I Declare Eclair Class! July 11

Today was my, Maggie's, eclair class with Chef Gimette at La Cuisine Paris.

It was a fabulous class with a wonderful detailed instructor.

I was with 6 other students: an au pair from germany, an exchange student from New York, a mother and daughter from Brighton, a Taiwanese woman, and another lady from Salt Lake City.

This is Chef Gimette and my new friend Nora.

First, we prepared the pate a choux - the pastry.

It's very simple, made with water, butter, flour, salt, and eggs.

I learned how to pipe them with care.

We then sent them to the oven where they puffed like this:

While they puffed, we whipped together our cream fillings - vanilla bean and raspberry.

The filling was similar to a custard.

We covered it with plastic wrap to keep it from forming a skin while cooling.

Crushed raspberries gave us a pink color.

Because of the 14th of July - Bastille Day which is this Sunday, we got special colors for our fondant glaze - white and red from the French flag.

 So with melted chocolate and garnished with red currants, blueberries, and raspberries, I present to you

Eclairs aux framboises et Eclairs a la vanille.

Here is where I spent 2 hours hard at work

and this is what my mom and Meme were up to.....