Pumpkin Eclairs with Maple Glaze

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Pumpkin Eclairs are a perfect fall treat, filled with creamy pumpkin pastry cream and topped with a luscious maple glaze. If you love classic eclairs, you’re going to adore this cozy twist!

Recipe At a Glance

In this pumpkin eclairs recipe, we use pumpkin pastry cream for the filling and a (maple glaze)[link maple glaze] for the topping. The setup is super simple—if you’ve ever made pastry cream or a basic powdered sugar glaze, you’ll feel right at home.

If you haven’t, no worries! Here’s the quick rundown for both.

Pastry cream is a simple stovetop cream made with classic pastry ingredients: milk, flour, cornstarch, egg yolks, butter, and sugar. For the pumpkin version, we add pumpkin puree (canned or homemade) and pumpkin pie spice (or your favorite blend). It all comes together in about 20 minutes and is ready to use once it cools a bit.

The glaze is just as easy—melted butter, maple syrup, powdered sugar, and a little milk. A few minutes of whisking, and it’s good to go.

You can prep the filling and glaze while the eclairs are baking and cooling, and maybe even squeeze in some cleanup time before they’re ready to be filled and topped.

If you’re making these pumpkin eclairs for the first time, be sure to check out the ingredient notes, step-by-step instructions, and tips. If you’re already familiar with the recipe, feel free to jump straight to the recipe card.

Ingredients Notes and Substitutes

Eclairs

• Water and milk. Full-fat milk works best, but skim should work in a pinch.
• All-purpose flour.
• Unsalted butter.
• Eggs.
• Salt and sugar. Sugar alternatives are perfectly fine.

Pumpkin Pastry Cream (Filling)

• Milk. Whole milk works best, but skim milk should work fine, too.
• Egg yolks.
• Pumpkin puree. Both homemade and canned pumpkin work well. If you’re using homemade, let it sit in a fine mesh strainer for 10-15 minutes before weighing it to get rid of any excess water.
• Pumpkin pie spice. The pumpkin pie spice makes or breaks this recipe. Use your favorite brand or a homemade blend. I recommend (and use) this recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction for a homemade version.
• Cornstarch. Cornstarch is ideal here. You could also use potato starch (half the amount), but it’s a bit trickier. Check out my article on cornstarch versus potato starch if you want to use potato starch.
• Brown sugar. Brown sugar pairs beautifully with pumpkin, making it the best choice. If needed, substitute with granulated sugar.
• Vanilla extract. Vanilla extract enhances the flavor, but it’s optional.
• Unsalted butter.

Maple Glaze (Topping)

• Powdered sugar. This is the base of the glaze.
• Butter. I use unsalted butter, but if you’re using salted butter, you can skip adding extra salt.
• Salt. A pinch of salt enhances the flavor of the glaze. Skip this if using salted butter.
• Maple syrup. Any kind works, but darker maple syrup will give you a richer, more robust flavor, while lighter grades will be subtler.
• Milk. Full-fat milk is my go-to, but low-fat or skim works just fine. Vegan milk options should also be okay since we only add a splash.
• Vanilla extract. Adds a nice flavor, but it’s optional and doesn’t make or break the recipe.

How to Make Pumpkin Eclairs

Here’s our game plan:

1. Make choux pastry and bake the eclairs. We start with the eclairs so we can get the filling and topping ready while they bake.
2. Cook the pumpkin pastry cream. Once the eclairs are in the oven, it’s time to make the pastry cream. It needs some cooling time, so we prioritize it over the glaze. You can also make the pastry cream a day or two ahead if you like.
3. Make the maple glaze. The glaze is ready to use right away, but you can store it in the fridge if needed.
4. Combine. Once the eclairs are baked and cooled and the pastry cream is at room temperature, it’s time to fill and top them.

Pretty simple, right?

Let’s do this!

Step 1: Make and Bake Eclairs

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

1. Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 390°F (200°C).
2. Melt Butter 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.
5. Prepare Eggs: Crack the eggs into a separate bowl and whisk them.

6. Make 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.

7. Prepare 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.
8. Piping Prep: 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.
9. 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.

10. 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).

11. 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: Cook Pumpkin Pastry Cream

(Check out my pumpkin pastry cream recipe for more details, tips, and tricks.)

1. Boil the milk mixture. In a pot, combine the milk, pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice, and brown sugar, then whisk until smooth. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally.

2. Prep yolks. While the milk is heating, whisk the yolks in a large bowl, then stir in the cornstarch. Set aside.

3. Temper eggs. When the milk mixture starts to bubble, remove it from the heat. Gradually pour a few tablespoons of the hot liquid into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to avoid curdling. Repeat this 3 to 4 times until you’ve incorporated most or all of the milk, keeping the whisk moving throughout.

4. Cook until thick and bubbly. Return the combined mixture to the pot and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it noticeably thickens and begins to bubble. Depending on your pot and heat intensity, this typically takes 2 to 4 minutes. Don’t rush it—this helps prevent the yolks from curdling.

5. Take off the heat and whisk. Once thickened, remove the pot from the heat and continue whisking for about a minute to bring the mixture just past its point of maximum thickness.
6. Stir in butter. Add the butter and stir until it’s fully melted and incorporated.

7. Taste test. Sample the cream (be careful, it’s hot) and adjust with more brown sugar or pumpkin pie spice if needed.
8. Strain if needed. If you see bits of cooked egg or want a silky-smooth consistency, press the cream through a mesh strainer to catch any lumps.

9. Cover. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a crust from forming. If you’re making everything in one go and want to cool the pastry cream as soon as possible, pour it into a couple of plates or shallow bowls (and cover each with plastic wrap) to speed up the process. Refrigerate once cold if you’re not using it right away.

Step 3: Make Maple Glaze

(Check out my maple glaze recipe for more details.)

1. Melt the butter. Melt it on the stove or in the microwave. Try not to let it boil.

2. Combine wet ingredients. In a small bowl, add the melted butter, salt, maple syrup, and vanilla extract (if using). Stir until combined.

3. Add powdered sugar. Sift the powdered sugar first to prevent lumps, then add it in batches, stirring well after each addition.

4. Add milk. If the glaze is too thick or lumpy, add a splash of milk and whisk until smooth. A little milk goes a long way, so add it in 1/8 teaspoon increments. If the glaze gets too thin, add more powdered sugar until you reach the right consistency—it should be thin enough to drizzle but thick enough to coat without being too runny.

Step 4: Combine.

Once your eclairs and pumpkin pastry cream are no longer hot, you’re ready to bring everything together.

1. 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.

2. Whisk the pastry cream. If the pastry cream has been refrigerated, 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.

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

4. Top with maple glaze. Transfer the glaze to a bowl large enough to dip the eclairs in, then dunk the top of each eclair, smoothing any excess with your finger if needed. If the glaze is too thick and too much stays on the eclair, stir in 1/8 teaspoon of milk and try again. Add more powdered sugar if it’s too runny and doesn’t stick well.

5. Serve or refrigerate.

Variations

Here are a few ways to modify this recipe:

• No maple syrup? You can swap the maple glaze for a simple powdered sugar glaze or make a white chocolate ganache. For the ganache, bring 1/4 cup of heavy cream close to a boil, pour it over 5 oz of chopped white chocolate, whisk until smooth, and let it cool to a coating consistency.

• No pumpkin? Honestly, pumpkin-flavored recipes are more about the spices than the pumpkin itself. So if you’re out of pumpkin, don’t worry. Instead, make my vanilla pastry cream, but use brown sugar instead of granulated sugar and add one teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. I haven’t tested it, but I’m 99.9% sure it’ll work just fine.

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.

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