Choux Pastry

Place the milk, water, salt, sugar and cocoa butter in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiling turn off the heat and add in the sieved flour then turn the heat back on. Vigirously stir the choux pastry until it has a light oily sheen on the surface.

Remove from the heat and transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment. Break up the eggs and slowly add them in. Ensure that each addition of egg is completly mixed in before you add any more. Test the consistancy of the choux pastry before adding in all the eggs; once the mixture very slowly slides off a spoon it is ready to pipe.

Prepare a tray by greasing it and dusting with flour and marking where you will pipe your eclairs with a plastic scraper. Place a choux pastry piping tip into a disposable piping bag and fill with the prepared choux pastry. Pipe the choux pastry into straight even lines using your marked tray as a guide. You can freeze the eclairs before baking.

Do not open the oven door during the baking process or until the eclair have completely risen and are golden brown. Bake at 170°C for 10 minutes then drop the oven temperature to 150°C and continue to bake for a further 15 minutes, then once again drop the oven temperature to 130°C for a further 10 minutes. Once the eclairs are baked open the door to release the steam and continue to dry the eclairs out for a few minutes.

Chocolate Eclair

Milk Chocolate Honey Creamer

In a medium saucepan bring the cream to a boil. In a large bowl mix the egg yolks and honey together with a whisk. Pour the boiled cream over the egg yolk and honey mixture. Place it back on the stove and, while stirring continuously, re-heat the mixture to 80°C to produce an anglaise. Strain the anglaise over the two chocolates and whisk until all the chocolate is melted.

Salted Caramel

Place the caster sugar in a large saucepan and on a medium heat melt and caramelise the sugar while gently stirring. At the same time in a separate saucepan, boil the cream with the cut and scraped vanilla bean. Once all the sugar is fully dissolved and caramelised pour the boiling cream over the caramelized sugar and whisk until combined. Add in the honey, glucose and sea salt cool to 80°c then pour over the milk couverture. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap so it touches the surface. Store at room temperature.

 

Honeycomb & Chocolate Eclair

Honeycomb

  • 160g Caster Sugar
  • 40g Honey
  • 60g Liquid Glucose
  • 30g Water
  • 8g Bicarbonate soda

Place the sugar, honey, glucose and water in a medium saucepan and stir until it starts to boil. Once boiling, stop stirring the mixture and continue heating. When it reaches 157°C sieve in the bicarbonate soda and whisk slightly to incorporate. Pour onto a Demarle Silpat mat until cool. Break up into small pieces.

Note: The honeycomb must be sealed as soon as it cools to avoid it absorbing moisture and going soft.

Milk Chocolate Honey Creamer

In a medium saucepan bring the cream to a boil. In a large bowl mix the egg yolks and honey together with a whisk. Pour the boiled cream over the egg yolk and honey mixture. Place it back on the stove and while stirring continuously re-heat the mixture to 80°C to produce an anglaise. Strain the anglaise immediately over the two couvertures and whisk until all the chocolate is melted. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for a minimum 1.5 hours until it firms up.

Garnish

Assembly

It’s up to you what you fill your eclair with; you can use all three fillings or just one. Place three holes in the base of your eclair using a 1cm piping tube and firstly pipe a small amount of salted caramel into each hole.

Break the honey comb into small pieces and place into the eclair and then fill with milk chocolate honey creamer. Temper the dark couverture and sieve in some oil based black colour and dip the top of the eclair into the prepared couverture. Before it sets place either chocolate mushrooms or bamboo on top and allow to set. Brush the eclair with oil, and on the mushroom eclair, sprinkle the different garnishes on the surface.

Note: For detailed instructions on making the mushrooms you can subscribe to Savour’s online classes and watch the Eve video. The bamboo video will be added to our online classes library in a few weeks.

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