Éclairs

Éclairs are made with cream puff pastry dough (pâte à choux) and are essentially the same thing as cream puffs, except that éclairs are long, filled with pastry cream, and glazed with fondant; cream puffs are round, filled with whipped cream, and not glazed. You can fill Éclairs in one of two ways—by cutting them in half lengthwise, piping in the filling, and replacing the top; or, more elegantly, by piping the mixture through holes cut in the bottom. Instructions for the second method are