Pumpkin Spice Eclairs with Chocolate Beer Pastry Cream and Ganache
The name is a bit of a misnomer in this recipe as I don’t use any pumpkin puree as it’s a bit heavy and starchy for the pâte à choux (the cooked dough that is used to make the éclairs). Instead I use a generous amount of pumpkin spice and carrot juice to give the color and earthy sweetness that pumpkin would impart. The use of beer in the chocolate pastry cream and the chocolate ganache is a bit unusual but since I was inspired by major league baseball, I felt it was appropriate. The combination of chocolate and beer is a classic one and I think it goes great as a filling and topping. If you want something more classic though, just substitute 3/4 cup of whole milk for the beer in the pastry cream and use 1/4 cup of heavy cream instead of the beer for the chocolate ganache topping.
Estimated Nutrition (whole recipe, rough)
Counts 10 of 11 ingredients — the other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and contribute nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume — 10 portions →
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Chocolate | 1 oz (28g) semisweet | 155 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Beer | 1/4 cup (60ml) for cooking | 43 |
| Carrot | 1 medium (61g) | 25 |
| Vanilla | 1 tsp extract (4ml) | 12 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Pumpkin | not in our table | 0 |
Totals for the whole recipe, adding one typical portion per ingredient — listed above. Quantities in the recipe are not counted, so this is a rough guide only — not suitable for medical or dietary planning.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup carrot juice
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon white granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- 1 cup (140 g) all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup (50 g) white granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup beer
- 1 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 ounces (57 g) semi-sweet chocolate
- 4 ounces (115 g) semi-sweet chocolate
- 1/4 cup beer