Chocolate Éclairs (and Doughnuts)

Last week we gave you the recipe for choux pastry. Master it and a whole world of show stopping desserts unfolds. Profiteroles are always welcome. For special occasions, make a croquembouche, a giant tower of them held together with caramelised sugar. Spanish churros and French beignets are other possibilities, but for me the choux classic has to be the chocolate éclair.

I have to say that my skills with a piping bag are rudimentary. For the dough you will need one with a 1.25cm plain nozzle. The cream should also be piped in for a neater finish.

Ingredients (makes 12 small éclairs)

Quantity of choux pastry dough (see last week's recipe); 200ml whipping cream; 5tsp icing sugar, sifted; 1tsp vanilla extract; 100g chocolate, milk or dark - your choice).

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Preheat the oven to 200˚C/Mark 6. Put the dough into your piping bag and pipe 12 x 10cm lengths on to a greased baking tray. (Better still, use a silicon mat if you have one.) Sprinkle the tray, not the pastry, with a few drops of water and bake for 15 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 175˚C/Mark 3. DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR. Bake for a further 10 minutes until your éclairs are golden brown and crisp.

Remove the tray from the oven and carefully make a small hole in the side of each éclair to allow the steam to escape. Return to the oven for a further 5 minutes or so until the pastry is completely crisp. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

While they are cooling, prepare the filling and the topping. Whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla extract until stiff. Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt it in a bowl over (not in) a pan of simmering water.

Once your éclairs have cooled, cut down the side of each one and pipe in the cream. Top with the chocolate and voilà!

Doughnuts

Oh, yes, I suppose you also want to know what do with the doughnut dough you have in the fridge.

Ingredients

Quantity of dough from last week: vegetable oil - you may need up to 2 litres; caster sugar for tossing.

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Remove the dough from the fridge and cut into 50g pieces; Roll them into tight balls and place them on a well floured baking tray. Unlike bread rolls, the spacing is important. You don't want them to stick together during the second prove. Cover loosely and leave until doubled in size. This will take about 4 hours.

Ideally you want a pan large enough to take at least three at a time. The oil should be at least halfway up the pan. Heat to 180˚C. The temperature is really important here. I would strongly advise using a thermometer. Carefully slide the doughnuts off the tray and into the pan using a floured dough scraper. Don't crowd them. Fry for 2 minutes per side until golden brown. They will float, so dunk them down from time to time.

Drain on kitchen paper then toss in a bowl of caster sugar while still warm and, ideally, eat straight away.

Right, that's as far as I'm going. If you want to get fancy and start stuffing them, you're on your own. Here's a link to a recipe. Good luck.