This week on the Not So British Bake Off, after not winning Star Baker with my dobos torte, I felt I had a lot to prove. So this week when I found out we’d be making éclairs, I knew I really needed to step up my game.
In the end, Mary ruled that while my eclairs were tasty, they were a bit messy. I was quite proud of them so I took her comment that they weren’t very beautiful to heart! So whilst I wasn’t eliminated, I didn’t win Star Baker either.
(Adapted from Little Loaf)
Ingredients:
(For choux pastry)
50 g unsalted butter
50 mL full fat milk
75 mL water
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of sugar
125 g of plain flour
3 eggs
(For cream)
180 g pistachio cream
225 mL of double cream
(For chocolate glaze)
40 g milk chocolate, chopped
20 g dark chocolate, chopped
75 mL of double cream
1/2 teaspoon of liquid glucose
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Place the butter, milk, water, salt and sugar in a large pan and bring quickly to the boil. As soon as it starts boiling and the butter is melted, add the flour, beating with a wooden spoon until a ball of dough forms that leaves the sides of the pan clean.
Turn the heat down and beat the mixture for 30 seconds to dry it out slightly then remove from the heat and set aside to cool for 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing each thoroughly into the dough before adding the next. It may look a little lumpy at first but as you continue to beat it it will become smooth.
Transfer the choux paste into a piping bag fitted with a large plain nozzle and pipe strips direct onto your baking parchment.
Bake your pastry for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 180 degrees C and bake for a further 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, pierce a hole in the bottom of each one with a skewer to let any steam out and set aside while you make the cream and glaze.
To make your cream just beat your double cream until it makes stiff peaks and then stir in your pistachio cream.
For the chocolate glaze, put your chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Put the cream in a small saucepan and bring the cream to a simmer then remove from the heat and whisk in the glucose syrup.
Pour the cream mixture over the chocolate and leave to stand for 2 minutes. Gently stir the chocolate until the mixture is glossy and smooth.
Finally, to assemble your éclairs, split each éclair horizontally with a sharp knife. Then pipe the pistachio cream to fill the empty bottom half of each éclair then replace the top halves.
Glaze the éclairs with the chocolate using a teaspoon.
Researching the best choux pastry methods.
Please tell me other people dance while they cook?
One of my tricks for filling piping bags when I don’t have a spare hand is to fold it over a pint glass.
Mary was saying, “Oh goodness! Six inches!”
I definitely need to up my game next week in order to not be eliminated!
