Maple Bacon Eclairs | Food Production and Preservation | Forums

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YOU'LL NEED...

1 cup water

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut in to small pieces

1 tsp sugar

½ tsp salt

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

4 eggs + 1 egg white

Brown Sugar Pastry Cream:

2 cups milk

6 egg yolks

½ cup light brown sugar, packed

⅓ cup cornstarch

½ tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract

3 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut in to small pieces

Maple Glaze: 1 cup powdered sugar and 4 Tbsp pure maple syrup

Brown Sugar Candied Bacon: 5 sliced bacon (preferably thick cut)and 5 tsp brown sugar

LET'S GET COOKING...

Bring the water, butter, sugar and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove the pan from the heat and quickly stir in the flour with a wooden spoon.

Cook the mixture over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with the wooden spoon, until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan and film forms on the bottom of the pan, around 1-2 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl. Cover with cling wrap and allow to cool for 10 min. Use a wooden spoon to give it a quick mix before you add an egg and mix until completely combined into the dough. Add each egg one at a time. You’ll know the dough is ready when you grab it with two fingers and it’s sticky and doesn’t break apart from itself right away. It may take 4 egg, it may take 5 depending on the mixture. Ensure each egg is mixed in well until you reach that consistency.

Preheat the oven to 220C (425F) and prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper. Fill a pastry bag with the batter and and pipe out oblong shapes, around 3½ inches long and 1 inch wide.

Place the unbaked éclairs in the oven for 10 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake until golden brown, for 25 more minutes. Take out the baked pastries and placed them on a wire rack to cool.

While the pastries are baking, make the brown sugar pastry cream. In a medium saucepan off the stove, whisk together the egg yolks, brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and salt until blended.

Microwave the milk for 3 minutes to bring it to a boil (you can do this on the stove as well) then drizzle in ¼ cup of the hot milk to temper the eggs so they don’t curdle.

Whisk in the remaining milk then put the pan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil, continuously whisking. Once boiling, stir for 1 more minute then remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla bean paste.

Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes then whisk in the bits of butter. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the cream and refrigerate until cold.

To prepare the candied bacon: increase the oven temperature to 200C (400F). Place 5 slices of bacon on a foil lined baking sheet and sprinkle around 1 teaspoon of brown sugar on each slice.

Cook the bacon in the oven for 6 minutes, flip each piece over carefully and finish cooking for another 4-6 minutes. Use tongs to move the bacon to a plate as soon as it comes out of the oven and let it cool until hard and crunchy.

For the maple glaze, just whisk together the powdered sugar and maple syrup. Done.

To assemble the éclairs poke 4 holes in the bottom of each éclair. Insert a pastry bag with pastry cream in to each hole and gently fill with pastry cream. You’ll feel the pressure when it’s time to stop filling it

Dip the top of each eclair in the maple glaze and return to the wire rack so the glaze can set.

When the icing is almost set, top each eclair with a sprinkle of the candied bacon.