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5 Star Retro Classic recipe |
Eclairs with Vanilla Pastry Cream Recipe |
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The first time I set out to make a choux pastry I was terrified. But really its one of the easiest pastries to make. Just get the quantities correct by weight and it never fails. Boil up the wet ingredients, dump in the flour mix and beat, and then beat in the eggs. Its just a shame it has so many calories and so much cholesterol otherwise I would cook it everyday. So its a few times a years for party's or fete food. Shame shame shame. Bakery eclairs are good but don't come close to an eclair eaten shortly after it was made with a pastry cream that isn't loaded with commercial fillers. | |||
| Eclairs with Pastry Cream | ||||
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Choux Pastries: 125ml milk 125ml water 5g salt 7g sugar 110g salted batter 140g Plain flour 250ml Eggs Whisked -------------------- Vanilla Pastry cream: 500ml milk 2 Tsp vanilla extract 6 egg yolks 150g sugar 2 Tbs cornflour 2 Tbs plain flour ------------------ Extra flavourings can be Chocolate, lemon, brandy, whatever
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Heat oven to 220° Put milk, water, salt, sugar and butter in a medium saucepan and bring to boil. Remove from heat and tip in flour and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon till combined. Heat over low heat and continue to mix for 1 minute. Remove from heat and transfer to a large glass mixing bowl that has been heated with tap water so that it is warm. Add 75ml of beaten egg and mix in till completely combined. Add another 75ml and repeat. Add the last 75ml and when mixed dough is ready to use. Using piping bag or cake icer with large nozzle. Pipe onto a tray with baking paper. Leave room for expansion between each one. Bake in batches of 6 to 8. Bake on high shelf for 15 minutes at 220° Pop a couple of Ice cubes in the bottom of the oven to create moisture which will prevent splitting. Open oven and rotate tray. Reduce temperature to 200° and bake for another 15 minutes. Use use an oven mitt to keep the oven door slightly ajar during this 15 minutes. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Put the milk and vanilla in a saucepan and bring to boil Beat the egg yolks and sugar together until pale in a mixer with the whisk attachment. Gently mix in flours on speed 2 While mixing on speed 2 slowly pour in milk in a thin stream. Take 3 minutes to do this. Return the mixture to the saucepan and heat while stirring. When it starts to thicken remove and keep mixing vigorously. It will go lumpy but just mix through this and presto it works. At this time add any additional flavourings. Return to heat and keep mixing to finish. 30 sec or so. Then decant into a small bowl and cover closely with cling wrap and allow to cool. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Use piping bag with thin nozzle. Cut a knick in the end of each eclair and pump in pastry cream. Massage to even out inside. Dust with Icing sugar or coat with chocolate or other icing as an added touch. |