Mini eclairs with rose-flavoured cream

If preparation of homemade eclairs sounds as a too ambitious cooking endeavour to you, we are here to assure you that we used to feel the same way. With today’s recipe however we invite you to pluck up courage and try. That’s another cooking abilities level to climb, and it’s worth it as those little temptations will prove themselves to be great choice for every special occasion, like the first day of school, which in Bulgaria takes place on 15^th of September.

Speaking of school, here a question you are probably ready to ask – those little round desserts, aren’t they called profiteroles? Actually, we can say that’s also true. Eclairs and profiteroles are generally made the same way, with choux pastry and cream filling, the main difference coming from their shape. Eclairs are usually bigger and long-shaped, sometimes covered with chocolate frosting, while profiteroles are round and with the size of one bite.

Our personal preference goes for the naming ‘eclairs’ mainly due to the meaning of the word, „éclair”, from French, ‘flash of lightning’. And those mini eclairs with rose-flavoured cream filling will definitely disappear in the speed of lightning once you serve them.

MINI ECLAIRS WITH ROSE-FLAVOURED

PRODUCTS:
for about 36 pcs

For the dough:
125 g milk
125 g water
125 g butter
140 g flour
4 eggs
1 tea spoon sugar
½ tea spoon salt

For the cream:
6 yolks
500 ml milk
80 g sugar
1 vanilla pod
100 g Rosey’s mark rose jam

To smear on top:
1 yolk
1 table spoon milk

PREPATATION METHOD:

1. Let’s start with the dough. In a small saucepan heat the milk, water, butter, salt and sugar, till boiling.
2. Remove from the heat and add all the flour at once.
3. Stir energetically till all the flour is mixed in and the dough starts separating from the saucepan walls.
4. Let cool for 10 minutes and add the eggs, one by one, stirring energetically after each.
5. At this point you should have shiny, sticky, stretchy dough.
6. Move the dough into a pastry bag and, in a tray covered with baking paper, start shaping the eclairs leaving enough space between them.
7. Mix one yolk with one table spoon of milk and brush over the eclairs, evening carefully from all sides.
8. Bake for 20 minutes in already hot oven at 180˚С, till golden. Let cool.

9. For the cream, warm up the milk with the vanilla and 40 g of sugar till boiling.
   10. In a big bowl, mix the yolk for the cream with the rest 40 g of sugar till the mixture becomes thick and pale.
   11. Slowly start adding the milk to the yolks, always stirring.
   12. After the full quantity of the milk is stirred in, move the mixture in a saucepan and cook for about 5-6 minutes at moderate to strong heat, stirring all the time.
   13. When the cream thickens remove from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
   14. Add the rose jam in, stir and let cool completely in fridge.
   15. To put together the eclairs, cut the upper part, fill in with the cream and close.