La Maison Du Chocolat

I love this recipe which I took from La Maison Du Chocolat, it was the Carmel Eclairs. The texture was lovely and the cream filling was silky and fragrant too. The cost to make this recipe was inexpensive at all and talent can be nurtured easily. A simple recipe that everyone can follow.

Ingredients

For the choux pastry
1egg yolk
2eggs
1/2cup whole milk
Pinch of salt
1teaspoon granulated sugar
3tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2cup all purpose flour

For the caramel
6tablespoons granulated sugar
6tablespoons heavy cream

For the pastry cream
1cup milk
2egg yolks
2tablespoons granulated sugar
3tablespoons all-purpose flour

For the glaze
6tablespoons granulated sugar
7oz fondant

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Grease a baking sheet. Prepare the choux pastry. Place the egg yolk in a small dish with 1 tablespoon water and beat. Set aside. Break the whole eggs into a mixing bowl and beat. Set aside. Place the milk, salt, sugar and butter in a saucepan and bring to boil. Stir with a spatula and add the flour all at once. Stir continuouly. When the mixture is thoroughly blended and begins to come away from the sides of the pan, cook for a few seconds more, then remove from the heat. Add the beaten whole eggs gradually, in batches, stirring constantly. The mixture should be soft, but not too liquid.

2. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a medium round tip. On the prepared baking sheet, pipe out lines of batter about 4 inches long and spaced about 1 1/2 inches apart. Brush the tops with the beaten egg yolk. Bake until golden, 20-30 minutes.

3. Remove from the oven. With a small sharp knife, make a lengthwise slit in the side of each pastry. Set aside to cool. Prepare the caramel. Gradually pour the sugar into a medium size saucepan set over low heat. Cook until the sugar begins to caramalize. As soon as it turns dark bron, remove from the heat and immediately add the cream, taking care not to splatter. Stir, then set aside to cool.

4. Prepare the pastry cream: Place the milk in a saucepan, add 1 teaspoon if the sugar, and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, place the egg yolks in another saucepan, add the remaining sugar, and beat until lemoon-colored. Stir in the flour. Slowly pour in half of he hot milk, whisking continuously, until smooth. Add the remaining milk and place over medium heat. Cook, whisking continuously, until thick. Remove from the heat. Set aside to cool completely, stir often to release steam and prevent the cream from getting soggy. When cool, stir in the caramel. Fill the pasteries with the cooled caramel pastry cream, using the slit in the side.

5. Prepare the glaze: Place the sugar in a saucepan, add 6 tablespoons water, and bring to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes, until a dark caramel color. Remove from the heat, stir in the fondant and place over low heat, stirring until thoroughly blended. Set aside to cool. Glaze the top of each filled pastry with this nixture. Let harden before serving.