Coffee eclairs recipe

Coffee eclairs are the perfect dessert to impress at a dinner party. If you are unsure of your piping skills you could always spoon dollops of the choux onto a baking sheet and spoon the filling into the centre. These coffee eclairs are inspired by the flavours of tiramisu – so a bit of a French and Italian fusion!

Ingredients

For the Choux pastry:

• 50g unsalted butter, melted
• 125ml whole milk
• 1tsp caster sugar
• 1/4tsp salt
• 75g flour
• 2 eggs
• 3 amaretti biscuits, crushed to a crumb

For the filling:

• 300g mascarpone
• 2½tbsp Kahula or cold espresso
• 125g icing sugar

For the decoration:

• 10 chocolate coffee beans
• Cocoa powder, to dust
• Gold leaf, optional

You will also need:

• Star piping nozzle and piping bags

Method

1. Preheat the oven to heat the oven to 150C fan/170C/Gas3. To make the choux pastry: bring the butter, milk, salt and sugar to the boil in a medium sized saucepan, remove from the heat and add the flour, beat until smooth. Return the pan to a medium heat and cook, mixing continuously, until the dough begins to faintly sizzle and stick to the bottom of the pan. Turn out into the bowl of an electric mixer and leave for 5 mins.
2. Beat the eggs, then very gradually incorporate into the dough, beating with the paddle attachment between each addition, until the mixture becomes smooth and glossy with a dropping consistency, if too firm add a little more egg.
3. Using a piping bag pipe put 2cm thick and 10cm long lines onto a lined baking tray leaving space between them. Bake for 50 mins until golden and dry (do not open the oven while cooking). Cool for 20 mins then cut in half.
4. To make the filling: whisk the cream with the sugar and Kahula until thick and put into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle. Pipe into the centre of the eclairs in a spiral. Pipe a swirl on the lid and dust with cocoa powder. Finally, decorate the coffee eclairs with the coffee beans and gold leaf.