food
Savoury Eclairs
Welcome to eclairs like you've never seen before. This savoury twist on a classic will make you rethink everything you know about French pastries. An easy choux and a delicious cheesy filling, all topped with a bruléed slice of camembert.
food
Savoury Eclairs
Welcome to eclairs like you've never seen before. This savoury twist on a classic will make you rethink everything you know about French pastries. An easy choux and a delicious cheesy filling, all topped with a bruléed slice of camembert.
Supplies
- 50 millilitres water
- 50 millilitres milk
- 50 grams unsalted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 80 grams strong white flour
- 2 medium eggs (110-120g), beaten
- 2 Camembert
- Caster sugar
Steps
- Preheat the oven to 170C fan (190C non fan) Put the water, milk, butter and salt into a saucepan and bring to the boil, then remove from the heat. Sieve the flour, then tip it into the milk mixture and mix it vigorously with a wooden spoon, to bring it together.
- Return the pan to the heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, then take it off the heat and let it cool for 2 minutes while you prepare the eggs.
- Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl, then tip in the pastry mix and beat it all together with a whisk or wooden spoon until it’s smooth. You should be able to run your finger through it and for it to hold its shape.
- Transfer the pastry mix into a piping bag fitted with a 2 centimetre open star French piping tip.
- Secure a piece of non stick baking paper onto a baking sheet by piping a small amount of pastry under each corner of paper. Pipe 8 eclairs, 12 centimetres long, onto the baking sheet - leaving at least a 5 centimetre gap between them.
- Put the baking sheet into the hot oven and cook for 30 minutes, after which the eclairs should have risen and turned golden brown. Use a chopstick to make three small holes, evenly spaced, along the bottom of each eclair so that steam can escape. Put them back into the oven, upside down, for 5 minutes then straight onto a wire rack to cool.
- Once the eclairs have cooled, slice the top off the Camembert and scoop the creamy filling into a piping bag fitted with the same piping tip.
- Slice the eclairs lengthways along one edge, with the ‘hinge’ lower down on one side, and the cut higher up on the other. Carefully pipe Camembert into the eclairs.
- With the remaining Camembert, cut eight thin slices and press them carefully on top of each eclair. Load them up with caster sugar and use a blow torch to brulee the top. Leave to cool and then serve.