Mini Chocolate Eclairs - Le Cordon Bleu Home Collection Tarts & Pastries

I've had this book for a while, it's an old cook book, a basic one for making good pastry, it's Le Cordon Bleu's Home Collection - Tarts & Pastries.

I've used this book for short crust and puffed pastry, I don't like shop bought frozen pastry.   They are so much better home made properly.  I normally have other recipes for choux, but this time, it's the first time for me to use this book for choux.

We had team morning tea again at work, and I thought it would be nice to make mini eclairs, it will be good treat for those who want to watch their waist line, as they are small.

The recipe on the book make 12 eclairs, I made 20 mini ones.

For 1 quantity choux dough:
75g plain flour
50g unsalted butter
pinch of salt
2 tsp caster sugar
2 eggs (I use 59g large eggs)

Recipe called for 125ml water, I do use half milk half water in this recipe instead of just water.
sift flour into a clean baking sheet.
Place water, salt and sugar and butter into a pan, and slowly bring it to boil, remove from heat, add flour all at once.  Mix well with a wooden spoon.  Return to the heat and mix until a smooth ball forms and dough leaves the sides of the pan.
Remove from the heat and place the dough in a bowl, lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl, using a wooden spoon or electric beater, add egg to the dough a little at a time, beat well after each addition, until it's smooth, thick and glossy.
Preheat oven to 180C.
Pipe the dough onto a clean baking sheet (I used my silicon mat) and since I'm making mini ones, they are shorter than the normal 8-10 cms specified by the recipe.  Lightly brush with a beaten egg, but don't let it drip down the sides.  Gently press with a fork.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until crisp and golden - immediately remove and cool on rack.

Pastry Cream (Creme Patisserie)
250ml milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 egg yolks
60g castor sugar
1.5 tbsp plain flour
1.5 tbsp corn flour

Chocolate Ganache
75g chocolate, into small pieces
75g double cream.

To make the pastry cream, place milk and vanilla into small saucepan and slowly bring it into boil.  In a clean bowl, whisk egg yolks with sugar until light in colour. 
Sift in flour and corn flour and mix well until smooth.
Pour half of the boiling milk into the yolk mixture, mix well and return all back to saucepan, with the remaining milk, bring to boil, whisk constantly, for a minute.  Remove from heat, put it into a shallow tray to cool quickly and cover surface with baking paper to prevent skin forming.  Let cool completely.
To make ganache, boil the cream and pour over chocolate and whisk well till all melt.

The next thing to do, is to cut a small hole in the end of the eclairs and pipe cooled cream into it, and spread with ganache, on patty pans, and cool to let ganache set....