Caramel eclairs

1 Start by making the caramel. Just- cover the bottom of a medium saucepan with water. Add the sugar and, on a medium heat, bring to a boil. Cook until the sugar turns a deep golden – if you have a sugar thermometer, the temperature will be 200°C.

2 Off the heat, use a balloon whisk to mix in the cream a little at a time (be careful not to burn yourself on the steam). Once the bubbling subsides, add the butter and salt, mixing until smooth. Pour onto a small baking tray to cool, then chill.

3 Heat the oven to 180°C .

4 For the choux pastry, melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the milk, sugar and salt and bring to a boil. Off the heat, stir in the flour until smooth, then return to a medium heat, mixing constantly for 2 min. Transfer the dough to the bowl
of a stand mixer to cool for 15 min.

5 With the beater attachment running slowly, add the beaten egg a little at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl between each addition. You may not need it all – stop adding when the mixture has a dropping consistency (smooth and glossy, and falls off the paddle).

6 Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with the star nozzle and pipe 20 × 9 cm-long sausage shapes on a lightly greased tray, spaced apart.

7 Bake for 25 min, until golden (resist opening the oven door, or the eclairs may sink). Transfer to a cooling rack.

8 Once cool and ready to serve, cut in half. Whip the cream and swirl through 3 tbsp of the cooled caramel. Spoon into a clean piping bag with the star nozzle and pipe onto the base of each eclair.

9 Spread the remaining caramel on each lid then sandwich, finishing with chopped pecans and flaked sea salt.

You can freeze the uncooked piped dough, then cook straight from frozen for 35–40 min