Here is another recipe for choux pastry (suitable for chocolate eclairs, cream puffs etc)
Ingredients:230g water
60g butter
120g plain flour (I use wheat)
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs (each weighing about 70-75g in shell)
whipped cream (600g bottle for this amount of eclairs
)
chocolate icing
Method:Preheat oven to 210 degrees (see notes).
Grease and flour 2 medium oven trays (or one very large). I use butter to grease them lightly and then place 1 tsp of flour in the corner of each tray. I then tilt and tap the tray until each is lightly covered in flour.
Add water and butter to TMX bowl and heat for 6 minutes at 100 degrees, speed 2.
Add flour and baking powder and mix for 10 seconds on speed 4. Scrape down sides of bowl and mix for another 10 seconds on speed 4.
Take lid off bowl and set aside for 5 minutes until cooled slightly.
Set blades spinning at speed 4 and add eggs one at a time (about ten seconds apart). It should only take 40 seconds in total.
Place the mixture onto the trays. For chocolate eclairs I use a heaped oval tablespoon full of mixture and use a knife to take it off the spoon and stretch it into a small thin sausage shape spaced well apart on the tray. You can of course pipe them. For cream puffs just place rounded spoonfuls of mixture onto the tray. I make 15-16 chocolate eclairs using this recipe.
Bake the eclairs for 15 minutes at 210 degrees and then turn your oven back to 180 degrees for a further 20-30 minutes. Do not open the oven door in the first 30 minutes of cooking. Watch them carefully from 15 minutes at 180 degrees and leave them as long as you can without letting them burn (although they don't have sugar in them so they don't burn easily). Every oven is different but mine are perfectly cooked after 15 minutes at 210 and 25 minutes at 180.
Fill with cream and spread with chocolate icing. Yum!
Notes:The two main variables in this recipe are egg size and oven temperature:
Egg Size - If your mixture is too thick (eggs too small) the eclairs will most likely be quite uncooked in the centre. A little softness in the centre is fine (and better than totally dry and crunchy), but not filled with uncooked dough. Add an extra half of an egg (beaten) if you are feel your mixture is too thick.
Oven temperature - If your oven is slightly hot or cold you may need to adjust the temperatures. The choux should be puffed and already browning after 15 minutes at 210.
