Heart-shaped chocolate eclair

Cut the vanilla bean in half, split it lengthwise with the knife point and scrape out the seeds.

In a pan combine the vanilla seeds, a little white sugar, cornstarch and a big pinch of salt; add one egg and two yolks, then the milk, and whisk well.

Cook over medium heat, stirring almost constantly and scraping the whole bottom, until very thick and holding its shape; give it another 20 or 30 seconds near the end.

Off the heat, whisk to release steam, add the four chunks of cold butter all at once and stir until the butter disappears.

Pass through a strainer to catch any fibrous bits of vanilla pod, wrap tightly and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled and firm, at least two or three hours.

For the pate choux, bring butter cut into small pieces, water and a pinch of salt to a simmer over medium-high heat, so the butter melts before too much water evaporates.

Dump in the flour all at once and stir with a wooden spoon until a buttery dough forms; keep cooking over medium-high until a starchy film forms on the bottom of the pan.

Turn off the heat and keep stirring another minute so the dough lifts the starch off the pan, then transfer to a bowl.

Whisk in two eggs one at a time, first mixing a little dough into each egg; keep stirring until it pulls together into a very sticky dough. Clean the whisk with a spatula; the dough should hang off the spatula in a pointy V.

Transfer to a pastry bag with about a half-inch opening and pipe two heart shapes about six inches across on a Silpat-lined baking sheet, then pipe a second layer on top using the rest of the dough.

Fill sparse spots and smooth imperfections with wet fingers.

Bake in the centre of a 425 degree oven about 30 minutes, until beautifully browned.

Turn off the oven, put the hearts back in with the door propped open with a wooden spoon, and let them cool slowly for an hour so they dry out and stay crisp.

Split each heart open with a serrated knife and open space inside with your fingers.

Pipe the cold pastry cream generously into the bottom from a pastry bag and replace the top.

For the ganache, pour very hot heavy cream over dark chocolate chips, let sit two or three minutes, then whisk until it comes together shiny.

Cool the ganache about five minutes, before it firms up, and spoon it over the top.

Fill the centre with raspberries and dust with cocoa; optionally dust the berries with powdered sugar.

Chill in the fridge for a little while so the ganache firms to a fudge-like texture before cutting.