Even the simplest tarts are executed with a high level of technicality and finesse. Pastry Chef Cheryl Koh and her team creates artisanal tarts and other confectionaries baked from scratch and made with seasonal ingredients from around the world.
Makes 30 eclairs
Prep Time: 35 min
Bake time: 30 min
Pate A Choux
125g Milk
125g Water
100g Unsalted Butter
1g Salt
40g Sugar
150g Plain flour
240g Eggs
- Preheat oven to 160 degree Celsius.
- Combine milk, water, unsalted butter, salt and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring it to a simmer.
- Once the mixture has boiled, add the sieved flour all at once, cooking it for 7 minutes until the mixture turns into a dough.
- Transfer the dough into a mixing bowl and allow it to cool down slightly before adding in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Once the dough reaches a shiny, thick and smooth texture, transfer it to a piping bag with a star tip.
Pipe the dough onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper in 7cm strips.
- Bake the dough at 160 degree Celsius for 30 minutes.
- Remove the eclairs from the oven and allow it to cool to room temperature.
Tips:
- Ensure that butter, sugar and salt are completely melted before adding sieved flour.
- Sift the flour before adding into milk and butter mixture to avoid any lumps in the dough.
- If you do not have a star tip, you can use a fork to score the dough before baking it. By doing so, it helps the eclairs to expand evenly while baking.
- Avoid opening the oven doors for the first 20-25 minutes to prevent the dough from collapsing .
- Do not bake the eclairs at too high of a temperature to avoid cracks on the surface.
Tahiti Vanilla Pastry Cream
250g Milk
3pcs Egg yolk
35g Sugar
20g Cornstarch
1pc Vanilla beans
- Combine milk and vanilla bean in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer.
- While waiting for the milk mixture to simmer, combine the egg yolk, sugar and corn starch in a mixing bowl.
- As soon as the milk starts to simmer, remove it from the heat and pour half of the boiled milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture while whisking it constantly.
- Once the eggs have been tempered, pour the mixture back into the saucepan and slowly bring it to a boil while stirring it constantly. Cook the mixture until it comes to a boil and thickens.
- Pour the custard into a heat-proof container.
- Refrigerate the custard until chilled.
- Once the pastry cream is completely chilled, mix it with a spatula to soften it slightly before using.
Tip:
- Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the container containing the custard to prevent a “skin” from forming.
Chocolate Cream
120g Dark chocolate
14g Glucose syrup
14g Inverted sugar
100g Hot Cream
225g Cold Cream
- Combine cream, glucose syrup and inverted sugar in a saucepan and bring it to a boil.
- While waiting for the mixture to come to a boil, chop your dark chocolates into smaller pieces and transfer it into a mixing bowl.
- Once the cream mixture comes to a boil, immediately pour it over to the dark chocolate and mix well until the dark chocolate has melted completely.
- Once the chocolate has completely melted, mix the cold cream into the mixture and keep it in the chiller overnight.
- After placing it in the chiller overnight, whip the mixture into stiff peaks and it is ready to be used.
Fill piping bag with cream and squeeze gently into the cooled eclairs.