I’m not a morning person at all. I always need a caffeine-fuelled pick me up. My friend Julianne at Part Time Passport blog and I became obsessed with Vietnamese coffees the first time we had a proper sit-down and get to know each other after meeting at our lovely mutual friend Carly of The Bleary Eyed Baker wedding events and realised we had lots in common. Now we did have four of the delicious coffees each with an inch of creamy condensed milk to be stirred in from the bottom into the punchy coffee in a short amount of time. We were talking a mile a minute about all things travel and everything else in between. I love the combination of the condensed milk and the rich coffee, which led me to make Vietnamese Coffee Eclairs. The recipe is a crisp choux bun with rich condensed milk and coffee creme patisserie filling and a strong coffee glaze.
I made these in part of a bake off against my mum on Mother’s Day, strict three hours to make and decorate eight eclairs each in a signature flavour. It didn’t take a solid three hours to make them, don’t worry. But does take a while to make the components, totally worth the effort. I got my decorations from Sous Chef Ingredients, I used Chocolate Coated Poppy Candy on mine but they also have Chocolate Covered Coffee Beans which would be great for an extra coffee hit if you needed it!
Vietnamese Coffee Eclair
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 8 People 1x
Description
A rich condensed milk and coffee creme patisserie, in a crisp choux shell and coffee icing. Based on Donal Skehan Recipe
Ingredients
For Choux Pastry
- 60 g Salted Butter
- 130 ml Water
- 80 g Plain Flour
- 3 Large Free Range Eggs
For Condensed and Coffee Creme Patissiere
- 150 ml Freshly Brewed Strong Coffee
- 150 ml Water
- 200 g Condensed Milk
- 2 Large Free Range Eggs
- 2 tbsp Cornflour
For Coffee Glaze
- 150 g Icing Sugar
- 1 tbsp Butter (Unsalted and Melted )
- 3 tbsp Hot Vietnamese Coffee (or an Espresso )
For Decorating
- Chocolate Coated Coffee Beans
- Chocolate Coated Popping Candy
Instructions
- Preheat the oven 220˚C/425°F/Gas Mark 7 and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place the butter and water in a saucepan and bring to a steady boil until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat and add the flour, beating with a wooden spoon until a dough comes together. Place back over the heat and beat the dough in the saucepan for about 40 seconds. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Beat one of the eggs in a small bowl. Add the remaining two eggs to the warm dough, one at a time, beating thoroughly until completely incorporated after each addition. Add a little of the beaten egg at a time until you have a consistency that will hold it’s shape when piped. It should be smooth, shiny and just about fall from the spoon.
- Using a spatula, scoop the dough into a large piping bag fitted with a large round piping nozzle and pipe 10cm lines on the lined baking sheets, leaving about 4cm in between each line to allow for spreading. Brush each one with the little leftover beaten egg.
- Place in the oven, reducing the heat to 190˚C/375°F/Gas Mark 5, for approximately 25 minutes until they have risen and are golden and crisp. Transfer to a wire rack. Using a sharp knife pierce the bottom of the buns in three places and allow to cool completely.
- For the filling, place the condensed milk, coffee and water in a saucepan, whisk together and bring to the boil. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and cornflour. Pour in the hot condensed milk mixture and whisk constantly. Return the liquid to the saucepan and place over a medium heat whisking continuously until thickened. Remove to the bowl, cover directly with clingfilm and allow to cool completely until you are ready to fill the eclairs.
- For the coffee glaze, whisk together the icing sugar, melted butter, until mixed. Add the hot coffee half a tablespoon at a time until you have a smooth icing that is spoonable but thick.
- Fill a piping bag with the condensed milk and coffee filling and fill each eclair using the holes in the buns you created. Set aside on a wire rack.
- Spread the coffee glaze over each eclair with a small offset spatula and sprinkle your chosen decoration on the glaze.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dessert, Drinks, Pastries
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French, Vietnamese
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