Light crisp eclair shells filled with fresh raspberry mousse glazed with glossy chocolate. An elegant Raspberry Eclairs are perfect for any holiday or special occasion!
Are you looking for the perfect holiday treat this holiday season? These amazing raspberry eclairs would be great for a New Year’s Eve party, tell ya what!
These Raspberry Elcairs are SOOOO good. You and your guests will rave about these raspberry mousse-filled gems for years to come.
DID YOU KNOW…
…you can make the shells ahead of time? It’s true. You can make, bake and freeze the shells so they are ready for you when you need them.
HOW DO I MAKE THE ECLAIR SHELL HOLLOW?
This recipe is pretty cool in that the dough you will bake becomes hollow. It creates a shell that later can be filled with the raspberry mousse filling.
It’s like magic. The dough-like mixture is filled with eggs which, while it cooks, creates air pockets that puff up when heated. When the shells are done they will be hollow enough to fill with the delicious raspberry cream filling.
You can find the full recipe and directions for the eclair shells below.
HOW DO I MAKE CHOCOLATE GANACHE?
Chocolate ganache is a simple, elegant touch you can easily add to chocolate desserts.
This simple ganache is made with only 2 ingredients: cream and chocolate. That’s it!
If you prefer dark chocolate you can use semi-sweet or dark chocolate. Prefer sweeter chocolate like milk chocolate? Use milk chocolate instead. If you don’t care for chocolate you can even make these with white chocolate.
To make this simple chocolate ganache using actual brown chocolate (not white) add 1 part cream to 2 parts chocolate. Melt in the microwave 30 seconds at a time. It usually only takes 30 seconds to a minute to get warm enough. Stir… and stir until the cream is incorporated into the chocolate.
It will become a shiny, rich chocolate color when it’s ready with no signs of cream or white streaks. It takes a minute or two of constant stirring to get the cream incorporated.
That’s it! Once mixed it’s ready to use.
NOTE – You’ll want to make this after your eclairs are filled. The ganache will begin to set as it cools.
WHAT PIPING TIP SHOULD I USE TO MAKE THAT CLASSIC ECLAIRS SHAPE?
You don’t need a piping tip although I would recommend it. You can use a plastic bag with a large 1/2 inch cut in the tip.
If using a tip, I’d recommend a plain round piping couplet (the piece you put inside the bag then put the piping tip on and screw a nut to secure the tip), large round size 806 piping tip, A1 piping tip, or a large star size 829 piping tip. When I make eclairs or cream puffs I use a regular round piping couplet or the star size 829 for a more elegant shape.
HOW DO I MAKE RASPBERRY MOUSSE?
Making raspberry mousse from scratch is fairly easy. It does take some time but it’s well worth it. Just take it a step at a time.
BLOOM THE GELATIN:
To make this raspberry mousse, start by softening the gelatin.
This is done by pouring the gelatin in cold water. The gelatin will soak up all the water. This is called blooming the gelatin.
It only takes a few minutes for the gelatin to be ready. This is what it looks like after it has bloomed.
MAKE THE SWEETENED BERRY MIXTURE:
While the gelatin is softening, put the raspberries, sugar and a little water in a small saucepan. Heat the berries and sugar until the berries begin to break down.
Depending on if you’re using fresh or fresh still frozen berries, this may take up to 5 or 6 minutes.
Pour the berry mixture into a blender.
I love my Blendtec! If you haven’t checked out Blendtec blenders, do. They are amazing. I love mine!
Puree the berry mixture for about a 1 minute until the berries are smooth.
At this point you have two options:
- Move forward with the seeds in the mixture or
- Use a fine strainer to remove the seeds.
This mousse will be very smooth if you remove the seeds and I highly recommend doing so.
BUT… if you’re in a hurry, you don’t have to remove the seeds. Realize though, the texture will have little seeds you may bite into.
In this recipe, you’ll end up with a couple of tablespoons of raspberry seeds in the mousse if not removed.
Once ready, pour the berry mixture back into the saucepan and add the softened gelatin to it.
Place the saucepan back on the heat (medium to medium-high) until the gelatin is melted. This will only take 30 seconds to a minute. Make sure you watch it closely because it can boil over quickly.
Set the berry mixture aside to cool while you prep the whipping cream. The mixture needs to be below 80°F or so but not too cold that it becomes clumpy.
WHIP THE CREAM:
Next, whip the cream. You will want to whip it until you get stiff peaks. That’s the stage right before it turns to butter. Be careful not to over whip it or it will turn into butter.
PRO TIP 1: Use HEAVY whipping cream in this recipe. I can’t stress this enough. Heavy whipping cream has a higher fat content compared to regular whipping cream. The higher fat content will get a stiffer whip and gives this mousse more volume (it will be more stable).
PRO TIP 2: Use a very cold bowl and cold cream when whipping. This will help the cream whip faster.
Once whipped and the berry mixture has cooled to around 80 degrees F., pour the berry mixture into the cream.
FINISH THE MOUSSE FILLING:
Carefully fold the cream and berry mixture together. The cream mixture will turn a beautiful pink color. The berry mixture will begin to thicken as it cools but should easily fold into the thick whipped cream.
As the mousse cools, the gelatin will stabilize the mixture. It doesn’t happen instantly but will, eventually, as it chills in the fridge.
Refrigerate the mousse filling for at least an hour before piping into cooled shells.
ASSEMBLING RASPBERRY ECLAIRS
Once the shells are cooked and cooled and the raspberry mousse has chilled for at least an hour you can assemble the eclairs.
Using a small round piping tip, pipe raspberry mousse filling into each eclair or cut eclair shells in half and fill.
Make ganache. Dip each raspberry eclair into chocolate. Let excess chocolate drip off for a few seconds then place on a cookie sheet or parchment paper to set and cool.
Store extra eclairs in the refrigerate for up to 2-3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.
WARNING… you won’t want to save these for later because they are so good and they really are best fresh.
IF YOU ENJOY THESE RASPBERRY ECLAIRS, YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:
WHO WILL YOU BE SHARING THESE RASPBERRY ELCAIRS WITH?
FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE AND DIRECTIONS
…ON HOW TO MAKE THESE DELICIOUS RASPBERRY ELCAIRS. ENJOY!
Raspberry Eclairs
Light crisp eclair shells filled with fresh raspberry mousse glazed with glossy chocolate. Raspberry Eclairs are perfect for any holiday or gathering!
Ingredients
Shell (Choux dough):
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup flour
- 4 to 5 eggs, one at a time, if using large or XL eggs you may only need 4, if using medium eggs you will need 5, dough should be soft enough to pipe but firm enough to hold its shape
Raspberry Mousse Filling (3 1/2 cups):
- 12 oz fresh or frozen raspberries
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, make sure it's really cold
- 1 pk unflavored gelatin, (or 2 1/4 tsp) + 1/4 cup water to soften
Simple Chocolate Ganache:
- 1/2 cups chocolate chips, milk or semi-sweet
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 tsp vanilla, OPTIONAL
Instructions
SHELLS:
- In a large saucepan bring to boil, water, milk, butter, salt, and sugar.
- Once butter is melted, reduce heat to low, add flour, and stir vigorously.
- Remove from heat. Let cool to 125-135 degrees (hot to the touch but not burning).
- Add eggs, one at a time. Incorporate completely before adding the next egg. Add 5 eggs until the mixture turns into a soft paste that will still hold its shape.
- Using a plastic piping coupler or piping tip of your choice (large opening) and Ziploc bag, immediately pipe paste in the desired size (small- 2-3 inch, medium 4-5 inch, large 5-6 inch, cream puffs- round balls). Bake time will vary depending on size.
- For large eclairs, bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes then reduce the heat to 375 for 12-20 minutes until the shell is golden brown and hollow inside.
- Cool completely before filling.
RASPBERRY MOUSSE FILLING:
- Stir gelatin into 1/4 cup cold water to soften. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan, add raspberries, sugar and 1/4 cup water. Heat until berries soften and being to break down. Puree in blender.
- Remove seeds using a strainer if desired. Put back into saucepan. Add softened gelatin. Bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Cool to room temp (between 70-80 degrees F.).
- In a large bowl, whip cream to stiff peaks. This is the stage right before cream turns to butter. Be careful not to over whip.
- Once berry mixture is cooled adequately (around 80 degrees F.), carefully fold into cream. Pour into serving dishes or chill and pipe into serving dishes.
- Chill for at least 1 hour before filling.
- Using a bag with round piping tip, carefully insert tip into cooled shell. Fill slowly until shell is full. You may need to fill from both sides to fill entire shell.
SIMPLE CHOCOLATE GANACHE:
- In a microwave-safe bowl, add cream and chocolate chips. Heat 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until melted. Usually only takes 30 seconds to 1 minutes. Don't overheat.
- Stir chocolate mixture until cream is fully incorporated into chocolate. Mixture will look rich, smooth and chocolatey when done (1-3 minutes).
- Dip top of each filled eclair into chocolate ganache. Let ganache cool.
Notes
- Additional cook times: For cream puff (about 1 inch round dough) AND small 2-3 inch eclairs bake 425ºF for 10 min then 375ºF for an additional 5-10 min or until hollowed and golden brown. For medium 4-5 inch eclairs bake at 425ºF for 12 min then at 375°F for an additional 8-12 minutes or until hollowed and golden brown.
- Store in fridge or freeze for later.
- Best if served fresh but can be frozen for later enjoyment. If frozen, allow elcairs to come to room temperature before enjoying.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
*This post contains affiliate links. In order to support this blog and continue providing free content, I may receive a small commission from purchases you make through the links in this post. This comes at no cost to you. It just helps me keep the delicious recipes coming. ?
Could you completely make these and then freeze them?
I think they are best fresh but you can completely make them, freeze then thaw when you’re ready for them. Make sure when thawing you do that at room temperature (slowly). Enjoy!
How long would you recommend to bake cream puffs, small eclairs and medium sized eclairs? I’m just curious and the bake times would be helpful to know
Hi Cassie. Here are some rough bake times. For cream puff (about 1 inch round dough) AND small 2-3 inch eclairs bake 425ºF for 10 min then 375ºF for an additional 5-10 min or until hollowed and golden brown. For medium 4-5 inch eclairs bake at 425ºF for 12 min then at 375°F for an additional 8-12 minutes or until hollowed and golden brown. I hope this helps and that you love this recipe. It’s a good one!
Can you use Raspberry Gelatin or does it have to be the unflavored gelatin…….
Hi Charmaine. I haven’t tried this recipe with flavored gelatin but in theory, I would think that could work. The one problem I could see with this method would be the added sugar in the flavored gelatin. If you decide to try this I would eliminate some of the added sugar as you will have sugar in the flavored gelatin already. I hope this helps. Good luck!
Hello! Can the raspberry mousse be chilled overnight and then used to fill the shells in the morning?
Yes, it can!