Profiteroles and eclairs are easier than you think

Your guide to choux pastry and a recipe for eclairs with raspberry filling and white chocolate ganache 

Master choux pastry and you'll never look back. 

Choux pastry originates in France and can be used as a base for many different buns — eclairs and profiteroles being the most popular.

A bit of elbow grease is needed if you are making these buns by hand, or a mixer does come in handy. It is good to place a small ovenproof dish filled with water into the oven when the pastry shells are baking. It helps make lighter buns with more air and as there is no raising agent in choux buns, they rely on the high moisture content of the steam during baking to help them puff up and rise. When you are making the pastry you will notice it is not quite as firm as a more traditional pastry dough — the texture should lie somewhere between a batter and a dough. This is why piping it works best.

White chocolate can be quite sweet but the ratio of cream in the filling lightens the recipe included here and makes it a little more pleasant in my opinion. The tartness of the raspberries also pairs very well with the filling.

Profiteroles or eclairs with raspberry filling and chocolate ganache

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

White chocolate can be quite sweet but the ratio of cream in the filling lightens the recipe included here and makes it a little more pleasant in my opinion. The tartness of the raspberries also pairs very well with the filling

Servings

16

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 40 mins

Course

 Baking

Cuisine

 French

Ingredients

• 50g butter, softened

• 2 tsp golden caster sugar

• 150ml water

• 75g strong flour

• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

• For the cream:

• 125g raspberries

• 15g icing sugar, sieved

• 125g cream, whipped to stiff peaks

• For the ganache:

• 150mls cream

• 90g white chocolate, broken into small even-sized pieces

Method

1. Line two flat baking trays with parchment.

2. Put the butter, sugar, and water into a pan and heat slowly until boiling.

3. Remove from the heat and add in the flour stirring vigorously until it is combined and forms a dough.

4. Slowly add the eggs with a wooden spoon or with a mixer on its first speed. The mixture should be glossy and hold its shape.

5. Preheat the oven to 200°C and line to large flat baking trays with parchment.

6. Fill a piping bag with the dough, use a large nozzle about a cm in diameter. Pipe strips of dough approximately 4 inches in length. Try to ensure your buns are all the same size so they bake at the same rate. Leave room between each one so that they can spread.

7. Fill an oven-proof dish with water and place it onto the floor of your oven.

8. Bake one tray of buns at a time and bake for about 30 minutes until golden and puffed up.

9. When making profiteroles you follow the same procedure just pipe less for each bun and pipe a small round swirl rather than an oblong shape. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until golden and puffed up. Transfer either buns onto a wire rack to cool.

10. To make the cream, mash the raspberries and the sugar together. Fold this through the whipped cream until combined.

11. Heat the cream for the ganache until shivering and then remove it from the heat. Stir in the white chocolate until it is melted and fully combined. Once this is at room temperature you can place it into a piping bag and fill the choux pastry with it.