Chocolate eclairs

Combine 180 g unsalted butter with 225 g each of water and milk in a large saucepan over medium heat; in a separate bowl combine 225 g bread flour, a tablespoon of sugar and 12 g butter powder.

Bring the butter, water and milk to a bare simmer, take off the heat and mix in the dry ingredients to a thick pasty dough.

Return to medium heat and cook five to seven minutes, stirring constantly, until a thin layer of fond forms on the bottom of the pot.

Dump into a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and pour in six beaten eggs slowly, maybe half a cup at a time, letting each fully incorporate.

Stop when the batter makes an hourglass stretched between two fingers, or a curl when a dipped finger is inverted.

Pipe pastry fingers onto a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet, stopping the squeeze and flipping the tip back onto itself at the end; flatten the tails with a wetted finger. They roughly double in the oven.

A first batch at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 25 minutes exploded; too high a temperature causes a choux explosion.

Bake at 375 Fahrenheit for 30 to 35 minutes, with the convection function for the last 10 minutes of cooking, then cool completely.

Beat 150 g of eggs in a heatproof bowl and set aside.

Whisk a slurry of 40 g cornstarch, 25 g sugar and 50 g whole milk; slice and scrape one vanilla pod.

Combine 400 g whole milk, 50 g sugar and the vanilla bean in a large saucepan and bring just shy of a simmer over medium heat.

Whisk 50 g of sugar into the eggs, temper them with the steaming milk while whisking constantly, then return everything to the pan.

Bring back to a bare simmer over medium heat whisking constantly; once it bubbles pour in the cornstarch slurry slowly and cook about one minute until thick.

Kill the heat, whisk in 45 g unsalted butter until melted and retrieve the vanilla pod.

Spread the pastry cream on a rimmed baking sheet lined with plastic wrap, press more wrap directly onto the surface and chill at least an hour.

Melt 250 g of finely chopped 100% chocolate in a double boiler.

Halfway through add 125 g cubed unsalted butter, about 15 g extra Dutch cocoa powder and 75 g corn syrup, and melt until smooth and glassy.

Cut little Xs at three points in the bottom of each choux and pipe in as much pastry cream as it will take.

Dip the eclairs upside down in the chocolate glaze, holding them vertically to let the chocolate drip off one side for clean edges, then set 15 minutes.

Beat the cold heavy cream, vanilla extract and powdered sugar into chantilly cream and pipe decorations onto the eclairs.

Variation: pipe big choux puffs and bake at 350 for about 40 minutes so they cook through without burning.

Variation: flavour the pastry cream with a few healthy glugs of banana extract, fill the puff to the brim, dip, let it drip horizontally, set 15 minutes and finish with a gnarled stripe of chantilly cream.