Posted by Marlen on November 01, 2001 at 22:40:36:
In Reply to: Olive Garden recipe posted by Erica on October 30, 2001 at 15:54:07:
I did this research a while back for somebody else who requested. I believe I got this recipe from the movie website.
Caramel Eclairs
1 batch choux pastry:
7 tbs. unsalted butter
1 cup water
3 tsp. sugar
pinch salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs, beaten slightly
Combine the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl, set aside. In a thick bottomed pot, melt the butter in the water till boiling. Take off the stove and add the flour combination. Return to the heat and beat quickly till it is a shiny paste that balls together. Let the dough cool for a few minutes then add the eggs, beating well to incorporate one at a time. Add almost all of the eggs (you will need a little less than the four). Beat well till the dough is like a thick mayonnaise. Spoon the dough into a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch nozzle and pipe out 3-4 inch long rectangles of dough onto a lightly greased sheet for the eclairs. The eclairs will rise at least double if not triple their size when baked. Make sure you leave room for them to expand a little. Bake in a 425*F oven for 20 minutes. Take out the eclairs, prick a hole in the bottom or sides and return to oven to dry out for 5 minutes more. They should be golden brown when done.
Caramel Pastry Cream:
1/4 Cup cornstarch
1/2 Cup granulated sugar
4 egg yolks
2 Cups milk
1/2 Cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons water
1 vanilla bean -- split lengthwise and seeds scraped out with a small spoon
Place the cornstarch and 1/4 cup sugar in a medium bowl and mix together well; add egg yolks and mix until a paste is formed. Stir in 1/2 cup milk. Place remaining 1/4 cup sugar and water in a small heavy pot and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat, swirling the pan occasionally but not stirring, until sugar turns a medium amber. Carefully pour in remaining milk and stir until smooth, Stir in vanilla seeds. Bring mixture back to a simmer then pour hot mixture over mixture in bowl, whisking constantly. Pour back into saucepan. Cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and thick. Remove from heat and stir an additional minute. Transfer to a bowl. Cover with buttered parchment or plastic wrap touching top of cream to avoid skin formation. Chill a minimum of 2 hours or as long as 2 days. Yield: about 2 1/2 cups
CARAMEL FROSTING (frosts 2 cake layers)
3 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 cup half-and-half
5 TBL butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
Cook sugar & half-and-half, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Continue
cooking to 234° (the syrup forms a very soft ball in cold water.) Remove from heat, add the butter & cook without stirring until the bottom of
the pan feels lukewarm. Add the vanilla & beat until the frosting is creamy
and barely holds its shape
Assembly:
Take the cooled eclairs and cut off the very tops, scrape out any extra, wet doughy insides. Spoon cream into a pastry bag with a star tip. Fill the eclairs with the cream. Spread coating VERY QUICKLY on each eclair before the frosting hardens.