From The Straits Times    |

COORDINATION Mia Chenyze PHOTOGRAPHY Jasper Yu ART DIRECTION & STYLING Nikki Ho TWO BAKERS 88 Horne Road (6293-0329)

Berry Eclair with Vanilla Cream

Makes 10 eclairs

INGREDIENTS

For the choux pastry:
160ml whole milk
160ml water
160g unsalted butter
4g salt
5g castor sugar
2g vanilla bean paste*
160g all-purpose flour
240g eggs (about 5 eggs), measured after cracking the shells

For the vanilla cream:
1 gelatine sheet*
65g castor sugar
10g glucose*
25ml water
70g whipping cream* (35 per cent fat), microwaved for 20sec until warm to the touch
55g cold unsalted butter
2g vanilla bean paste*
165g mascarpone, at room temperature

For garnish:
¼ punnet blueberries
5 strawberries, halved
1 apricot, quartered and halved again

*Available at baking supply stores like Phoon Huat (including 171 Bencoolen Street, tel: 6338-1143). Visit www.phoonhuat.com for a list of outlets.

DIRECTIONS

To make the choux pastry:


1 Preheat the oven to 180 deg C. Combine the milk, water, butter, salt, sugar and vanilla bean paste in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the flour and stir vigorously with a spatula until the batter pulls away from the sides.


2 In an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, mix the dough for about 2min until it cools to lukewarm. Add one egg at a time, mixing well each time. After adding the four th egg, check to see if the batter is smooth – scoop up some batter to see if it drips in a triangular shape. If it does, skip the last egg. If not, add it in.


3 Transfer the batter into a piping bag. Using a star-shaped tip (Chef Erica recommends the 8B piping tip from Wilton), pipe the eclairs to about 13cm long on a baking tray, and bake them for 10min. Reduce the temperature to 170 deg C and bake for 25min. Chill the eclair shells until ready to use.

To make the vanilla cream
1 Soften the gelatine sheet by soaking it in cold water for at least 5min. Then, wring or press gently to remove excess water, and set aside.
2 In a saucepan, cook sugar, glucose and water until boiling. Stir in the warm cream to deglaze the pan.
3 Add butter and vanilla bean paste, and stir well. Cover the top of the mixture with cling wrap and leave to cool.
4 Pour the mascarpone into a large mixing bowl. Gradually add the cooled vanilla mixture and stir well. Cover with cling wrap and leave it in the fridge overnight to set.

To assemble the eclairs
1 Take the vanilla cream out of the chiller and whisk it lightly. Transfer to a disposable piping or ziplock bag and cut off the tip.
2 Take the eclairs out of the chiller and cut off a rectangular portion from the top of each one. Pipe the vanilla cream into each hollowed-out eclair shell. Garnish with the fruits.

TIP: Place the cling wrap directly onto the vanilla cream to prevent a film from forming.