Eclairs

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. In a medium-sized pot, mix together water, milk, butter, salt and sugar. IMPORTANT: make sure to cut butter into 1” side pieces or smaller, otherwise it may not have enough time to melt before milk and water start boiling. Bring your mixture to boil over medium high, whisk well to make sure that sugar and salt get fully dissolved. Have the flour handy,measured and sifted. 
2. Once the mixture boils, remove it from the heat and add all flour at once. Quickly whisk it in to fully incorporate. Make sure there are no traces of dry flour, then return the dough to medium heat. Switch to the spatula (wooden spatula is more traditional, but I believe that silicone one is much more practical). Cook the dough for 2-3 minutes, until you see a thin film of dough forming on the bottom of the pot. 
3. Transfer the dough into a bowl and let it cool slightly before adding eggs. If you have a stand mixer - you can just run it on a low speed to let extra steam out and help the dough cool faster. If not - totally fine (thankfully we are not making 20 lbs of choux pastry here!)- just spread it over the sides of the bowl in a thin layer and wait 5 min or so. In the meantime, whisk your eggs in a small bowl until they are well combined. 
4. Once your dough is not too hot but pleasantly warm to touch, start adding your eggs little by little (this is the key). Depending on how much moisture you managed to get rid of in previous steps, you might need a little more or a little less than 200 grams of eggs. If using a stand mixer - use paddle attachment on medium-low speed (I did the whole thing by hand and it works just as well). Mix in about 50 grams of eggs at a time, after the first two additions reduce the amount to 2 tbsp per addition. Start checking for signs of the right consistency after incorporating about ⅔ of all eggs. The dough should be thick and glossy, and if you drag your finger along the surface of the dough to create a trail the sides of the trail should stay upright and not fall back into the dough. Transfer into a piping bag.
5. I recommend using french star tip (½ inch opening) as it will help your eclairs maintain consistent shape during and after baking . Round tip works too but your shells might get misshaped during baking. Pipe 3,5”-4,5”long logs applying consistent pressure throughout the whole piping process (watch the IGTV video!). Twist the pastry tip at the end of each eclair and pat the ends with a damp finger to smooth them out. Dust eclairs with confectioners sugar - this will help maintain consistent shape during baking as well as add pleasant crunchiness. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the shells are golden-brown and crispy. DON”T OPEN THE OVEN until the 20 min mark. 
6. Remove from the oven, immediately make a tiny incision with a very sharp knife in each shell. Let cool slightly, then poke 3 holes in the bottom of each eclair, using a small star tip, a pen, a cooking thermometer or any similar pointy equipment. Fill with curd or any cream of your choice and eat IMMEDIATELY! Filled shells don’t store well. However, unfilled or unbaked kind of do. More on this - tomorrow. Bon Appetit!