let sit for 10 minutes. Stir to combine and cool slightly so the mixture thickens a bit.
Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer and whip for 5-10 minutes into the ganache has lightened slightly in color and increased in volume.
To assemble the cupcakes, pipe the vanilla pastry cream into the cored out center.
Pipe the ganache onto the cupcakes using a star tip and a zig-zag motion along the top of each cake--do not heap a ton of frosting onto these ... if you do you'll lose the delicate flavor of the vanilla pastry cream within.
July 13, 2012 at 9:54 am
Tres Bien!
This was a delicious cupcake from start to finish. Cake was moist and had a nice crumb. Chocolate frosting was velvety smooth and the vanilla pastry cream was a perfect consistency.
July 13, 2012 at 9:55 am
Merci beaucoup Julie!