Eclairs with lemon custard and caramelised white chocolate

Make the éclairs according to this recipe.

To make the lemon custard, place the milk and cream in a saucepan and bring to the boil over a medium heat.

Place the vanilla extract, egg yolks, sugar, cornflour and lemon juice into a separate bowl and mix. Slowly add the hot milk to the egg mixture, stirring vigorously. Return to the heat and bring to a gentle boil, stirring until smooth and thick. Remove from the heat.

Cover the surface of the custard with clingwrap and allow to cool before placing into a piping bag.

To make the caramelised white chocolate, preheat the oven to 120°C. Break the chocolate into pieces, place on a baking tray and into the oven.

Stir the chocolate every 5 minutes until melted. Once melted, stir every 10 minutes until the chocolate begins to caramelise and darken in colour. Continue this process until the white chocolate is the colour of caramel. This should take 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Remove from the heat and reserve for topping the éclairs. If the chocolate sets before use, place the tray in the oven for 5 minutes.

To assemble, slice the éclairs in half, fill with lemon custard and top with the remaining halves. Spoon the caramelised white chocolate over each éclair and allow to set.

Cook’s note: If you like, make profiteroles rather than éclairs and fill with the lemon custard, omitting the caramelised white chocolate topping.