Mini Chocolate Eclairs filled with Pistachio Buttercream

I have come to the conclusion that French sweets are the ultimate pleasure.  I guess that's why I started this blog and why it has a French influence.  Think about it, the French have les croissants, la croquembouche, la crème brûlée and the list goes on and on.  My favourite, since I was a child, have been eclairs (or maybe profiteroles).  And since I saw an image of some eclairs filled with a thick nutty buttercream, I knew I had to recreate that myself.  These eclairs are incredible, irresitable and deserving of every other positive adjective. 

Ingredients for Choux Pastry
200ml water
2g caster sugar
1g sea salt
100g unsalted butter
175g 00 [bakers] flour, or alternatively plain flour
4-5 eggs [approx 60-70g)

Method for Pastry
Place cold water, salt and sugar in a pot; bring to a gentle boil. Meanwhile cut the butter into 1cm dice cubes and add to pot so butter just melts as water approaches gentle boil (should be around 98 degrees). At that point add all of the sifted flour. Mix immediately over low heat with wooden spoon. Dough will come away from sides of pot and develop a gloss; cook in order to bind for about 2-3 minutes. You will know roughly when it is glossy, bound and steam is coming off mixture. Remove from heat, keep stirring for 2 minutes off the heat to let it cool slightly. A trick to test if it's cool enough is to touch with your fingers and if they don't hurt/burn then it's fine. This is important otherwise the eggs, which are now to be added, will simply scramble. Add 1 of the eggs, and incoroporate thoroughly. Then add another, and incorporate. Keep going until all eggs are in and the mixture is not to dry or stiff. A trick to testing if the choux pastry is going okay is to see if it slowly falls off the spoon when held up in the air over the bowl. The paste should ultimately be a piping consistency ie. hold up on the tray. Line a tray, pop the paste in a piping bag and start piping into medium strips (eg. 8cm-10m long). Use a 8-10mm straight nozzle in the piping bag and water to smooth any mishapen strips. Bake at 190 degrees in moist oven until fully risen, 8 or so minutes. When I say moist - spray your oven with some water from a bottle before poping the tray in. Alternatively pop a small stainless steel bowl full of water at the bottom tray of your oven. Now you need a dry oven to colour the pastry for another 6 minutes or until golden in colour then drop temperature to 140-150 degrees to dry out inside of pastry, another 10-15 minutes necessary baking time. Remove and place on cooling rack. 

Ingredients for Pistachio Buttercream
125g unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup icing sugar
85g pistachios
2 tsp milk

Method
Firstly you need to prepare the eclairs.  Cut all the eclairs in half horizontally (as pictured) and set aside.  Place pistachios in a food processor and process until half finely crumbed, half chunky; set aside.  In a bowl, beat together the butter and 1/2 the sugar.  Add the milk gradually and beat.  Add remaining icing sugar and beat until smooth. Fold processed nuts through buttercream.  Place into piping bag and pipe onto the eclair and sandwich it with the other side. 

Ingredients for Chocolate Topping
150g lindt eating chocolate, chopped
1 tbsp unsalted butter

Method
Melt ingredients together in microwave or in a bowl which is placed over a saucepan which is filled with water.  When ingredients are melted and combined, smooth the topping over the eclairs (as pictured).  Serve

Ps. I'm sharing this at Sweet as Sugar Cookie's Sweets for Sunday #6! Do you have anything to share?

Miam miam!