An elongated pastry made from choux dough, filled with cream and typically topped with chocolate icing.
From French 'éclair' meaning 'lightning,' from 'éclairer' (to illuminate). The pastry was named for its glossy, shining appearance or perhaps because it is eaten quickly, 'like lightning.'
The eclair's name captures the French genius for culinary poetry - comparing a humble pastry to lightning suggests both its gleaming surface and the speed at which it disappears when eaten. This dessert represents the pinnacle of choux pastry technique, requiring precise timing and temperature control.
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