Cream Puffs and Eclairs
Ingredients
2½ ounces (70 grams) butter
¼ pint (140 millilitres) water
4 ounces (115 grams) of plain flour
3 eggs
1 dessert spoon of sugar
Pastry - Method
Put the butter, sugar and water into a saucepan and bring to the boil.
Add flour and beat in vigorously.
Turn down the heat, and cook the batter thoroughly, stirring to prevent scorching on the bottom, until the mixture can be lifted out in one mass, and doesn’t stick to the sides or bottom of the saucepan.
Remove to a mixing bowl.
Break up to allow steam to escape.
Then add eggs one at a time, mixing each one in well.
Cream Puffs – Method
Pipe out the mixture with a ½ inch (13 millimetre) tube (RL0: I believe this is fitted to a piping bag) or spoon into small round balls, onto lightly greased trays, leaving plenty of space in between as they expand considerably.
Cover with a fruit cake tin or baking dish.
Bake in a hot oven (425°F/210°C or 190°C for fan forced) for 15 minutes.
Reduce to moderate heat (375°F/190°C or 170° for fan forced) for 15 minutes.
RL: I will point out that someone wrote some alternative temperature and time in pencil on this recipe, so the above two lines became: Line 1 450°F for 7 minutes, line 2: same temperature but for 30 minutes.
Don’t remove tin until the cooking time is up or they will collapse.
Eclairs -Method
Pipe out the pastry in 3 inch (7.5 centimetres) lengths onto a lightly greased tray with a piping bag (RL: Although AA does appear to say ‘forcing bag’) with a 1/2 inch (13 millimetre) tube.
Bake at 425°F (210°C or 190°C for fan forced) for 15 minutes, then at 375° (190°C or 1790°C for fan forced) for a further 10 minutes.
For both Cream Puffs and Eclairs
Remove from the trays while still hot.
Cool on a cake cooler (RL: tray).
Fill (RL: I’m guessing with whipped cream, and maybe flavoured with coffee, etc) preferably just before eating, otherwise they go soggy.
Toffee Glaze for Cream Puffs
Dissolve ½ cup sugar in ¼ cup of water.
Bring to the boil.
Cook until golden colour.
Wait until the bubbles disappear before spooning over the top of the filled cream puffs.
Top immediately with crushed nuts.
Written by Anne O’Brien, with additional comments by Rob Landsberry, last updated 16 April 2024