These Hidden Rose apple eclairs were the result of me buying way too many Hidden Rose apples, and needing a way to conveniently use them up. Hidden Rose apples are apples with naturally pink-colored flesh(not to be confused with the Pink Lady apples, which have a pink peel, but a regular yellow-white interior). They are hard to come by, because they are usually only in season between November and December(which is awfully inconvenient since that means they are too late for Pinktober and too early for Valentine’s, but what I would recommend doing is freeze all of the Hidden Rose apple components(minus the fresh shaved pink apples) and then thawed them out for either Valentine’s or Pinktober as need be!). I wanted to do eclairs specifically because they provide the perfect foil to an apple – buttery, crispy, fluffy dough against tart flavor and crunchy texture of the Hidden Rose apple makes for a very striking contrast. I also wanted to hammer home the pink color, and use ruby chocolate, which has a mild, tart flavor that actually compliments the tartness of the apple, while also providing a creamy texture and foil to tie together the eclairs and the apples! I would not necessarily say that this is a hard dessert to make by any means, but there are definitely a few components that will test your patience in certain ways.

For the components of the eclairs, we have a pate choux dough, ruby chocolate namelaka, pink apple chips, pink apple fluid gel, and fresh shaved Hidden Rose apples. If you do not have Hidden Rose apples, using regular apples plus a little beet or pitaya powder will work as well! Of these components, the chips, namelaka, and the choux dough are quite time-consuming. The chips are made by shaving the apples, then after lightly heating them in sugar syrup, dehydrating them until they are crispy wafers. The dehydration process is what specifically takes time, because you have to bake them low and slow for about 2 hours. The namelaka is another component that is time-consuming – namelaka is a Japanese-French fusion technique, involving making a chocolate ganache with some gelatin, setting that firm, then whipping it with cream into a mousse-like texture. It takes some time to do, since setting anything with gelatin takes at least 45 minutes, but the end result is this ultra creamy, silky filling that can be smeared on anything to make it taste like a luxurious dessert. The pate choux dough, which is a twice-cooked dough used for cream puffs and eclairs, also takes a bit of time, since you have to bake it on high heat for a while, just to allow the dough to puff up, then dry out properly. If you try to rush this process, you may end up with eclairs that collapse and taste like an omelet, or burnt, dried out eclairs that will crack and shatter if you try poking holes into them to fill them. The temperatures I list in my recipe are important to follow for the eclairs and the chips, or else you will end up with less-than-desirable results. For the fluid gel, that actually is the easiest component besides the fresh apple slices, since you essentially just boil then blend a gel mixture from apples and agar, then blend it again into a pipeable garnish.

Makes 8-10 eclairs:
For the apple chips:
1 hidden rose apple
3 tbsp granulated sugar
2/3 cups water
a pinch of salt

Shave the apple on the thinnest setting on a mandolin. In a pot, bring the sugar, water, and salt to a simmer. Once the solids are dissolved into the water, take the pot off heat and add in the apple slices, allowing them to sit in the syrup for 10 minutes. Transfer the slices to a parchment and cooking spray-lined sheet tray and place on top of that another layer of cooking sprayed parchment, and on top of that, another sheet tray to weigh everything down. Bake at 200 degrees F for 10 minutes before removing the top sheet tray and parchment sheet. Then continue baking for another 2 hours. The final product should be wafer thin and crispy. Store in an airtight.

For the ruby chocolate namelaka:
5oz heavy cream, in two parts
2oz milk
1/2 tsp gelatin powder + 1 tbsp cold water
a pinch of salt
5oz ruby chocolate

In a pot, heat up one part of heavy cream, milk, the gelatin, salt, and ruby chocolate, stirring on low until everything is melted together and combined. Allow that mixture to cool down in the refrigerator for 1 hour before beating it with the remaining cream until a smooth, mousse-like cream forms. Transfer to a piping bag.

For the hidden rose fluid gel:
1 hidden rose apple, peeled, cored, and small diced
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp agar agar
a pinch of salt
2 tbsp lemon or yuzu juice

In a pot, bring the apple, water, the agar, and the salt to a boil. Once the agar is dissolved into the liquid, transfer to a blender and puree until smooth. Pour the liquid into a shallow container and refrigerate it for 10-15 minutes, until firmed up. Transfer the firmed up gelee into a blender with the lemon/yuzu juice and puree until into a pipable gel. Transfer to a piping bag.

For the pate choux:
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
a pinch of salt
2 eggs

In a pot, bring the butter and water to a boil. Once the butter is fully melted into the water, mix into that the flour and salt, stirring everything on low heat until a smooth dough ball forms. Transfer your dough ball into a mixing bowl and beat with a spatula to bring down the temperature of it. Once the ball is no longer releasing steam, add in the eggs, one at a time, until a smooth batter forms. Transfer the batter to a piping bag. On a lined sheet tray, pipe the batter in 1-inch by 4-inch lines, keeping each line 3 inches apart from each other. Bake your pate choux dough at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes. Allow the baked eclairs to cool before cutting out 1/4-inch by 3-inch rectangles from the top center – this will be to pipe your fillings in!

For garnish:
Hidden rose apple

Start by piping in some namelaka into each eclair. Then add into each eclair the fluid gel. Pipe the namelaka on top of the eclairs, and then garnish the top with dots of fluid gel and hidden rose chips. Slice up another hidden rose apple into wedges and garnish the top with that.