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These cute and delicious Mini Pumpkin Eclairs are topped with chocolate glaze and filled with rich pumpkin pastry cream.

You might remember that a few weeks ago I made these super cute Jigglypuff Pink Cream Puffs and had way too much fun making pâte à choux.

Pâte à choux is the base for a ton of French pastries, so while I was testing the cream puff recipe, I couldn’t help but fantasize over all the other delicious things I could do with this dough. And thus, today’s recipe was born, Mini Pumpkin Eclairs.

Tell me they’re not adorable! You can eat them in about three perfect bites and they taste just as good as they look. That perfect puffy choux pastry is filled with a killer pumpkin pastry cream and then they are dipped in my very favorite chocolate glaze (also seen on my Brooklyn Blackout Cupcakes ), which instantly adds about a million delicious points to any recipe.

I couldn’t have these sitting around my kitchen, so I shared them around with family and everyone loved them, especially the pumpkin take on pastry cream. The pumpkin pastry cream is rich, but not too sweet and made with pumpkin puree and all the usual pumpkin spices.

This is totally a recipe I would make just for kicks on a rainy day, but it’s also a fun one to make if you have a friend or two coming over, because when was the last time someone served you a homemade eclair? How fancy and together do you look when you can hand them one of these? And they’re not even just plain old eclairs. They are PUMPKIN eclairs.

Like hey, I just made a fancy fall-themed French pastry from scratch. What did you do today? …On second thought, maybe don’t make pumpkin eclairs to play psychological games with your friends. That’s probably a great way to lose them all.

Save them for your competitive siblings. Siblings have to love you. 😉

This is the same pâte à choux recipe I used for my cream puffs, so I’m including the same tips from that recipe. If you’ve never made pâte à choux before, read them over before you begin. I think you will find them helpful!

More Perfect Fall Recipes

• Baked Pumpkin Donuts With Maple Frosting
• The Most Amazing Dutch Apple Pie
• Small Apple Cinnamon Cake
• Small-batch Pumpkin Shortbread Cookies

Pumpkin Eclairs Recipe Tips

• This pâte à choux recipe is simple and easy, but it’s not necessarily forgiving. Make sure to follow the instructions as written and measure your flour correctly, preferably with a scale. If you don’t have a scale, use the spoon and sweep method . (Use a scoop to drop flour into your measuring cup and then the flat side of a butter knife to sweep off the excess. This way your flour won’t become compressed and you won’t end up with too much.)
• You will also need a couple tools. Both the pâte à choux and pastry cream need to be piped. The former works best using a 5/8-inch plain tip *, but you get away with using a large plastic bag with the corner snipped off. For the pastry cream, you need a piping bag with about a 1/8-inch plain tip *. Filling the cream puffs requires you to make a small hole in the bottom and pipe cream in. Without a sturdy tip, filling them is going to be difficult.
• The final thing you need is a fine mesh strainer. While making the custard for the pastry cream, sometimes bits of egg get overcooked and running the cream through the strainer will make sure that you don’t get solid eggy bits in your pastry cream. They are super cheap on Amazon *, but you can also find them in the baking aisle in most grocery stores.

Have some leftover pumpkin puree after making this recipe? Check out my post What to Do With Leftover Pumpkin Puree for some ideas on what to do with the rest of the can.

Ingredients

Pumpkin Pastry Cream

• ▢ 1 cup milk any percentage, preferably whole
• ▢ 3 large egg yolks
• ▢ 1/4 cup ( 61 g) pumpkin puree
• ▢ 1/3 cup ( 66 g) granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 15 g) all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 14 g) cornstarch
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ Pinch ground nutmeg
• ▢ Pinch ground cloves
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pate a Choux

• ▢ 1/2 cup water
• ▢ 1/4 cup ( 2 oz) unsalted butter diced
• ▢ 1 teaspoon sugar
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1/2 cup ( 60 g) all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 large eggs

Egg Wash

• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 1 tablespoon water

Chocolate Glaze*

• ▢ 4 tablespoons ( 2 oz) unsalted butter
• ▢ 2 tablespoons milk
• ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons light corn syrup
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1/3 cup ( 2 oz) chopped semisweet chocolate chips are fine
• ▢ 1 cup ( 120 g) powdered sugar sifted

Instructions

Pumpkin Pastry Cream

• In a medium saucepan, heat milk until milk begins to steam but is not boiling. Remove from heat and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, pumpkin puree, sugar, flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. SLOWLY drizzle in hot milk, whisking constantly so you don’t scramble your eggs.
• Continue whisking and pouring until all of the liquid is incorporated. You can speed up the pouring as you go and the temperature of your eggs is brought up.
• Transfer mixture back to your saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly. Continue to cook until mixture thickens and begins to bubble, about 3 to 6 minutes. It’s ready when it is the consistency of a thick pudding. Whisk vigorously until smooth, remove from heat, and stir in vanilla.
• Place your strainer over a medium bowl and strain pastry cream, using your whisk to push the mixture through.
• Place a piece of plastic wrap directly over the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming and place in the refrigerator to chill completely, at least an hour.

Pate a Choux

• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
• Have your flour measured out and ready to go. In a medium saucepan, combine water, butter, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. As soon as the butter is melted and the mixture reaches a boil, stir in the flour with a wooden spoon. Stir until flour is incorporated and the mixture pulls away from the sides and forms a thin film over the bottom of the pan.
• Transfer dough to a large bowl and allow to cool for about 4 minutes, until no longer hot to the touch. Add one egg and use your wooden spoon to work the egg into the dough until completely mixed. It will seem slow going at first, but it will come together. Repeat with the second egg.
• Transfer mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a 5/8-inch tip. Pipe 10 to 11 3-inch lines, at least 2 inches apart. Once finished, use a little water on your fingertip to pat down any tips that are sticking up from piping so you have smooth tops (otherwise the tips sticking up will burn).
• In a small bowl whisk together egg and water and brush gently over the pate a choux.
• Bake for 28 minutes. Do not open the oven. At 28 minutes, check the eclairs. They should be lightly browned. If not, cook for an additional 2 to 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely before filling.

Filling the Eclairs

• Use a chop stick or small, sharp knife to poke 2 small holes in the bottom of each eclair. Transfer your cooled pastry cream to a piping bag fitted with a 1/8-inch round tip (if the cream has firmed up too much in the fridge, you can whisk it for about 30 seconds until it is smooth and the right consistency for piping.
• Fill each of the eclairs with a generous amount of pastry cream.

Glaze

• In a small saucepan, combine butter, milk, corn syrup, and vanilla. Whisk over medium heat until butter is melted. Add chocolate and stir until smooth. Remove from heat and add the sifted powdered sugar. Whisk until smooth.
• Transfer glaze to a small bowl wide enough for dipping and immediately dip filled eclairs. Allow glaze to set for 5 minutes before eating.

Notes

Pate a choux Adapted From Martha Stewart Pumpkin Pastry Cream Adapted From About Chocolate Glaze Adapted From Handle The Heat

You can make Hannibal’s Sanguinaccio Dolce without blood for a surprisingly easy, elegant chocolate dessert.

Heeeeeeey, it’s October! That means 31 days of pumpkins, pumpkin spice lattes , and spooky things!! Do you have any plans for Halloween yet? I’m not totally sure what I’ll be doing on the 31st, but I do know what I’m doing to celebrate on the blog…

Last month the blog theme was Quick and Easy Recipes . This month, in honor of Halloween, I thought I’d do something a little less practical and a little more fun: Creepy Recipes From Fiction!

I picked a few of my favorite spooky/scary foods inspired by television shows and movies to post every Monday this month and I’m su-ooooooo-oooooooo-ooper (not sorry) excited to share them.

First off, Sanguinaccio Dolce Senza Sangue (Sanguinaccio Dolce Without Blood) from Hannibal .

For those keeping score, this is the second Hannibal recipe on the blog. Last time, I made Lomo Saltado , and if you want to see me lose it a little over how much/why I loved this show, you can read aaaaaaall about it in that post.

Sanguinaccio Dolce is a dessert that appears in the show’s 3rd season. It’s a fantastically rich dark chocolate pudding traditionally made with pigs blood. Hannibal makes it with cow’s blood, though he confesses to his colleague, Dr. Chilton, that the last time they ate it together, it was made with blood from a different sort of animal…

NBC viaTumblr

This Sanguinaccio Dolce recipe does not use pig, cow, or any other kind of blood because I wanted to make it a little more accessible and because it can be a challenge to get your hands on fresh pig’s blood.

I asked around at all of my usual stores, and no one carried it. In fact, when my butcher went in to ask his boss if they could get me any, his boss thought it was so funny, I could hear him laughing through two closed doors, which I think Hannibal would agree with me… RUDE! 😉

Anyway, this is a wonderful dessert and very easy to make. Despite the fancy Italian name, you don’t need any fancy ingredients, just some milk, flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and good-quality chocolate. They simmer together until you get a luscious deep dark chocolate pudding.

Sanguinaccio Dolce is pure chocolate indulgence, so dark and rich you’ll probably just want to drift off into a chocolate coma afterwards. It feels completely sinful, making it a perfect Halloween dessert.

Serve it in a bowl with lady fingers for dipping or recreate Hannibal’s plate for an elegant presentation in a hollowed out orange half with fresh berries.

More Nerdy Recipes

• Game of Thrones Frey Pie
• American Gods Beef Pasties
• The Good Place Maple Butter Scones

Sanguinaccio Dolce Recipe Tips and Notes

• This pudding is delicious warm and at room temperature, but as it cools, the surface may begin to look dull. Don’t worry. Just give it a good stir right before serving to return its luster.
• DO NOT skip sifting where the recipe calls for it. If there are lumps in your cocoa powder, there will be lumps in your pudding and you will not be able to get rid of them!
• If you can get your hands on some fresh pigs blood, you might like to try the version with sangue !
• Some stores don’t carry Lady Fingers. You can purchase them on Amazon * (make tiramisu with the leftovers!) or use any mild, hard cookie/biscuit you’d like.
• If you want to serve your Sanguinaccio Dolce like Hannibal, the easiest way to hollow out an orange is to cut it in half and run a spoon between the fruit and the pith. Keep working all the way down until you can pop most of the fruit out and use your spoon to scrape out the last bit at the bottom.
• Finally, Fannibals, did you know Janice Poon, the food stylist on Hannibal has a Hannibal cookbook coming out at the end of October? It’s called Feeding Hannibal: A Connoisseur’s Cookbook * and I cannot wait to check it out!

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 cup milk (any percentage, preferably whole)
• ▢ 1 cinnamon stick
• ▢ 1/2 cup ( 42 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
• ▢ 1/2 cup ( 100 g) granulated sugar
• ▢ 3 tablespoons ( 22 g) all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1/3 cup ( 2 oz) chopped good-quality chocolate at least 70%
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• In a medium pot combine milk and your cinnamon stick. Heat over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes until just before simmering. Remove from heat and discard cinnamon stick.
• In a medium bowl, sift together cocoa powder, sugar, and flour.
• Slowly whisk in hot milk, doing your best not to allow lumps to form. Mix well and return mixture to the pot.
• Whisk constantly over medium-low heat until mixture begins to bubble and thicken, 4 to 8 minutes.
• Whisk in chocolate until smooth. Remove from heat, and mix in vanilla.
• Cool slightly before serving.

Sanguinaccio Dolce Without Blood Adapted From Scatti di Gusto

Apple Pie Cupcakes: soft and fluffy vanilla cake wrapped around a miniature apple pie with homemade caramel frosting on top. You’re going to love these!

Spoilers for Big Fish follow.

Today’s (barely) creepy recipe in my month of creepy fictional foods (the first post was Hannibal’s Sanguinaccio Dolce , check it out!) is also a part of #Burtoween. What’s Burtoween? Well, you might remember last month I made Jigglypuff Pink Cream Puffs for #Pokenom, hosted by The Gluttonous Geek , where a bunch of fellow bloggers posted Pokemon-inspired recipes across all of our sites.

This month, the same group of bloggers is getting together, celebrating Halloween by creating fictional foods inspired by the films of Tim Burton. It’s being hosted by the amazingly talented Carrie of the blog, Witchy Kitchen (you might remember some of her killer Game of Thrones recipes from my Nerdy Recipes Roundup back in May).

If you like nerdy things and you like to create recipes, you should join us! You don’t have to have a food blog. You can post your recipes on Instagram or Tumblr, they just have to be original recipes or adapted with credit. It’s a ton of fun and everyone involved is super friendly and awesome.

We’ll be running fictional food-themed months every month for the foreseeable future (I’m hosting in June, Star Trek y’all–get hyped), so if Burton isn’t your thing, come join the Facebook group and see what’s cooking in the months to come.

For my entry, I chose to make a recipe inspired by my favorite Burton film, Big Fish * . What do Apple Pie Cupcakes have to do with Big Fish? I’m so glad you asked!

Big Fish is the story of a son who only really knows his father through the outrageous tale tales he tells about his life. Most of the movie is flashbacks where you see those stories play out, and to look at them, they are so over the top, you know that they must be lies.

But, throughout the movie as the son comes to know his father better, he discovers that there is actually a grain of truth at the center of all of his father’s stories. It’s one of Burton’s best movies, I cry like a baby every time I watch it, and it’s just a lovely film about the narratives we write for ourselves and the way people come to know us through and despite them.

One of my favorite parts of the film is of the town of Spectre, that is at once both the creepiest and most charming small town you’ve ever seen. Among other things, they claim to serve the world’s best apple pie. So I present you with Spectre Apple Pie!

And sure, looking at these, when you hear me tell you it’s apple pie, it sounds like a lie, but just like the stories in Big Fish , once you get to the heart of things (take a big ol’ bite), you discover that there’s some truth to my telling of it.

That’s right, there’s a tiny little world’s best apple pie stuffed inside!

Okay, I know, that’s reaching a bit, and these are some high-concept cupcakes, but I’ve been dying to give the whole cake pie thing a try for ages. And I’m not going to lie, I was pretty pleased with myself when I thought up this recipe/movie pairing. 😉

Plus, you know me. I love a project cupcake (exhibit A: S’mores Cupcakes , exhibit B: Captain America Brooklyn Blackout Cupcakes ). These are most definitely a project cupcake, but completely rewarding and fun.

You start by making these adorable mini pies using my favorite buttermilk pie crust (easy, delicious, and simply the best), stuffed with apples, brown sugar, and other amazing apple pie things.

Then you bake them again inside of this super simple one-bowl cupcake recipe. And obviously you have to top a cupcake this good off with something special, so we are going homemade caramel buttercream. Don’t worry, this is an easy homemade caramel buttercream, so you don’t have to melt any sugar, just heat brown sugar, milk, and butter together and whip in powdered sugar. It’s aaaaa-muh-zing.

These cupcakes come out so cute and fun. I had a blast feeding them to people and watching them giggle over the tiny pie hidden inside. They’re definitely a bit of work, but I think, well worth it!

Spectre Apple Pie Cupcakes Recipe Tips

• This is a delicious, but VERY sweet frosting. If you don’t like SWEET, either cut the frosting recipe in half or use a different, less sweet recipe. A simple vanilla frosting (<—That recipe makes a ton, quarter it for cupcakes) would be fantastic on these cupcakes.
• You’ll need a mini muffin tin to make the mini pies in this recipe. This is the one I own * and it’s great.
• The mini pies can be made up to two days in advance. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

You’ll only need about 1/4 cup of buttermilk to make your mini pies. Check out my post What to Do With Leftover Buttermilk for storage tips and recipes to use up the leftovers.

Ingredients

Caramel Buttercream

• ▢ 1 cup ( 200 g) brown sugar
• ▢ 1/2 cup ( 4oz ) unsalted butter cubed
• ▢ 1/4 cup milk any percentage
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 2 to 2 1/4 cups ( 240g to 270 g) powdered sugar

Mini Apple Pies

• ▢ 1/2 batch My Favorite Buttermilk Pie Crust
• ▢ 2 cups diced (1/4 inch) apples
• ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 14 g) butter
• ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 12 g) granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 heaping tablespoon ( 18 g) brown sugar
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon salt

Cupcakes

• ▢ 1 1/2 cups ( 180 g) all-purpose flour
• ▢ 3/4 cup ( 150 g) granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1/2 cup ( 4 oz) unsalted butter room temperature
• ▢ 1/2 cup sour cream
• ▢ 2 large eggs room temperature
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

Caramel Buttercream Part 1

• In a medium, heavy-bottom saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter, and milk. Heat over medium, whisking occasionally until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved.
• Stop stirring and cook until mixture begins to simmer. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature, at least 1/2 hour.

Mini Apple Pies

• Lightly grease 12 cups in a mini muffin tin. Preheat your oven to 400°F.
• Combine diced apples, butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook for 4 to 6 minutes until apples are softened.
• On a well-floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thick. Cut out 12 2 1/4-inch rounds and 12 1 7/8-inch rounds*. Press larger rounds into greased muffin tins. Fill pie crust with apples. Top with the smaller rounds. Use a fork to crimp down slightly around the edges, and cut an x into the tops for steam to escape.
• Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until lightly browned and set aside to cool. Use a plastic knife to pop them out of the baking tray if any of them stick.

Cupcakes

• Turn oven temperature down to 350°F. Line 12 regular-size cupcake cups with cupcake liners.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer or in a large bowl if using a handheld electric mixer, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add butter, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla and beat on medium for 30 seconds to one minute until very smooth, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl at least once halfway through.
• Add about 1 heaping tablespoon of batter to the bottom of each of the cupcake cups. Place a mini pie in each of the cups and press down until it almost touches the bottom. Fill the cups with just enough batter to cover the top of the mini pies and smooth over. You will not use all of the cupcake batter.* Do not overfill! .
• Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until cupcakes are set and the edges spring back when lightly pressed.
• Cool completely before frosting.

Caramel Buttercream Part 2

• Transfer cooled caramel to the bowl of your stand mixer add 1/2 of the powdered sugar. With the paddle attachment, beat caramel on medium until smooth and slowly add in the rest of the sugar until frosting reaches your desired consistency.
• Pipe or spread frosting on cupcakes. (If not piping, cut frosting in half!)
• Serve and enjoy!

Notes

Cupcakes Adapted From Andie Mitchell Caramel Buttercream Adapted From Two Sisters Crafting

Small-batch Mini Pumpkin Eclairs

Ingredients

Pumpkin Pastry Cream

• 1 cup milk any percentage, preferably whole
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1/4 cup ( 61 g) pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup ( 66 g) granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons ( 15 g) all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons ( 14 g) cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch ground nutmeg
• Pinch ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pate a Choux

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup ( 2 oz) unsalted butter diced
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup ( 60 g) all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs

Egg Wash

• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon water

Chocolate Glaze*

• 4 tablespoons ( 2 oz) unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup ( 2 oz) chopped semisweet chocolate chips are fine
• 1 cup ( 120 g) powdered sugar sifted

Instructions

Pumpkin Pastry Cream

• In a medium saucepan, heat milk until milk begins to steam but is not boiling. Remove from heat and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, pumpkin puree, sugar, flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. SLOWLY drizzle in hot milk, whisking constantly so you don’t scramble your eggs.
• Continue whisking and pouring until all of the liquid is incorporated. You can speed up the pouring as you go and the temperature of your eggs is brought up.
• Transfer mixture back to your saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly. Continue to cook until mixture thickens and begins to bubble, about 3 to 6 minutes. It’s ready when it is the consistency of a thick pudding. Whisk vigorously until smooth, remove from heat, and stir in vanilla.
• Place your strainer over a medium bowl and strain pastry cream, using your whisk to push the mixture through.
• Place a piece of plastic wrap directly over the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming and place in the refrigerator to chill completely, at least an hour.

Pate a Choux

• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
• Have your flour measured out and ready to go. In a medium saucepan, combine water, butter, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. As soon as the butter is melted and the mixture reaches a boil, stir in the flour with a wooden spoon. Stir until flour is incorporated and the mixture pulls away from the sides and forms a thin film over the bottom of the pan.
• Transfer dough to a large bowl and allow to cool for about 4 minutes, until no longer hot to the touch. Add one egg and use your wooden spoon to work the egg into the dough until completely mixed. It will seem slow going at first, but it will come together. Repeat with the second egg.
• Transfer mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a 5/8-inch tip. Pipe 10 to 11 3-inch lines, at least 2 inches apart. Once finished, use a little water on your fingertip to pat down any tips that are sticking up from piping so you have smooth tops (otherwise the tips sticking up will burn).
• In a small bowl whisk together egg and water and brush gently over the pate a choux.
• Bake for 28 minutes. Do not open the oven. At 28 minutes, check the eclairs. They should be lightly browned. If not, cook for an additional 2 to 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely before filling.

Filling the Eclairs

• Use a chop stick or small, sharp knife to poke 2 small holes in the bottom of each eclair. Transfer your cooled pastry cream to a piping bag fitted with a 1/8-inch round tip (if the cream has firmed up too much in the fridge, you can whisk it for about 30 seconds until it is smooth and the right consistency for piping.
• Fill each of the eclairs with a generous amount of pastry cream.

Glaze

• In a small saucepan, combine butter, milk, corn syrup, and vanilla. Whisk over medium heat until butter is melted. Add chocolate and stir until smooth. Remove from heat and add the sifted powdered sugar. Whisk until smooth.
• Transfer glaze to a small bowl wide enough for dipping and immediately dip filled eclairs. Allow glaze to set for 5 minutes before eating.

Notes

Nutrition