White chocolate éclairs with hedgerow jam and mascarpone custard by Shirlee Posner

Decorated with crystallized rose and violet petals and a few chopped pistachio nuts, these éclairs look stunning and make a lovely handmade treat for special occasions. Presented in wrapped box gives the extra wow factor!

Ingredients

• FOR THE CUSTARD
• 2 egg yolks
• 50 g caster sugar
• 1 pod vanilla (extract seeds) or ¼ tsp vanilla bean paste
• 250 g mascarpone cheese (at room temperature)
• 150 ml whipped double cream
• 1 jar hedgerow jam
• FOR THE WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE
• 100 g white chocolate, broken into pieces
• 75 ml double cream
• FOR THE CHOUX PASTRY
• 85 g chopped salted butter
• 100 g plain white flour
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• To decorate - crystallized rose and violet petals, nuts, dried fruit or sprinkles

Preparation

1. A day ahead, make the mascarpone and vanilla custard, as you will need to leave it overnight in the refrigerator to set. To do this ... In a large heat-proof bowl beat the egg yolks, vanilla seeds and sugar together until they are thick and creamy (an electric hand beater is indispensable here). Place the bowl over a medium saucepan of simmering water. Continue beating as the eggs start to cook; this should take around 7-8 minutes. Remove from the heat and continue to whisk for another minute. Put the mascarpone in a small mixing bowl and beat until smooth then, with a rubber spatula, combine with the whipped cream. Fold this into the custard until smooth and lump free. Place in the refrigerator to chill overnight.
2. The topping for the éclairs needs to be made before you make the choux pastry. This way it will be the perfect consistency to use once the choux pastry has cooled. To do this ... Place the ingredients in a heat-proof bowl and cook on high power in a microwave for 30-45 seconds. Remove from the oven and stir thoroughly until all the chocolate has melted. Cover the mixture and set aside until later.
3. For the choux pastry ... Pre-heat the oven to 200°c /180°c fan. Draw 12 x10 cm lines on the back of a sheet of non-stick baking paper and place on a large baking tray. Heat 125ml water with the chopped butter in a medium size saucepan. Briskly stir in the flour and keep mixing until a dough has formed which leaves the side of the pan. Take the pan off the heat and transfer the dough to a mixing bowl and allow to cool slightly. At this point you can use a mixer or continue to mix by hand. Gradually add the egg mixture to the dough - it will be difficult to incorporate at first but it will mix in. Add all the egg to form a shiny thick batter. Scoop the batter into a piping bag with a large circular nozzle around 1.5cm in diameter. Pipe the mixture onto the lines on the baking paper and cook in the oven for 25 -30 mins. They should be firm to touch, puffed up and golden brown. Cool on a rack completely, before filling.
4. For the decoration ... This is where you can let your imagination take hold. A combination of crystallized rose and violet petals looks lovely - the ones for the recipe were sourced from Secretts Farm Shop in Milford, Godalming. Nuts, dried fruit, sprinkles or cake decorations would work well here. With a small sharp knife cut a slit across each éclair. Spread each with a teaspoon and jam. Fill a piping bag with the mascarpone custard and fill each éclair. Carefully dip the top of each éclair in white chocolate ganache or spread on top with a spoon. Now decorate with your selected topping and leave to set in the refrigerator for 1 hour when they will be ready to serve.