lime & lemongrass eclairs

you could just put whipped cream in them, a bit of melted chocolate on top and they would be just as good!

choux

makes 15-20

225g water

5g sugar

3g salt

100g butter, soft

170g flour

250g eggs

pastry cream

zest from 1 lime

2 10inch pieces of lemongrass, beaten with the back of a knife

220g milk

50g sugar

3 egg yolks

10g cornstarch

20g butter, soft

95g whipping cream, whipped to medium peaks

whipped ganache

recipe from matt adlard

380g heavy cream

3g powdered gelatin

18g cold water

130g white chocolate

choux

preheat the oven to 320F, line a baking tray with parchment paper.

in a small saucepan on medium-high heat, bring the water, sugar, salt, and butter to a boil. add in the flour, keep the pan on the heat and beat the mixture with a wooden spoon for 2-3 minutes until it has dried out a little.

transfer the batter to a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the mixture for a couple of minutes to let off some steam, slowly add in the egg mixture bit by bit until a shiny, loose, but still holds its shape batter forms. transfer the mixture to a piping bag, pipe out 4-5 inch logs, bake for 1 hour.

using a small knife poke 2 holes in the bottom of each eclair, bake for another 15 minutes. let cool.

pastry cream

in a small saucepan, combine the milk, zest, lemongrass and bring to just a boil. whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch until pale. slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture whisking the whole time.

transfer the custard back to the pan, whisking continually on medium-high heat until it starts to thicken and just boil, take the pan off the heat and whisk in the butter. pour the custard into a clean bowl and place a piece of cling film directly on the surface, leave in the fridge to cool.

once cool fold the pastry cream into the whipped cream.

whipped ganache

in a small saucepan stir together the gelatin and cold water, set aside for 5-10 minutes, on low heat dissolve the gelatin (don’t let it boil). place the cream in a separate saucepan bring it to a boil, stir in the gelatin.

place the white chocolate in a tall jug, pour the hot cream over, using a stick blender, blend until smooth.

cover with cling film, chill in the fridge for about 6 hours or overnight.

once chilled, place the ganache into the bowl of a stand mixer whisk until medium peaks form.

assembly

spoon the pastry cream into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip.

spoon the ganache into a piping bag with your desired decorating tip.

pipe the pastry cream into the holes you created earlier, pipe some whipped ganache on top, decorate with some extra zest:)