Salted Caramel Popcorn Eclairs Recipes

Steps:

• For the crumble topping (or craquelin), mix the flour and sugar together in a medium bowl. Add the butter and rub until you have a breadcrumb texture. Using your hands, press this mixture together to form a uniform dough. Place this between 2 sheets of baking parchment and roll out until it is a few millimetres thick. Pop in the freezer on a baking tray until needed.
• For the salted caramel, put the sugar in a medium-sized saucepan and set over a medium heat. Allow the sugar to melt and caramelise, stirring occasionally. Once the sugar is a dark copper caramel colour, add half the double cream. When the bubbling has subsided, add the remaining cream, the butter and salt, and stir to combine. If you have any remaining lumps, put back on the heat and stir until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat, pour into a small bowl, cover with cling film and chill until needed.
• For the popcorn cream, put all the ingredients in a medium saucepan over a medium-high heat and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat, cover the pan and allow to infuse for 1 hour. Strain the cream through a sieve into a measuring jug, pressing down on the softened popcorn to get as much cream out as possible. Top the cream up so you still have 600ml. Press a piece of cling film onto the surface of the cream and chill until needed. Can be prepared the day before up to this point.
• For the choux pastry, heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line 2 baking trays with baking parchment. Using a 5cm cookie cutter as a guide, draw 5 circles onto each piece of baking parchment and turn them over. Put 140ml water, the butter, ¼ tsp salt and the sugar in a medium saucepan and, over a medium-high heat, bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. Once boiling, and the butter has melted, remove from the heat, tip in the flour and immediately mix together with a wooden spoon until a smooth paste forms. Return to the heat and beat for 1-2 mins to dry out a little. Tip the paste into a large bowl and beat for a few mins to cool down slightly.
• Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating until fully combined before adding another - add the last egg a little at a time as you may not need it all. Stop when the smooth choux drops off your spoon in a V-shape. Put the dough in a piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle, then pipe rounds of dough onto the prepared baking trays, using the circles as templates. Remove the crumble topping from the freezer and peel off the top layer of parchment. Using a 5cm cookie cutter, cut out 10 discs of the crumble topping and place one on top of each round of dough. Bake for 40 mins, or until the choux is well risen and the crumble is golden. Turn the oven off but leave the choux in until fully cooled.
• To assemble the buns, use a large serrated knife to carefully slice in half. Place a few pieces of popcorn in the base of each bun and spoon some caramel in too (if you have prepared the caramel ahead of time, it will have firmed up, so place over a bowl of simmering water to loosen it). For the filling, remove the cream from the fridge and whip to soft peaks, then put in a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe a swirl onto the base of each bun. To finish, place the top of the choux buns back on top of the cream and dust lightly with icing sugar. I finished mine with a piece of edible gold leaf.

Steps:

• First, make the choux pastry. Put the butter in a saucepan with 450ml water. Sieve the flour into a large bowl and set aside. Bring the butter and water to a fast boil, simmer until the butter has melted, then tip in the flour and beat like mad with a wooden spoon until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan and is lump-free. Tip into the bowl and spread the thick paste up the sides a little to help it cool quickly, then leave for 10 mins.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6 and cut two pieces of baking parchment to fit two baking sheets. Using a ruler and pen, mark 10 lines about 12cm long over each piece, leaving plenty of space between the lines, then flip the parchment over. Fit a piping bag with a large round piping nozzle, about 1.5cm wide.
• When the flour paste has cooled but is not cold, start adding the egg, bit by bit, beating well between each addition until you have a smooth batter which will reluctantly drop off the end of your spoon (you can do this in a freestanding mixer if you have one). You may not need to use all the egg, so add it slowly. Transfer to your piping bag and use a little of the mixture to stick the parchment to your trays.
• Pipe the choux onto the baking sheet, using the lines as a guide. Pipe slowly so the eclairs aren't too skinny - each one should be about 2.5cm wide x 12cm long. Bake for 35-40 mins, swapping the trays around for the final 10 mins. The choux should be puffed, golden and sound hollow when tapped. You may wish to sacrifice one eclair to make sure the inside is completely dried out - if it's still moist, the eclair will sink when cooling. Once baked, leave to cool completely. (Can be made a day ahead and stored in an airtight container, reheat in the oven for 5-10 mins to crisp up before filling.) Split each eclair through the middle with a serrated knife.
• Now, make the crème pâtissière. Pour the milk and cream into a saucepan. Heat until just simmering, then remove from the heat. Meanwhile, tip the egg yolks into a bowl and add the sugar and cornflour, whisking together until smooth. Pour over the milk mixture, mix, then pour back into the saucepan. Cook over a medium heat for 5-8 mins until the crème pâtissière thickens to a thick custard consistency. Sieve into a jug, cover the surface with cling film and chill for at least 3 hrs, or up to 3 days.
• To fill and glaze your eclairs, choose one of our flavours - raspberry & cardamom, lemon & passion fruit, salted caramel & popcorn or elderflower & meringue.For more help, see our how to make choux pastry and eclairs video.