Chocolate eclairs

Chocolate eclairs

Method

For the pastry

Preheat the oven to 200ºc.
Heat water and milk and butter in a pot. Once it comes to the boil remove
from the heat and then tip the flour in all in one go, beat the flour into the
liquid. Return the pot to the heat and cook while beating, you want to do this
for at least 1 minute, this will cook the flour. When it is ready the paste should
have formed a ball, it should be shiny and comes easily off from the sides of
the pot.
Remove this from the heat and add to a bowl.
Add in about 1/3 of the egg. Beat this vigorously until the egg has been
incorporated, add the next 1/3 of egg and repeat. You may not need all the
egg so on the last 1/3 hold back a little. Mix it and see where you are with it, if
it doesn’t seem too runny add in the last bit (sometimes it will take and
sometimes it won’t) the mixture should be glossy and fall slowly off a wooden
spoon.
Put this in a piping bag with a nozzle (5mm), if you don’t have a piping bag a
tablespoon will do (dip it in water and take a spoonful from the bowl).
Pipe them in small lines on to a baking sheet leaving plenty of space between
each one.
Place in the oven and do not open the oven for about 20 minutes.
Remove once they are baked and allow them to cool.
Once the have cooled pierce the bottom of each one carefully and then pipe
some whipped cream (whipped with a little icing sugar) into each one.

For the chocolate sauce

Put the chocolate and cream into a small, heavy-based pan over a low heat.
Heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate has melted into the cream to
make a smooth paste.
Stir in the syrup, followed by the butter and salt, to give a glossy sauce.
Keep this warm and pour over the eclairs.