Recipe: Caramel And Orange Eclairs

Sorted

This is homage to 2 separate sweet dishes from France. The eclair, which we know often becomes the vessel for countless delicious flavours and toppings and crepe suzette. Plus an impressive flambéed dessert often cooked at the table. When orange pastry cream meets caramel frosting and candied orange, all encased with crisp golden choux pastry you know you've yet French heaven!

Ingredients

For The Choux Paste

100 g butter, cubed
125 g plain flour
4 medium eggs
1 pinch salt

For The Pastry Cream

7 egg yolks
75 g caster sugar
6 tsp cornflour
500 ml whole milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
25 g plain flour
1 orange
50 ml grand marnier

For The Candied Orange

1 orange
100 ml water
100 g caster sugar

To Decorate

2 tbsp butter
2 shots milk
110 g soft brown sugar
130 g icing sugar

Step 1

Preheat The Oven

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Step 2

Start The Pastry

Add 250ml of water to a pan with the butter and a pinch of salt and heat to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the plain flour until the mixture is coming away from the sides of the pan.

Step 3

Finish The Pastry

Move to a big bowl and whisk in the eggs one at a time until completely incorporated and glossy, use a machine if you have one for ease. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag.

Step 4

Pipe And Bake

Pipe the pastry into lines approximately 10cm long and 2cm wide on a lined or non-stick baking tray, keeping plenty of space between them. Bake the pastry for 15 minutes, until puffed up and golden brown.

Step 5

Make The Candied Peel

Peel the skin from the orange used for the candied orange using a peeler or a knife and cut those peeling into very thin julienne. Dump into a saucepan with the 100g of sugar & 100ml water and heat to a boil. bubble the rind for 10 minutes, then leave to cool.

Step 6

Start The Pastry Cream

Beat the egg yolks for the pastry cream with the sugar, vanilla and orange zest in a bowl, then whisk the flour and cornflour into the egg mixture.

Step 7

Pour Over The Milk

Heat the milk in a pan to a boil. Remove the milk from the heat and pour over the egg mixture as you whisk..

Step 8

Finish The Cream & Cool

Return the custard to the pan and gently cook until it thickens and is not at all runny, unlike crème anglaise this can bubble and boil since the flour stabilises it. Put the pastry cream in the fridge to cool. Stir the orange liquor into the cooled pastry cream (optional).

Step 9

Fill The Eclairs

Slice the cooled éclairs lengthways, about half way through to create a pocket. Spoon the orange cream into a piping bag and pipe into the pocket of each one.

Step 10

Make The Frosting

Melt the butter and milk for the frosting in a pan and add the brown sugar. Heat until bubbling, then remove from the heat and beat in the sifted icing sugar. Dip the top of the éclairs into the caramel frosting, taking care not to get any on your fingers and put them aside to set.