Vanilla Custard Choux Eclair - cooking recipe

Ingredients

40 g cornflour
35 g unsalted butter
350 ml milk
1 egg
1 vanilla bean
65 g white sugar
120 g icing sugar
1 drop food coloring
2 teaspoons water

Preparation

1. Vanilla Custard.
It is always better to prepare the custard before the choux pastry. It will allow the custard to cool down few hours.
Cut the vanilla bean in the middle and scrap the seeds with a knife tip. You could also use few drops of vanilla extract.
Bring to boil the milk and add the vanilla bean and seeds in the boiling milk.
Remove from heat and let infused for 10 minutes.
In a bowl combine egg, cornflour and sugar and whisk well the mixture until it become yellow/white.
Filter the milk through a coffee filter or sieve.
Pour the warm milk into the previous mixture and whisk vigourously.
Return the mixture into the saucepan under medium heat and keep stirring.
Let boil for 3 more minutes and keep stirring.
Remove from heat and add the diced butter. Stir until it is entirely melted.
Pour the custard into a piping bag and let it cool down for 2 hours (first hour at room temperature and then in the fridge).
2. Prepare the choux pastry or buy eclair shells.
3. The eclairs topping.
Prepare 3 bowls - one for each colour.
Mix 40g of icing sugar with few drops of food colouring.
Add slowly some water with a teaspoon. Usually 2 or 3 teaspoon of water are enough.
Combine with a spoon and stop adding water when the mixture is thick and shiny.
You do not want something too liquid or it will not set on the top of the eclair.
Store in plastic bags.
Cut a edge of the bag to use as a piping bag.
4.Eclairs filling and decorating.
Drill 3 holes on the top of the eclairs and filled with vanilla custard using the piping bag.
Place the eclairs between two baking tray to hid the sides.
Start decorating with the topping prepared in the plastic bag.
Swirl one colour at a time.