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Preheat the oven to gas 4, 180°C, fan 160°C. Put the milk, salt, sugar, butter and 80ml water into a saucepan, melt and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, add the flour and mix to form a dough. Return to the heat and cook for 2 minutes, stirring vigorously.
Tip the dough into a bowl; set aside to cool a little. Add the egg a little at a time, beating until combined before adding more. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a wide star nozzle. Pipe 10-12 x 12cm-long eclairs onto 2 baking trays lined with baking paper.
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Mix the icing sugar and 30-35ml water into a thick but just pourable glaze. Mix in a few drops of red food colouring until pink. Dip each eclair top in the glaze. Put on a piece of baking paper and sprinkle with hundreds and thousands, if using. Leave to set.
For the filling, spoon a little of the jam into the base of each eclair and top with the diced strawberries. Whisk together the cream and the vanilla until it holds soft peaks. Scrape the cream into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.
S T R AW B E RRY A N D C RE A M E C L A I RS Makes 10-12 Takes 1 hr Cost per serve 50p
MAKE MORE OF IT PAGE 90
80ml whole milk ¾ tsp salt ¾ tsp sugar 80g unsalted butter, diced 80g plain flour, sieved 2 large eggs, lightly beaten For the filling and decoration 225g icing sugar red liquid food colouring red hundreds and thousands (optional) 100g seedless strawberry jam 100g strawberries, hulled and diced, plus 10 whole strawberries, hulled and cut into thin slices 300g whipping cream 1 tsp vanilla bean paste Each eclair contains Energy
1347kJ 323kcal 16%
Fat
Saturates
Sugars
Salt
21g 12g 27g 0·2g 29% 61% 29% 3%
of the reference intake. See page 122. Carbohydrate 33g Protein 4g Fibre 1g
Flavour twists White chocolate and mint Gently heat the cream for the filling with 10 torn mint leaves. Set aside for 1 hour, then strain and chill. Continue from step 1. Dip the eclairs in 200g melted white chocolate instead of the icing sugar glaze.
Lemon meringue eclairs Instead of strawberries and jam, fill the eclairs with lemon curd topped with whipped cream and crushed meringue.
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Rhubarb and custard
Perfect partner
Or, you could fill the eclairs with chilled custard and lightly roasted rhubarb.
If you’re hosting friends, why not serve your eclairs in style alongside a glass of this elegant Cava Rosé Brut, £5/75cl.