National Chocolate Eclair Day is Saturday
Once a bake shop staple, a fabulous chocolate-covered eclair is increasingly difficult to find in Kansas City. True, they’re labor-intensive and fattening, and there’s competition from those big-box stores that sell big bags of frozen mini-eclairs very cheaply. (I know – I buy them!) But there’s nothing quite like a perfect eclair: a cylinder of crispy choux pastry filled (to bursting, preferably) with a sweet cream custard and blanketed with a thick robe of dark-chocolate fondant icing.
For years I’ve been hearing that eclairs were poised to become the “new cupcakes,” at least as far as culinary trends go – the London Evening Standard was playing that old tune as recently as two weeks ago. But the rage for eclairs hasn’t eclipsed the American cupcake obsession yet, unfortunately. Yes, I’m sick of cupcakes – an excuse for eating 3 inches of sugary frosting – and proud to say so. Give me an eclair any day of the week.
