Crisp choux pastry filled with vanilla rich cream and topped with a sweetly delicious butterscotch icing.
Ingredients
For the choux pastry
50g unsalted butter, cubed
50ml full fat milk
75ml water
½ tsp fine salt
1 tbsp golden caster sugar
125g plain white flour, sifted
3 medium free range eggs, beaten
For the filling
300ml double cream
1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
For the butterscotch icing
100g soft brown sugar
50g unsalted butter
2 tbsp milk
1 tbspgolden syrup
pinch sea salt
65g icing sugar, sifted
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, heavy bottomed saucepan and bring quickly to the boil. As soon as it reaches boiling point 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 saucepan clean.
Lower the heat 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 – continue to beat and you’ll get a lovely smooth mixture.
Transfer the choux paste into a piping bag fitted with a large plain nozzle and pipe strips direct onto your baking parchment. To stop the paper moving around, dot a little choux paste under each corner and make sure you leave a little space between each line as they will puff up in the oven.
Bake for 20 minutes then without opening the oven door (you want to keep all the heat in), reduce the oven temperature to 180 degrees C and bake for a further 15 – 20 minutes until completely dry and crisp.
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 filling and icing (below).
To make the filling, whip cream and vanilla to soft peaks then pipe inside eclairs.
To make the icing, bring all the ingredients except the icing sugar to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Cook, stirring regularly, until slightly thickened, about 3 mins. Stir in the icing sugar.
Working quickly, spoon icing over each eclair - it will start to set quite quickly. Refrigerate for one hour then serve. Will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple of days.
Recipe by thelittleloaf at http://www.thelittleloaf.com/2018/09/10/butterscotch-eclairs/