Homemade Carolinas (Éclairs)
Meet the carolinas: little Brazilian éclairs built on a simple choux pastry, tender at the centre and lightly crisp on the outside. Filled with dulce de leche and topped with a glossy dark chocolate glaze, they vanish in minutes at snack time. A fuss-free treat that always looks impressive, even if you're new to baking.
🛒 Ingredients
35 servings
- 2 cups water (500 ml)
- 100 g butter
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (250 g)
- 5 to 6 eggs
- 250 g dulce de leche — or 2 cups vanilla ice cream
- 100 g dark chocolate
- 3 tablespoons milk
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Directions
- 1
In a saucepan, combine the water, butter, salt and sugar. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and add the flour all at once. Stir without stopping until the dough pulls cleanly away from the bottom of the pan (about 30 seconds). Off the heat, beat in the eggs one at a time: the dough seems like it will never come together at first, but it soon turns smooth and glossy.
- 2
Preheat the oven to 200 °C (400 °F). Line two baking trays with buttered parchment paper. Using two tablespoons, drop mounds of dough onto the trays, spacing them 5 cm apart.
- 3
Bake for 40 minutes, until the carolinas are deeply golden, a caramel brown. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before filling.
- 4
Slice the carolinas in half horizontally and fill with dulce de leche (or ice cream, served immediately). Melt the chocolate over a water bath, stir in the milk until the glaze is smooth and shiny, then spoon it over the tops.
💡 Chef's Tip
You will rarely need all the eggs: add them one by one and stop as soon as the dough drops from the spoon in a soft ribbon. Too many eggs make the dough slack and flat in the oven. Never fill the carolinas until they are fully cool, or they will go soft.
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