Eclairs with Vanilla Pastry Filling

This crumbly sweet eclair cake is filled with a custard cream filling that will satisfy all the beautiful imaginations of a cream puff. In a small pot, add butter, milk and water then bring it to a boil. Let it keep boiling for a while then turn the heat off and add cake flour then mix it in quickly. Mix until well combined and you have a very smooth paste-like batter.

Add in 2 beaten eggs and mix it in while the batter is still warm, the batter will thicken a little. Transfer the batter in a clean bowl and cover with a plastic wrap, making sure the wrap is in contact with the dough to prevent the top from drying. To make the custard cream filling, add 2 egg yolks in a bowl together with granulated sugar and whisk to break the egg yolks and the sugar to incorporate in it. Sift in cornstarch and mix it completely until smooth.

In another saucepan, add milk and vanilla extract then boil it until there are bubbles around the edge then let the milk mixture cool down a little bit and pour it in the egg mixture while stirring it until combined. Pour the mixture into the saucepan and heat it while stirring over medium heat until it is thick the add unsalted butter and stirs it until the butter melts. Transfer the custard cream into a large bowl and cover with a plastic wrap then keep it in the fridge.

Take the batter out of the fridge and transfer it into a pastry bag and then on a baking tray, squeeze the batter out into a stick about 10 to 12 cm long. Bake in a 383 degrees Fahrenheit (195C) for 12 to 15 minutes then turn down the heat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180C) and bake for an additional 12 to 15 minutes. Once baked, let them cool completely on a rack. For the cream filling, add whipping cream in a bowl together with a tablespoon of condensed milk then whip them until the cream is very light and smooth.

Bring the custard filling out of the fridge and add in the whipped cream then mix until they are incorporated and smooth. Once they are completely cooled, stick three holes at the bottom of the puffs and squeeze the vanilla cream mixture in the puffs. Once filled, slice these puffs, dust them with powdered sugar and serve. Enjoy.

Ingredients;

Eclair batter

• 55g / 1.9Oz Cake flour
• 50ml milk
• 50ml water
• 50g / 1.8Oz unsalted butter
• 15~20g granulated sugar
• Two eggs(Beaten)

Custard cream filling:

• Two egg yolks
• 165ml milk
• 50ml water
• 50g / 1.8Oz unsalted butter
• 25g / 0.9Oz granulated sugar
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 15g corn starch
• 125g / 4.4Oz whipping cream
• 1 tsp of condensed milk（Please feel free to add another tsp of condensed milk if you prefer sweeter filling)