By Pastries3 Comments on Aladdin’s Magic Lamp Eclairs

Today Disney’s live action remake of Aladdin hits theaters! Aladdin is one of my favorite Disney animated films. I love the music, the magic, and Genie. When I think of Aladdin, one of the first things that comes to mind is the magic lamp. It’s the item that starts the film and, as it houses Genie, is one of the main driving forces for the plot. Given how special this lamp is, I wanted to make a treat just as magical and am excited to share these magic lamp eclairs to celebrate the release of the new film!

Eclairs are one of my favorite desserts. I typically enjoy ones that are filled with chocolate or vanilla cream, but since these are magic lamp eclairs, they have a small twist. As a nod to Genie, these delicious eclairs are filled with a blueberry cream and topped with a refreshing lemon icing!

eclairs filled with blueberry cream, topped with lemon icing and sprinkles

These eclairs can be a bit time consuming so make sure you have plenty of time so you don’t feel rushed. I made them over two days, starting with the pastry cream and blueberry sauce on the first day and then the choux pastry on the second. Eclairs are best eaten the day they are filled, but if you keep them well covered in the refrigerator, they’re still good the day after you fill them.

For the blueberry coulis, I started with fresh blueberries, lemon zest, sugar, water, and a pinch of salt. Bring everything to a simmer and then let the mixture thicken. Once blended, reduce until it is close to the consistency of jam. Since you’ll be mixing this into the pastry cream, you want to make sure it is nice and thick so that the cream is not running when you go to fill the eclairs. Once the coulis is reduced and thick, cool completely. I let it come to about room temperature and then placed it in the refrigerator overnight.

eclair filled with blueberry cream, topped with lemon icing and sprinkles

To make the pastry cream, I first prepared my egg mixture so that I could watch the milk as it came to a boil. If you feel comfortable, you can prepare the egg mixture as the milk is heating, but I was worried that it would burn so I wanted to make sure I had eyes on it the entire time. If your milk does burn, it’s best to just start over with fresh milk as the burnt taste will stick around and flavor the rest of the pastry cream.

Once the milk is ready, mix a little bit of it into the egg mixture to temper it before transferring the egg mixture back into the milk and stirring until thick. When adding the hot milk to the eggs, make sure to whisk constantly so that the milk is incorporated into it and doesn’t just cook the eggs.

Once it’s thick, transfer to a heat-safe bowl, let it cool slightly, and add the butter. After the butter has been incorporated, cover it with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to chill completely. I let it chill overnight with the blueberry coulis.

eclairs filled with blueberry cream, topped with lemon icing and sprinkles cut in half

When you’re ready to make the eclairs, first stir the coulis into the pastry cream and then return to the refrigerator to chill while you make the dough. Choux pastry is an interesting dough as it’s primarily made on the stove. First, you’ll heat the butter, milk, salt, sugar, and water and then once it’s combined you’ll stir in all of the flour. I recommend using a wooden spoon for this part as you’ll need to stir it rather vigorously and the wooden spoon won’t scratch your pan.

Once the dough has combined and formed a smooth mass, transfer it to a heat-safe bowl and add the eggs. I continued to use a wooden spoon for this step, hand beating the eggs in one at a time, but you can also use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment if you have one. It takes a bit of elbow grease to do it by hand, but the results are delicious!

Once the dough is ready, place it into a large pastry bag with a 1/2 inch round tip. Then, pipe the dough onto prepared baking sheets, making each eclair about 5 inches long. Once all the dough is piped, place into the oven and bake until golden brown.

When the eclairs come out of the oven, use a metal skewer to poke though the length of the eclair. This will allow the steam to escape from the pastry and make them a bit easier to fill. While they finish cooling, place the blueberry pastry cream into a piping bag with a small round tip or a bismark filling tip. I started with a round tip but found the bismark tip was a bit easier to use as it allowed me to get the filling all the way though the eclair. It’s definitely okay to fill from both sides as well.

Once the eclairs are filled, stir together the powdered sugar and lemon juice and spread an even layer on the top of each eclair. Sprinkle some gold sprinkles and sanding sugar on the tops to give them some magical lamp sparkle. When they’re decorated, enjoy immediately or cover and store in the refrigerator!

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Aladdin’s Magic Lamp Eclairs

Celebrate the release of the new live action Aladdin movie with these delicious magic lamp inspired eclairs! Filled with a delicious blueberry cream and topped with a refreshing lemon icing and gold sprinkles, they’re shining, shimmering, splendid!
Course Dessert
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Rest Time 3 hours
Total Time 4 hours 30 minutes
Servings 16 eclairs

Ingredients

Blueberry Coulis

  • 2 cups fresh blueberries
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • pinch salt

Pastry Cream

  • 2 cups whole milk
  • ½ vanilla bean
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • ½ cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Choux Pastry

  • ½ cup nonfat milk
  • ½ cup water
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • ½ cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 5 large eggs

Lemon Glaze

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 6 tablespoons lemon juice

Decoration

  • gold sanding sugar
  • gold sprinkles

Equipment

  • large pastry bag
  • medium pastry bag
  • ½ inch round tip
  • small round tip or bismark filling tip
  • metal skewer

Instructions

Blueberry Coulis

  1. In a medium saucepan, bring blueberries, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, water, and salt to a simmer over high heat.
  2. Reduce heat to medium. Cook until the blueberries soften and pop, stirring occasionally, about 6-7 minutes.
  3. Remove from the heat and pour into a blender. Blend until smooth.
  4. Return to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened and reduced to 1 cup.
  5. Chill completely.

Pastry Cream

  1. Place a fine mesh strainer over a medium size bowl. Set aside.
  2. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and sugar together. Add the eggs and whisk until smooth. Set aside.
  3. Pour milk into a medium saucepan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and use the tip of a sharp knife to scrape the seeds into the milk.
  4. Add the salt to the milk and place the saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to just under a boil, stirring occasionally. Make sure the milk doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan as it will burn.
  5. Ladle ⅓ of the milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly.
  6. Pour the egg mixture into the milk mixture and continue to whisk over medium-high heat until thick, about 2 minutes. There should be a few slow bubbles, but not a full boil.
  7. Remove mixture from the heat and pour through the fine mesh sieve.
  8. Cool for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  9. Cut the butter into 1 tablespoon pieces. Whisk butter into cream, mixing until smooth after each addition.
  10. Cool cream by pressing plastic wrap directly on top of the cream.
  11. Once cold, mix 1 cup of blueberry coulis into 2 cups of pastry cream.
  12. Once mixed, keep chilled and well-covered until the eclairs are ready to be filled.

Choux Pastry

  1. Preheat oven to 425 Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. In a medium saucepan, combine milk, water, salt, sugar, and butter over medium heat until butter melts and the mixture boils.
  3. Add the flour, all at once, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon until the dough forms a smooth mass and pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 3 minutes.
  4. Transfer dough to a heatproof bowl. Using the wooden spoon, beat in eggs one at a time, incorporating each before adding the next.
  5. Transfer dough to a large pastry bag fitted with a ½ in round tip.
  6. Pipe dough onto prepared baking sheets. Each eclair should be about 5 inches long and 1 inch wide. Use a damp finger to smooth the ends, if needed.
  7. Bake until puffed and starting to show color, about 10 minutes.
  8. Reduce the oven to 375 F and bake until the shells are browned and feel light and hollow inside, about 12 minutes.
  9. Remove from the oven and poke holes in the ends using a metal skewer.
  10. Cool on wire racks.

Lemon Glaze

  1. Stir together powdered sugar and lemon juice, using just enough lemon juice to make a thick glaze.
  2. Cover until ready to use.

Assembly

  1. Place blueberry pastry cream into a medium piping bag with a small round tip or a bismark filling tip.
  2. Fill the eclairs. Use both sides if needed so that the filling runs through the entire eclair.
  3. Spread a layer of lemon glaze on top of the eclairs. Sprinkle with gold sprinkles and sanding sugar.
  4. Serve immediately or chill for up to 6 hours. Eclairs are best enjoyed the same day they’re filled.

Recipe Notes

adapted from Tartine 

In celebration of the release of the new live action Aladdin movie, a group of talented bloggers has put together a collection of Aladdin inspired recipes! Be sure to check them all out!

AladdinGenie

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