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Light, crisp choux pastry, a decadent dulce de leche pastry cream, and a smooth dark chocolate ganache—these Dulce de Leche Eclairs combine buttery caramel sweetness with a hint of bittersweet chocolate. Each bite is airy yet rich, making them an irresistible treat for any occasion.

Recipe Info

This recipe is:

Decadently sweet. Crispy choux pastry is filled with a smooth, dulce de leche–infused pastry cream and topped with velvety dark chocolate ganache—an indulgent blend of caramel and chocolate flavors.
Approachable yet impressive. Though it involves multiple steps—baking, pastry cream, and ganache—the process is straightforward. Follow the instructions closely for a polished, pâtisserie-worthy result.
Perfect for any occasion. These eclairs are a crowd-pleaser, whether for a special celebration or a simple after-dinner treat.

Making dulce de leche eclairs for the first time? Read the ingredients notes, step-by-step instructions, and tips. If you’re familiar with the recipe, feel free to jump to the recipe card.

Extra Learning

Before we jump in, here’s a few handy resources to help you nail this recipe:

How to Temper Eggs. My quick guide to tempering eggs, a technique you’ll use when making ginger pastry cream, the filling in these eclairs. If you’ve never heard of or tried it before, be sure to give this a read.

Ingredients and Substitutes

Eclairs

Water and milk: Full-fat milk works best, but skim should work in a pinch.
White bread flour. White bread flour tends to work best for eclairs, but you can use all-purpose flour instead.
Unsalted butter.
Eggs.
Salt and sugar: Sugar alternatives are perfectly fine.

Dulce de Leche Pastry Cream (Filling)

Milk: Whole milk works best for a creamy consistency, but lower-fat options will also work.
Dulce de leche: The star ingredient that adds deep caramel sweetness.
Salt: A pinch enhances the caramel flavor and balances the sweetness.
Egg yolks: Help thicken the cream and add richness.
Cornstarch: The main thickener. You can substitute potato starch (using half the amount), though it behaves slightly differently.
White sugar: Helps balance the flavors. You can reduce it slightly if your dulce de leche is very sweet.
Vanilla extract: Optional but enhances the caramel notes.
Unsalted butter: Adds a smooth, glossy finish.

Dark Chocolate Ganache (Topping)

Heavy Cream: Any heavy or heavy whipping cream will do.
Dark Chocolate: My go-to is dark chocolate with 64 percent cocoa solids, and I wouldn’t recommend going much higher than that. If the ganache turns out too bitter, you can always stir in some sugar to counteract that.
Butter: A bit of butter makes the ganache more shiny and softer once it cools. That’s a win-win for a topping.

Step-by-Step: How to Make Dulce de Leche Eclairs

Here’s our high-level game plan for this dessert:

Make choux pastry and bake the eclairs. We start with the eclairs, as they need to sit in the oven for 35-40 minutes.
Cook the dulce de leche pastry cream. While the eclairs bake, we cook the pastry cream, then cover it with plastic wrap and set aside.
Make the ganache. The ganache takes about 5 to 10 minutes, and I suggest making it right before you’re about to fill the eclairs.
Combine. Once the eclairs have baked and cooled, and the pastry cream is around room temperature, it’s time to fill the eclairs and top them.

Not that bad, right?

Step 1: Make and Bake Eclairs

(Read my articles on choux pastry and eclairs for more tips.)

Preheat the oven. Preheat your oven to 390°F (200°C).
Combine and bring to a boil. In a pot, combine butter, milk, water, salt, and sugar, then bring the mixture to a boil, ensuring the butter is fully melted.
Add flour. Take the pot off the heat, add all the flour to the mixture at once, and stir until it roughly combines. Bring the pot back to the stove and continue stirring with a spoon over low heat. The dough will thicken and clump quickly, but you should continue stirring the mixture for 2-3 minutes, ensuring all the flour is incorporated and no white floury spots are inside. While stirring, scrape the dough from the sides and bottom to prevent sticking. After 2-3 minutes, the dough should be glossy and easy to detach from the pot, and a thin layer, or film, should form on the bottom.

Stages of cooking choux pastry — Add flour to the mixture, stir, and cook over low heat for 2-3 minutes until the dough thickens and forms a thin layer on the pot’s base

Transfer. Move the dough to a mixing bowl and let it cool for about 10 minutes. Spreading it across the bowl can speed up cooling.
Prepare the eggs. Crack the eggs into a separate bowl and whisk them.

Whisk the eggs — Crack and whisk the eggs

Make the dough. Once the dough has cooled slightly, start mixing it with a hand mixer at medium speed. After 20-30 seconds of mixing, add half the eggs to the dough and mix until incorporated. Repeat by adding half of the leftover egg mixture. Now it’s time to get the dough to the right consistency: you want it thick enough to hold its shape but still pipeable. The V-Shape test is the best way to check for that: Dip your mixer whisks or spatula into the dough and lift it. The dough should slowly fall off, eventually leaving a piece of dough hanging that forms a characteristic ‘V’ shape or a triangle at the end of the whisk or spatula. If the dough is not there yet, continue adding the eggs bit by bit and checking the consistency.

Before and after adding eggs — Mix the dough at medium speed, adding the whisked eggs in two batches until fully incorporated.

Choux pastry consistency — Once the dough falls off, it should form a V-shape at the end of the whisk or spatula. If not, continue adding eggs and checking the consistency.

Prepare the baking tray. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone mat. If you could use a guide for piping, draw straight 4- to 5-inch long lines (or 2.5- to 3-inch ones for mini eclairs) on the underside of the parchment paper as a guide, spaced about 2 inches apart. That will help you make the eclairs straight and of uniform length. Some baking mats already have the eclair shape on them, so consider buying one if you often bake eclairs.
Piping preparation. Transfer the dough into a piping bag fitted with a large tip. I use a Wilton 6B, which has an opening of approximately 15mm in diameter (a bit more than half an inch). Alternatively, use a plastic food bag with a corner cut off.
Pipe. Pipe the dough onto the prepared baking tray, forming strips about an inch wide and 4-5 inches long (or 2.5 to 3 inches for mini eclairs), leaving more than an inch of space between each strip to allow for expansion. Hold the piping bag at a 45-degree angle and pipe the eclair in one slow and smooth action. If the end of the eclair has an irregular shape that bothers you, you can smooth it out using wet fingers.

Eclairs graphic — Eclairs pastry size and spacing

Brush with melted butter. Melt a small knob of butter and brush the eclairs with the butter using a pastry brush.
Bake. Place the tray in the preheated oven, then immediately reduce the temperature to 356°F (180°C). Bake for 40 minutes (35 for mini eclairs). Open the door a tiny bit (and leave them open) for the last 5 minutes for any buildup steam to escape. If the eclairs start to brown before the 35-minute (25- for minis) mark, lower the temperature to 320°F (or 160°C).

Leave a space between strips for expansion
Bake the eclairs for 40-45 minutes

Cool. Remove the eclairs from the oven, let them cool for 10 minutes, then carefully detach them from the parchment paper or silicone mat and let them cool on a wire rack for another 10 minutes before piping and filling.

Step 2: Make Dulce de Leche Pastry Cream

(Check out my dulce de leche pastry cream recipe for more details and tips.)

Heat the milk mixture. In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, vanilla extract, sugar, dulce de leche, and salt. Whisk well and heat over medium heat until steaming but not boiling. Stir occasionally to dissolve the dulce de leche completely.

Dulce de leche and milk — Heat and whisk milk, vanilla, sugar, dulce de leche, and salt until steaming

Prep the yolks. In a heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks, cornstarch, and about 2 tablespoons of the milk mixture (while it’s still lukewarm) together until smooth.

Adding the egg yolks and cornstarch — Whisk together the yolks and cornstarch

Mixing the egg yolks and cornstarch — Whisk together the yolks and cornstarch

Temper the eggs. Slowly pour a few tablespoons of the hot milk mixture into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling. Repeat this process 3 to 4 times until most of the milk is incorporated.

Adding the milk mixture — Gradually add hot milk to the yolk

Mixing in the milk mixture — Gradually add hot milk to the yolk

Cook until thick. Return the combined mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens and begins to bubble. This takes about 2 to 4 minutes.

Returning the mixture to the pot — Return and cook the mixture over

Cooking until thick — Return and cook the mixture over

Remove from heat and whisk. Once thickened, remove from heat and continue whisking for about a minute to ensure a smooth texture.
Stir in the butter. Add the butter and stir until fully melted and incorporated.

Add butter and stir until
melted and combined

Taste and adjust. If needed, add a bit more salt, sugar, or vanilla extract to balance the flavors.
Strain if necessary. For an ultra-smooth texture, pass the cream through a fine-mesh sieve.
Cover and chill. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool at room temperature until it’s at about room temperature.

Step 3: Make Dark Chocolate Ganache

Prep. Begin by chopping the chocolate into small pieces.

Chopping the chocolates — Chop the chocolate bar into tiny pieces

Cook heavy cream. Pour the heavy cream into a saucepan and heat it over medium heat. Watch for tiny bubbles to form around the edges—this indicates the cream is adequately warmed without boiling.

Heating the heavy cream — Heat the cream until it simmers without boiling

Add chocolate. Add the chopped chocolate into the saucepan and allow it to sit for about a minute so the chocolate warms up and softens.
Stir. Stir until the chocolate and cream are thoroughly combined and smooth. Be sure to scrape the bottom and sides as you stir. If small chocolate pieces remain, you can gently heat the sauce while stirring until completely melted. Or use an immersion blender to get rid of any stubborn bits.

Heavy cream and chocolate — Pour the hot cream, let the chocolate

Stirring the heavy cream and chocolate — Pour the hot cream, let the chocolate

Add butter. Add butter to the saucepan and stir until incorporated.

Stirring in the butter — Add the butter and

Cool. Set the saucepan aside to cool, stirring every couple of minutes so it cools evenly.

Step 4: Combine

You’re ready to bring everything together once your eclairs are cool and the dulce de leche pastry cream is about room temperature.

Prep the eclairs for piping. Grab a small round piping tip and gently poke three holes (two for minis) in the bottom of each eclair, making sure they’re large enough for the piping tip to fit. You could also use a paring knife to make the holes. These will help with piping the filling into the eclairs. Alternatively, you can slice each eclair in half horizontally with a serrated knife to create a top and bottom.
Whisk the pastry cream. If the pastry cream has been refrigerated (i.e., you prepared it earlier), it might be quite stiff, like pudding—that’s totally normal. Start by “chopping” it with a fork, then use a whisk to stir it for a minute or two until smooth (or close to it). Once done, it’s ready for piping.

Silky dulce de leche pastry cream in a bowl — Chop the pastry cream with a fork, then whisk until smooth

Pipe the eclairs. Gently fill each eclair until the pastry cream starts to come out of the other holes or through any cracks.

Poke holes into the
bottom of the eclairs

Top with ganache. The ganache should be thick yet fluid, like syrup or honey, for optimal coating. If it’s too runny, speed up thickening in a cold water bath. If it is too stiff, gently warm it in a water bath while stirring until it reaches a barely pourable consistency. Dip the top of each eclair into the ganache, smoothing any excess with your fingers.

Coating the eclair with dark chocolate ganache — Dip the top of the eclair in

Eclair coated with ganache — Dip the top of the eclair in

(Optional) Decorate. Pipe a decorative swirl of dulce de leche on top of each eclair.
Serve or refrigerate.

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Tips

Make pastry cream in advance. If you’re short on time, you can prep the pastry cream the day before and refrigerate it overnight.
Chill on a plate. Spread the pastry cream onto a large plate or bowl (or a couple) to cool it faster. A larger surface area speeds up chilling. Cover with plastic wrap to avoid a crust forming.

Freshly baked dulce de leche eclairs coated in dark chocolate

Storage

You can store these eclairs in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Make sure the container is sealed tightly so they don’t absorb any smells.

That said, eclairs tend to soften after more than a few hours of filling and topping, so they’re best served the same day.

Luscious dulce de leche filled eclairs topped with dark chocolate

Recipes to Try

Looking for more? Check out the following recipes:

Caramel eclairs. Love caramel-flavored pastries? You’ll love these eclairs.
Snickers eclairs. Peanut butter filling, and dark chocolate and caramel topping. Takes a bit of work, but totally worth it.
Eclair fillings. Looking for a filling for your next eclairs? Here’s a handy list.