Chocolate Eclairs

Ingredients

• •1 batch choux pastry:
• •7 tablespoons unsalted butter
• •1 cup water
• •3 teaspoons sugar
• •1 pinch salt
• •1 cup flour
• •4 eggs, beaten slightly
• •Pastry crème:
• •1 cup milk
• •1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• •4 egg yolks
• •3 tablespoons sugar
• •1 1/2 tablespoons flour
• •1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• •2 tablespoons heavy cream
• •Whipped cream, 1 cup cream, whipped till firm, to mix with pastry cream before filling
• •Topping:
• •6 ounces semi sweet chocolate

Directions

1. 1To make the pastry dough, combine the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl, set aside.
2. 2In a thick bottomed pot, melt the butter in the water until boiling.
3. 3Take off the stove and add the flour combination. Return to the heat and beat quickly until it is a shiny paste that balls together.
4. 4Let the dough cool for a few minutes then add the eggs, beating well to incorporate one at a time. Add almost all of the eggs. Beat. well until the dough is like a thick mayonnaise.
5. 5Spoon the dough into a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch nozzle and pipe out 3 to 4 inch long rectangles of dough onto a lightly greased sheet for the eclairs. The eclairs will rise at least double if not triple their size when baked. Make sure you leave room for them to expand a little.
6. 6Bake in a 425 degree Fahrenheit oven for 20 minutes. Take out the eclairs, prick a hole in the bottom or sides and return to oven to dry out for 5 minutes more. They should be golden brown when done.
7. 7To make the filling, begin by placing the egg yolks in a small heatproof bowl and mixing with the sugar until light and creamy.
8. 8Add the flour and cornstarch and beat until smooth.
9. 9Bring the milk to a boil and then pour onto the egg combination and mix together.
10. 10Pour the whole mixture back into pan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly, it can scorch so stir and make sure you don’t boil it too high or with a thin bottomed pan. Simmer two minutes, remove from heat.
11. 11Add the vanilla and cream, mix well and pour into a bowl, lay a piece of plasticwrap on top to keep it from forming a skin. Let cool for at least two hours before using.
12. 12Melt the chocolate in a double boiler for glazing the top of the eclairs.
13. 13Take the cooled eclairs and cut off the very tops, scrape out any extra, wet doughy insides.
14. 14Mix togther the whipped cream and the crème pâtissière and spoon into a pastry bag with a star tip.
15. 15Fill the eclairs with the cream. Take the eclair tops and lay in the melted chocolate to cover then replace the tops on the éclairs. Try adding strawberries or raspberries for a different variation.