What French pastry is filled with vanilla custard and topped with chocolate icing? The answer is an éclair.
An éclair is an elongated pastry made from choux dough, the same light dough used for profiteroles. It is baked until hollow, then filled with crème pâtissière, or pastry cream, and finished with icing. Chocolate is the classic topping in the familiar version, although coffee, fruit, caramel, and other flavors are also common.
The éclair is associated with 19th-century France and was reportedly known earlier as pain à la Duchesse or petite duchesse. The word éclair means “flash of lightning” in French. One explanation is that the pastry is eaten quickly; another connects the name with the shine of its icing.
The éclair is often confused with a cream puff, but the shapes differ: an éclair is typically oblong, while a cream puff is round. The filling also varies by recipe; whipped cream and chiboust cream may be used instead of vanilla custard. A round choux pastry with similar filling is commonly called a religieuse.