Chocolate Eclairs

This is one of my favourite dessets. I remember the small bakery that we used to frequent where eclairs would have been made fresh everyday and kept in glass shelves. 
Eclairs are really choux (shoo-)pastry - a light pastry made out of water, flour, butter and eggs. This was supposed invented by a Florentine chef-Panterelli in the 1500s. 


Pastry:

1. All Purpose Flour-  65gms/2.25 oz
2. Pinch of salt
3. Butter, diced - 50gms/1.75 oz
4. Water - 150 ml/5 fl.oz
5. Eggs, lightly beaten-  2

Filling:

1. Double/heavy cream-  200 ml-300 ml/6.75floz- 10floz.
2. Sugar 5- 6 tsp
3. Vanilla essence ¼ tsp
4. Chocolate 75-100 gms/2.65oz to 4 oz
5. Butter 25 gms/1oz
6. Water 2 tbsp

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F/218°C.
2. Sift the APF with salt.
3. Combine the butter and water and heat on medium.
4. Increase heat and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to low.
5. Remove from heat and add in the flour all at once. Get back on heat and stir till it forms a ball and is shiny. 
6. Set aside to cool for 3 minutes. THIS IS A CRUCIAL STEP- as the success of the choux pastry depends on the coolness of the flour mix.
7. Add in the beaten eggs and beat well till it is a shiny paste and thick enough to hold its shape. If the above step is not followed, the eggs will tend to cook resulting in a flat pastry.
8. Spoon choux pastry into bag fitted with 1“ plain nozzle. Pipe 4” lengths to the baking sheet with parchment on it. If you don't have a pastry bag, put it in a zipper bag. Snip off one of the corners at an angle- about an inch wide.
9. Place in the oven. Close the door and lower the temperature to 400°F/ 218°C. Bake for 25-30 minutes or till pastries are well risen and golden brown. Remove from oven and make a neat slit to release steam. Lower oven temperature to 350°F/180°C and bake for a further 5 minutes.
10. Let cool.

Filling:

1. Whip cream with sugar and vanilla till it holds its shape.
2. Spoon into piping bag.
3. Pipe whipped cream into split eclairs.

Glaze:

1. Place chocolate and water into a bowl set over hot water. Make sure the bowl does not touch hot water.
2. Melt chocolate, stirring untill smooth. Add in the butter and stir till smooth and shiny.
3. Dip the eclairs into the chocolate. Set in a cool place till chocolate sets. Best eaten within 2 hrs.