Walnut and vanilla éclairs

Serves Cakes, Bread and Pastries

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Method

To make the glaze, soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water for a couple of minutes.

Put the sugar in a saucepan with 100ml water and place on a high heat until the sugar has completely dissolved. Stir in the cream and boil for a couple of minutes, then remove from the heat, squeeze out the excess water from the softened gelatine leaves and add to the hot cream mixture.

Allow the cream mixture to cool for a few minutes, then stir in the white chocolate and vanilla. Make sure the chocolate is chopped fairly evenly to help it melt well. Once the chocolate has melted, add the food colouring and whisk until completely combined. The glaze should be a lovely soft white colour – not yellow. Set aside to cool to room temperature for 15-20 minutes, stirring from time

to time to stop it from forming a skin. If the glaze does begin to set, melt it again gently over a low heat.

Preheat the oven to 180C/ 160C Fan/Gas 6 and grease and line 2 baking sheets.

To make the choux pastry, put 100ml water and the milk, butter, sugar and salt into a large saucepan and place over a medium-high heat. Whisk until the butter has melted and the whole mixture comes to the boil. Remove the pan from the heat and add the flour straight into the pan, beating vigorously with a wooden spoon until your batter comes together to form a dough. It will be quite tough initially, but it will eventually bind together. Place the pan back on the heat, stirring constantly for around 2-3 minutes.

Tip the dough into a large bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to cool a little. Using an electric mixer, add the eggs to the bowl one at a time, beating constantly until smooth and fully incorporated. The resulting dough should have
a slight gloss and, when lifted with a wooden spoon from the bowl, will form a deep ‘V’ shape.

Place the choux pastry into a piping bag fitted with either a star or a plain nozzle. Pipe lengths of roughly 10-12cm. Bake in the preheated oven for roughly 20 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp. Turn off the oven and allow the pastries to dry out
for around 10 minutes before removing. Set aside to cool.

For the crème légère, whisk the cream until thickened. Gently fold in the crème pâtissière, then whisk until thickened and lump- free. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a ruffle nozzle.

To assemble, cut the éclairs in half. Dunk the top half into the glaze and coat well. Place on a wire rack to allow any excess to drip off. Once the glaze has stopped dripping, sprinkle with some chopped toasted walnuts down the middle. Pipe the crème légère in ruffles down the middle of the base. Top with walnuts, then place the lid on top. Finish with a piece of gold leaf, if you fancy it.

Crème pâtissière

MAKES AROUND 600ML

In a pan, warm the milk and remove from the heat just before it begins to boil. While this is happening, whisk together the eggs, sugar and cornflour with the vanilla. Pour the hot milk over the egg mixture, whisking all the time.

Pour the combined mix back into the pan and return to a low heat. Whisk continuously. Do not allow it to boil. Once thickened, pour into a heatproof airtight container. Press a piece of cling film on top to prevent a skin from forming. Allow to cool completely before placing the lid on top. Keep, chilled, for up to 1 week.