One word -lush !!
Preheat oven to 220c
Put the butter in a saucepan and pour in 150ml water.
Put the pan on a medium heat until the butter melts.
Increase heat and bring to the boil. Remove the pan from heat, quickly tip in the flour and beat mixture until it binds together and comes away from the sides of the pan and forms a ball.
Leave the mixture to cool for at least 10 minutes, then beat in the eggs, one at a time. You can use a hand held electric whisk to do this
Fill a piping bag fitted with the plain piping tube, with the pastry mix
Pipe out lines of the mixture, about 3” onto the lined baking sheets.
Sprinkle some cold water over them, then bake in the centre of oven for 15-20 minutes, move the trays if the ones on the top start to brown quicker than the lower ones
When cooked take them out of the oven.
Pierce each one with a skewer to allow the steam to escape, then return to the oven for a further 5 minutes or until they are crisp.
Remove the trays from oven and transfer them to a rack.
Let them to cool completely.
Cut one side of each éclair and scoop out any soft mixture in the centres using a teaspoon.
Whisk the cream and vanilla extract till stiff but not solid
Pipe cream into the eclairs , don’t overfill
Put the chocolate and butter in a bowl and melt, over a pan of hot water.
Dip the top of each eclair into the mixture.
Leave the topping to set before serving
Enjoy !
Servings 15