Eclairs

Choux

• 1/2 cup Water
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1/2 cup Butter, cubed
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Granulated sugar
• 1 cup All-purpose flour
• 4 Eggs

Filling

• 2 cups Pastry cream — chilled — see the Pastry Cream recipe

Glaze

• 4 oz Dark chocolate, chopped
• 1/3 cup Heavy cream

Prep

1. Heat the oven to 220°C (425°F) and line two baking sheets.

Choux

1. Bring the water, milk, butter, salt, and sugar to a full boil.
2. Take off the heat, dump in the flour, and stir hard until it forms a smooth ball. Return to low heat and cook, stirring, until a thin film forms on the pan bottom.
3. Cool 5 minutes, then beat in the eggs one at a time until smooth and glossy.

Pipe

1. Pipe into 4-inch logs, spaced well apart, on the lined sheets. Smooth any peaks with a wet finger. (Tip: Piped points that don't get smoothed will scorch before the rest of the shell has finished baking.)

Bake

1. Bake at 220°C (425°F) for 15 minutes, then drop to 175°C (350°F) and continue until deeply golden and firm all the way along. (Tip: Eclairs need more total time than round puffs of similar volume — their shape means the centre takes longer to dry out.)
2. Turn the oven off, prop the door open, and let them dry out inside.

Glaze

1. Warm the cream until just steaming, pour over the chopped chocolate, and let sit a minute before stirring until smooth and glossy.

Assemble

1. Once fully cool, split the shells, pipe or spoon in the pastry cream, replace the tops, and dip the tops in the warm chocolate glaze.