Vanilla cream eclairs

Ingredients

For the cream

• 800 ml milk
• 12 eggs
• 300 g sugar
• 200 g flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 vanilla essences

For the shells

• 450 g flour
• 225 g butter
• 450 ml water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 12 eggs

For decoration

• 30 g vanilla powdered sugar

Preparation

1. Set aside 100 ml of the 800 ml milk and keep it cold. Bring the rest to a boil, about 5 minutes. Mix the egg yolks with the sugar, 200 g flour and reserved milk, then pour the mixture into the hot milk. 2. Cook the cream for 7 minutes, whisking constantly, until thickened. If it’s lumpy, blend it while it’s still hot. 3. Beat the whites of the 12 eggs with 1/8 teaspoon salt, then fold them into the cream. Set the pan over a bain-marie and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring. Remove from the heat, add the vanilla essences, cover the cream with plastic wrap and leave it to cool for 60 minutes. 4. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Put the water, butter and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil, about 5 minutes, until the butter melts. 5. Add 450 g flour and quickly stir it in with a spoon. Keep the mixture over the heat for 7 minutes, until it pulls away from the sides of the pan. 6. Remove the pan from the heat and beat the dough for 5 minutes, just until it cools a little. Add the 12 eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, until you have a smooth dough. 7. Spoon the dough into a piping bag and pipe long or round eclairs onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Leave space between them, as they’ll expand in the oven. 8. Bake for 20 minutes at 200°C without opening the oven door, until golden and crisp. Leave the shells to cool. 9. Cut a little lid into each shell without cutting all the way through. Fill them with the cold cream and sprinkle with 30 g vanilla powdered sugar.