Dani is right – this is a great recipe to improve your piping skills. I didn’t even use a proper piping bag – I used the cheats way and put the mixture in a zip lock bag and snipped off the corner. Works every time, and there’s no mess oozing out of the top. My eclairs were on the large side – I got about 15 out of the recipe, so in theory they were twice the size of the ones in the recipe. I do need some more piping practice though, so I might hunt down some disposable piping bags and see if they make a difference.
I made the first batch on Saturday for a party on Sunday. I like my eclairs to be a little crunchy, so to make sure they didn’t go soggy, I cut them in half and put them in the oven at about 150 c for about 10 minutes about an hour before I wanted to start constructing them. I was able to assemble them an hour or so before our guests arrived and they were perfect – and so easy to prepare – some prosciutto, a bit of rocket, and some cubed quince paste.
I have made choux pastry countless times and have always been lucky with making eclairs. Doing the choux pastry in the thermomix was a first for me – and it worked really well. This was also the first time I have used baking paper to line the tray, and I don’t think the eclairs were as puffy as the ones I have made before – but I always used to grease the tray well, and then put some water on the tray – the theory goes that the steam helps the eclairs rise. They were still pretty good though!
I’m not overly fond of blue cheese, but the flavour isn’t overpowering, and the prosciutto and quince cut through nicely. In my first batch I used some King Island Roaring 40’s and for my second lot I used a gorgonzola. For mine, the gorgonzola was a much nicer flavour.
These eclairs would be great for finger food for a party, which is what we used them as yesterday.
In the Mix Tricks 