Oh how I missed you my sweet, delicate, heavenly eclairs… Ever since I visited this amazing spot right at closing time (you can read about it here: http://www.foodlovergirl.com/eclair-bakery/), I have been dreaming about their eclairs. I love eclairs, and I have had my share of disappointments with very small amount of filling, or not so tasty ones. This place really know how to do eclairs right! I know I only tried their eclairs once, but it was love at first sight, oh wait, taste.
This time, we got there during the day, and not at closing time, so I could really appreciate everything about them a bit more. First, they have a window showcase right at the entrance, and you can see all the beautiful creations before you enter. They have a cute little Eiffel tower on top of it too. Just by looking at these gorgeous sweets will turn my feet and pull me inside…
We got there right before they got really busy, so we were pretty lucky! I always believe that the crowd follows us wherever we go, so places get filled up soon after we arrive…or maybe we are just lucky. The inside is a bit narrow and long, with the ordering counter at the back. They have some table seating to the left, and counter seats to the left. Not many seating but this is not a restaurant, so turnover is kind of quick.
Right by the ordering counter is their main window showcase, holding the super tasty, beautiful jewels. They have more than just eclairs, thy have cakes, tarts, more cakes, and more. It is not easy making your selection after looking at them…
They also have baked goods and macarons as well. They have croissants, danish, baguetts, etc. Since they have a kitchen behind the counter, it had nice aroma going around. I am so in love with this place…
After some agonizing and difficult decision making of which ones to choose, we finally selected four items. We got Cream Puff ($4.50), Crunchy ($5.25), Chocolate Chip Eclair ($5.25) and Pistachio Eclair ($5.25).
We also got a small Hot Chocolate ($3.50) and large café au lait ($2.90) to go with our sweets. They only have small or large sizes, no medium. The “small” is not so small though, it is really nice size as you can see them next to the large cup.
Let me start with the pistachio eclair. It is a pretty nice size, beautiful color, and topped with crushed pistachio pieces. We love pistachio, and also this was the last one they had inside the window showcase, so we jumped on it. What a great decision that was.
When I cut it into two, I was so happy to see the generous amount of filling. The puff pasty around it was really thin but sturdy enough to hold all the filling. It was so amazing, delicious, creamy, and just melt in your mouth. The pistachio flavor was definitely present, and puff pastry was light and airy, my goodness what an eclair.
Chocolate Chip Eclair was their special eclair of the day, so of course I had to have it. It had chunks of chocolate chip cookies, which was so awesome and super tasty. No matter the flavor, all the eclairs are $5.25, by the way.
The filling was custard cream, and yes, lots of it. I had some eclairs with “hint of filling” in the past, so these eclairs here are just heavenly. They are how eclairs should be! You get a great amount of filling with each bite, with crispy, light texture of puff pastry. Sweet and decadent, it makes my mouth water just thinking about them…
Cream puff was the king of all cream puffs out there. Massive amount of whipped cream with vanilla bean and a bit of raspberry. The whipped cream was as velvety and creamy as it could possibly be, while still having the firmness so that it is not melting down. You can see the vanilla bean, and have great aroma of vanilla.
When I cut them in the middle, the whipped cream stood on its own, keeping its shape. The raspberry jam (?) was on the top and bottom between the cream and puff pastry, adding extra flavor. I absolutely loved this cream puff, it was just incredible! Perfect for whipped cream lovers…
Crunchy is made with dark chocolate mousse and praline crunchies. It was beautifully made, with perfectly smooth, round lines and glittering gold flakes on the bottom. Shiny and elegant, just screaming for us to eat it!
Inside the thin chocolate coating was nothing but smooth, airy, tasty mousse. It was not overly sweet, as it is made with dark chocolate, but had great chocolate flavor. The praline crunchies were on one side, not evenly distributed, but was fun texture when you get it. Another great delicate and delicious dessert.
So how good were they really? Well, while having these decadent and delicious desserts, I said to my husband “if I have only three days to live, I want to live in this store and eat all these heavenly sweet delights for those three days…” Yes, it was that good!!! And yes, my husband had a good laugh at my comment. Their drinks also took this experience to the next level of comfort. The café au lait was creamy and smooth, with a bit of foam on top. The coffee was really nice, not to strong, perfect with the sweet dessert (no need to add any sugar, as the desserts were sweet already). The hot chocolate was really nice too, it was not overly sweet, but creamy and comforting.
The staff here in on this day was a French male, who was really nice and helpful. As I mentioned, it is not easy to decide which one to order, since they all look so good. Naturally, few of the customers asked question about few of them before they made their decisions. Each time, he answered their questions with patience and kindness.
A woman who sat next to us asked about our massive cream puff, as it does look magnificent, but she went with another item that I also wanted to order. She told me which ones she has tried, and how good they were. It is easy to become a returning customer after one visit. Their sweet creations are something you will dream about after just one bite, calling out to you until the day you return… I can’t wait to go back to try more of their heavenly desserts!!!
Eclair Bakery – 305 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022