I was going to do these yesterday but shied away because I knew there was a little bit of hard beating to get these light and fluffy and crisp on the outside but actually once I got down to doing them they were soooooo easy. .
I will definitely be doing these more often!! I have tried a few different methods and recipes since I first posted this recipe and I have tweaked it to what I have found as the most effective recipe and method.
A word of warning though - these eclairs are very, very addictive . . . . . . .
INGREDIENTS
130g (2.5 oz) plain or strong flour (I prefer to use strong)100g (2 oz) butter
3 medium eggs, lightly beaten
150ml (5 fl oz) water
WHAT TO DO
Preheat the oven to 250˚C (230˚C for fan oven) Sift the flour on to a piece of paper. Put the butter in the a pan with the water. Heat it gently until the butter has melted and then bring it to the boil.
Remove the pan from the heat and tip in the flour immediately. Beat thoroughly with a WOODEN spoon. Continue to beat over a low heat until the mixture is smooth and makes a ball in the centre of the pan (be careful not to overbeat or the mix will become too fatty but as this is quite strenuous to do I think you'll be ok!!). Remove from the heat and leave to cool for a couple of minutes.
If you have a mixer on a rotating stand you can use it in this next part. Beat in the eggs a little at a time (or use the wooden spoon and beating vigorously to get in as much air as possible) until you get a lovely firm, glossy piping mix.
If you use large eggs you may not need to use all of the egg as you do not want to 'overwet' the mixture as it will just spread out on the tray and won't rise.
Line a tray with baking paper. For eclairs (and with a large nozzle) pipe the mixture about 3 - 4 inches in length. For profiteroles pipe the mix about an inch in diameter and for Choux buns pipe twice as large as the size for profiteroles.
Place in the oven for 5 minutes and reduce heat in oven to 180˚C (160˚Fan oven). Cook for another 12 / 15 minutes
Remove the eclairs/ buns/ profireroles and pierce a small hole in the side or bottom and put them back in the oven to dry out inside for another 5 minutes. (The hole lets the steam escape). Turn off the oven but leave the pastries in the oven for about 5 minutes then remove and leave to cool on a wire rack.
ICING:
Sieve some icing sugar and cocoa powder and mix with a teaspoon or two of water to mix
to a very slightly drizzly, glossy texture. Spread over the top of the eclairs and set in the fridge.
Add 1 teaspoon of Irel or Camp coffee instead of cocoa to make coffee icing
Fill with cream adding Irel / Camp to the cream before you whip it gives it a lovely coffee / toffee taste
For Choux buns: fill with cream and dust lightly with icing sugar. You can also use a traditional Creme Patissiere - which is similar to a light custard -
CREME PATISSIERE
INGREDIENTS:
4 egg yolks
100g caster sugar
25g plain flour (sifted)
1 Vanilla pod or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
350 ml milk
METHOD:
Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl with the sugar until light and
thick. Fold in the flour. Put a split vanilla pod in a saucepan with the milk
and bring it slowly up to just below the boil. Remove the vanilla pod and pour
the milk onto the egg mixture, whisking all the time.
Return the mixture to the pan and stir over a low-medium
heat until it comes up to a very gentle boil. The mixture will to boil so that
it will thicken. Continue to cook, whisking / stirring all the time for about 2
minutes or until it has thickened.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the vanilla
extract and pour into a bowl. If the mixture goes a little lumpy while cooking,
remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk firmly until smooth. Cover with
cling film so that a skin does not form on the top and allow to cool.
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