Eclairs with vanilla cream

To make the pastry put the water, salt, sugar and butter in a pan and bring to simmer, until the butter is melted. Turn up to a boil, then remove from the heat and gently add the flour and beat everything together with a wooden spoon. Keep beating until the mixture turns smooth, then tip it into a bowl. Leave it to cool.

Gently beat in the eggs one at a time with a wooden spoon. You must not add another egg if the one before has not yet been incorporated into the mixture. The mixture should be smooth and fall easily off the wooden spoon.

Heat the oven to 200 C/fan 180 C/gas 6. Grease a large tray, aprox. 40 cm x 30 cm and cover it with baking parchment. Put a large nozzle (approx. 1,5 cm) into a piping bag and spoon in the pastry mix. Pipe out oblong shaped lines about 6 cm long. Bake for 20-25 minutes until they are crisp and hollow inside. Cool and then cut them in half horizontally.

For the filling, mix the egg yolks with the sugar and vanilla sugar in a pan, until the latter completely melts. Then add the corn starch, butter and milk and mix thoroughly. Heat the mixture in a water bath (bain-marie) until it thickens. After it has cooled down spread the mixture gently into the base halves of the eclairs.

Whip the cream with the vanilla extract and the powdered sugar. Pipe it into the eclairs over the vanilla layer. Carefully sit the tops and sprinkle with a little powdered sugar. Leave to cool until they are stiff. Serve with coffee or tea.