Mini Chocolate Eclairs & Mutiny

In an attempt to to be kind to myself, I swopped my workout at the gym today for a gentle class of Pilates aimed at retired people. That backfired. This is the second time I've taken the class and for whatever reason (the fact that I am clearly under 65), the guy who runs it, takes one look at me, apologises for the gentle pace (which is what I go there for) and then ramps it up!!! Needless to say, I almost didn't manage to get a post up today, I am shattered, my body hurts and my brain is refusing to come up with coherent sentences: in short there is a mutiny going on!

Fortunately for me I had a secret weapon up my sleeve to kick start my body back up again - mini chocolate eclairs. There are quite a few steps to this if you are making everything from scratch but they are tasty and worth the effort if you're having people over or it's an occasion or you're just really keen. They are especially nice to come home to when you have overdone it and your body has gone on strike. Only the richest of sugary foods was going to encourage my body to pull itself together and work with me, if only for a little while.

Last week, for a baby shower, I turned my hand to choux pastry, adapting 3 different recipes to make some mini chocolate eclairs. This was my first time making them and as I'm not a great lover of choux pastry I was more than a little intimidated - how would I know if I got it right, I haven't eaten an eclair for ages?? Improving my pastry skills is one of my (many) goals for 2012 and I had some left over marshmallow flavoured cream from a birthday cake so I figured, why not!

Choux Pastry Recipe 

Makes about 24 mini eclairs

Choux Pastry (adapted from How to Bake by The Great British Bake Off)

100g plain flour sifted

175ml water

1/4 teaspoon salt

75g unsalted butter at room temperature

3 eggs beaten

Marshmallow Cream (adapted from the Whoopie Pies by Love Food)  

100g marshmallows

100ml double cream

1 1/2 tbsp milk

Chocolate Topping (from all recipes UK)

2 tablespoons butter

60g plain chocolate, chopped

125g icing sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas 6 and line a baking sheet with greasproof paper

2. Put the water, salt and butter into a medium sized pan and gently heat until melt the butter is melted, then quickly bring to mixture just to boiling point before adding the flour.

3. Take the pan off the heat and mix vigorously with a wooden spoon until it turns into a smooth dough.

4. Put the pan back on the fire and slightly cook the dough for about 2 minutes until it comes away from the pan in a smooth ball.

5. Tip the  dough into a mixing bowl and leave to cool until it is it just warm then gradually add the eggs using an electric mixer. You will not need to add all of the egg so leave a tablespoon or so. It needs to be shiny and paste like but not too wet.

6. Pour into a piping bag and cut off the end. Pipe 5cm lengths of dough onto the baking sheet, leaving enough space for the rolls to expand.

7. Bake for 15 mins then reduce the temperature to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas 4. Quickly open and close the door to let out the steam and then bake for a further 10 mins.

8. Remove from the oven and poke a small hole in one end of every roll to let the steam come out. Return to the oven for 3-5 mins to make sure they are fully cooked on the inside.

9. Cool on a wire rack.

Marshmallow Cream

1. Melt the marshmallows and milk in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

2. In a separate bowl, whip the double cream until it holds firm peaks. Fold the cooled marshmallow mixture into the cream and leave to set in the fridge for at least 30mins.

Chocolate Topping

1. Heat 2 tablespoons butter with chocolate in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until melted. Remove from heat and stir in icing sugar, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla. Set aside.

To assemble: Slice each eclair in half lengthways. Pipe some cream onto the bottom half of each eclair. Replace the tops and spoon on the chocolate topping. Chill until serving. The eclairs get soggy if left for too long so it's best to assemble them when you are ready to eat them. You can freeze the eclairs and take them out 10 mins before you are ready for them to defrost.

I'm now off to bed, my sugar high has ended, my vision is getting blurred. I hope you had a great start to your week and don't forget there are still a few days left of the giveaway. Click here for more details!

Peace & Love

xx

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Day 4 - Brandy Snaps

So the sweets for Day 4 are Brandy Snaps, a successful foray into these types of biscuits courtesy of the Great British Bake Off cookbook. As far as biscuits go, these were pretty straightforward to make and are tasty. 

Brandy Snaps

Recipe

50g butter

50g demerara sugar

50g golden syrup

50 g plain flour

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven to 180oC/350oF/gas 4 and line a baking sheet with non-stick baking paper. This would also be a good time to prepare a wooden spoon (used to shape the snaps) by oiling the handle.

2. Melt the butter, sugar and syrup in a heavy based pan over a low heat, stirring occasionally. All the sugar should be dissolved but the mixture should not boil.

3. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for about 2 minutes, then sift in the flour and ginger. Finally add the lemon juice and mix thoroughly.

4. Use one rounded teaspoonful of the mixture to make a round shape for the biscuit. Make four biscuits at a time on the baking sheet spacing them 10cm apart. When the mixture becomes too firm to spoon onto the baking sheet, you can roll it into balls using your hands. Only make one baking sheet at a time as they need to be shaped while they are still warm and will dry out too quickly if you have loads to get through.

5. Bake the biscuits for 10-15 mins until the mixture has spread out and has a dark golden colour. Remove from the oven and leave to firm up for a minute. You should be able to lift it using a palette knife.

6. Quickly roll the warm biscuit, lacy side out, around the handle of the oiled wooden spoon and press gently to seal it. I found that using a smaller spoon gave smaller curls, you can choose the size depending on what look you are going for. Leave them to cool on a wire rack and repeat for the rest of the mixture.

7. For chocolate dipped brandy snaps, gently melt some milk chocolate in the microwave on a medium heat for 30 second bursts, stirring in between. Dip the biscuit into the chocolate and leave to dry completely on a non-stick baking sheet.

My favourite type of recipe, easy to make & tastes great. Although one thing confuses me, why are they called Brandy Snaps when there is no brandy in them?? Surely they should be called Ginger Snaps... If anyone can shed light on this mystery I would be very grateful!

Peace & Love

xx

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