Vanilla Custard Choux Eclair Recipes

Steps:

• 1. Vanilla Custard.
• It is always better to prepare the custard before the choux pastry. It will allow the custard to cool down few hours.
• Cut the vanilla bean in the middle and scrap the seeds with a knife tip. You could also use few drops of vanilla extract.
• Bring to boil the milk and add the vanilla bean and seeds in the boiling milk.
• Remove from heat and let infused for 10 minutes.
• In a bowl combine egg, cornflour and sugar and whisk well the mixture until it become yellow/white.
• Filter the milk through a coffee filter or sieve.
• Pour the warm milk into the previous mixture and whisk vigourously.
• Return the mixture into the saucepan under medium heat and keep stirring.
• Let boil for 3 more minutes and keep stirring.
• Remove from heat and add the diced butter. Stir until it is entirely melted.
• Pour the custard into a piping bag and let it cool down for 2 hours (first hour at room temperature and then in the fridge).
• 2. Prepare the choux pastry or buy eclair shells.
• 3. The eclairs topping.
• Prepare 3 bowls - one for each colour.
• Mix 40g of icing sugar with few drops of food colouring.
• Add slowly some water with a teaspoon. Usually 2 or 3 teaspoon of water are enough.
• Combine with a spoon and stop adding water when the mixture is thick and shiny.
• You do not want something too liquid or it will not set on the top of the eclair.
• Store in plastic bags.
• Cut a edge of the bag to use as a piping bag.
• 4.Eclairs filling and decorating.
• Drill 3 holes on the top of the eclairs and filled with vanilla custard using the piping bag.
• Place the eclairs between two baking tray to hid the sides.
• Start decorating with the topping prepared in the plastic bag.
• Swirl one colour at a time.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet.
• In a medium saucepan, combine 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, stirring until butter melts completely. Reduce heat to low, and add flour and salt. Stir vigorously until mixture leaves the sides of the pan and begins to form a stiff ball. Remove from heat. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well to incorporate completely after each addition. With a spoon or a pastry bag fitted with a No. 10, or larger, tip, spoon or pipe dough onto cookie sheet in 1 1/2 x 4 inch strips.
• Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce heat to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) and bake 20 minutes more, until hollow sounding when lightly tapped on the bottom. Cool completely on a wire rack.
• For the filling, combine pudding mix and milk in medium bowl according to package directions. In a separate bowl, beat the cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Beat in 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Fold whipped cream into pudding. Cut tops off of cooled pastry shells with a sharp knife. Fill shells with pudding mixture and replace tops.
• For the icing, melt the chocolate and 2 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir in 1 cup confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in hot water, one tablespoon at a time, until icing is smooth and has reached desired consistency. Remove from heat, cool slightly, and drizzle over filled eclairs. Refrigerate until serving.

Steps:

• Start by making the custard filling. Heat the milk until almost boiling in a saucepan. Meanwhile, mix together the sugar, egg yolks and vanilla in a bowl, then stir in the flours, a couple of tsp at a time, to a smooth paste.
• Gradually whisk in the hot milk, pour everything back into the saucepan and cook over a high heat, stirring constantly, for about 5 mins until thick - it will go alarmingly lumpy but don't worry, just keep stirring it vigorously with a wooden spoon until smooth.
• Lay a sheet of cling film directly on the custard surface, then cool and chill until you're ready to fill the buns.
• To make the choux buns, heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Sift the flour with the sugar and a pinch of salt into a small bowl. Put the milk and butter into a medium saucepan with 125ml water and gently heat so the butter melts but the liquid doesn't bubble.
• Once the butter has completely melted, increase the heat until the liquid comes to a fast rolling boil. Immediately turn off the heat, tip in the sifted flour and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until you a have a smooth dough that comes away from the sides of the pan. Spread over a large dinner plate to cool to hand temperature.
• Allow to cool for a few minutes, then gradually add the eggs, mixing well between each addition until the mixture reluctantly drops off the spoon. Don't add all the egg unless you need to.
• Cut 2 large sheets of baking parchment. On each one draw 2 sets of 'track' lines with a 10cm gap - these will be your guidelines so your eclairs will all be roughly the same size. Use the paper to line 2 large baking sheets - penside down.
• Spoon your choux mixture into a piping bag with a 1cm star or round wide nozzle, or into a disposable piping bag with a similar-size hole snipped off for piping. Pipe 2 rows of well-spaced, squashed 'S' shapes on each sheet between the guidelines. Bake, one tray at a time, on a high-ish shelf for 25 mins, reducing temperature to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6 as soon as they go in the oven.
• After 25 mins, poke a hole in the end of each bun, or using a small serrated knife, split down the middle and return to the oven, upside-down, to dry out for 5 mins until crisp and golden. Set aside to cool.
• While the buns are cooling, finish your filling. Whisk the cream until thick, then use your electric whisk to beat the cooled, set custard until just smooth again. Fold in the cream. Spoon your filling into a piping bag - use a small nozzle if you're filling the buns through the holes you've pierced, or a large nozzle if you've split the buns in half. Carefully pipe the custard into each cooled bun - they should feel heavy once full.
• Arrange the buns on a wire rack and spread each with a little of your chosen icing. If you can't decide, it's really easy to split your batch of choux buns, halve icing quantities, and make a selection to keep everyone happy. See the tip below for more icing flavours.

Steps:

• Prepare the custard: Stir together the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and kosher salt in a medium saucepan until smooth. Whisk in the milk and 1/2 cup heavy cream. Add the vanilla bean and seeds and the butter and bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Set a fine-mesh sieve over a large heatproof bowl.
• Cook the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly and making sure to get the edges, until the mixture begins to thicken, 2 to 4 minutes. (It's helpful to have both a spatula and a whisk handy while making the custard. Switch between the two.) Let it come up to a very slow boil and cook for 1 minute more. Strain the custard through the sieve into the bowl. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the custard and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 1/2 hours.
• Prepare the puffs: Bring the butter, sugar, salt and 3/4 cup/175 milliliters water to a simmer over medium heat in a medium saucepan, stirring with a wooden spoon. As soon as it comes to a boil, add the flour, stirring constantly, until the dough forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring the dough occasionally.
• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Add the eggs to the dough in the pan, one at a time, stirring vigorously between each addition with a wooden spoon. The dough will break apart and slide around in the pot before it comes back together. Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a large round or star tip. (The author used Ateco #826.)
• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Pipe the dough into 4 1/2-inch-by-3/4-inch lengths about 3 inches apart. With a damp fingertip, flatten any points. Bake until éclairs are deep golden brown and puffed, rotating the sheets halfway through, 22 to 25 minutes. They should be very light and crisp. Turn the oven off. Poke each éclair on either end with a toothpick to allow some steam to release. Return the puffs to the oven and prop the door open a crack with a wooden spoon. Allow the puffs to dry out in the oven, about 15 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Prepare the glaze: Bring the heavy cream and salt to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate and corn syrup. Let the mixture stand for 1 minute and then whisk to make a smooth sauce.
• To finish the custard, whip the remaining 1/4 cup heavy cream to soft peaks. Whisk the cooled custard to loosen it, then fold in the whipped cream. Transfer the custard to a pastry bag fitted with a fluted tip. Slice the top third off each éclair and fill the bases of the éclairs with custard. Dip the tops of the éclairs in the glaze and set them on top of the custard-filled bases. Serve immediately.