Part 1: Nib Craquelin
Ingredients
Method- 147g Butter
- 177g Brown Sugar (preferably dark)
- 160g Flour
- 15g True Dark
- 30g Ground Nibs (ground as fine as possible)
- In a mixing bowl, add butter and sugar. Mix until well blended.
- Add flour and nibs, blend until well combined.
- Transfer from bowl to a flattened piece of plastic film wrap. Wrap and cool in refrigerator until firm.
- Once firm, roll out craquelin to about 3-5mm and cut to shape and size of pate a choux. Reserve to be placed on pate a choux ahead of baking.
Part 2: Cocoa Pâte à Choux
Ingredients
Method- 300ml Milk
- 300ml Water
- 6g Salt
- 15g Sugar
- 270g Butter
- 330g Chestnut Flour
- 80g True Gold Cocoa Powder
- 550g Eggs (fresh)
- Preheat oven to 175ºC. Prepare a sheet tray with baking paper. Prepare a piping bag with a large round tip (approx 12mm).
- Sift flour and cocoa powder together into a bowl. Set aside until ready to use.
- In a saucepan add milk, water, salt, sugar and butter. Bring to a boil.
- Add flour and cocoa powder mixture into pan. Cook on low/medium heat until mixture pulls away from bottom of pan.
- Transfer pate a choux to a mixing bowl (with paddle attachment) and start mixing on medium speed.
- Gradually add the eggs.
- Once all eggs have been incorporated, check the fluidity of the pate a choux. Batter should drop from a spatula in a V shape as it's lifted from the bowl.
- Once pate a choux is prepared, pipe into individual finger shapes (4-6cm depending on desired length).
- Place nib craquelin on top of pate a choux.
- Bake at 170ºC for about 25 minutes. Look for a golden brown colour. Texture should be crisp and dry outside, and hollow, slightly wet inside.
- Once a golden brown colour is reached drop temperature to 120ºC and bake for a further 10 minutes to dry out the pate a choux a bit further without over colouring/baking.
Part 3: Nib Mousseline
Ingredients
Method- 500ml Milk
- 20g Toasted Cocoa Nibs
- 10g Kasha (toasted)
- 125g Sugar
- 125g Yolks
- 43g Cornstarch
- 30g Butter
- 50ml Double Cream
- In a sauce pan, add the milk along with nibs and kasha grain. Bring to a soft boil and turn off heat. Cover pan and let sit for 10 minutes to infuse.
- Strain and rescale milk into another saucepan. 500ml of milk is needed to proceed.
- In a bowl add the egg, sugar and cornstarch. Blend until well combined and a smooth paste forms. Set aside until ready to use.
- Return saucepan with infused milk to heat. Bring to a simmer.
- Stream the milk into the egg mixture while constantly stirring.
- Return saucepan back to heat. Cook until a thick cream starts to develop. Mix continuously to prevent from burning or curdling.
- Once at proper texture, take off heat and add butter. Mix until well incorporated.
- Pour pastry cream into a heat-proof bowl and place plastic film wrap over the top to prevent a skin from developing.
- Cool down completely in refrigerator.
- In the meantime, whip double cream to medium/hard peaks. Reserve bowl in refrigerator until ready to use.
- Once pastry cream is completely cooled down mix quickly with a whisk to loosen the cream a bit. Do not over mix.
- Reserve half of the pastry cream for the eclair filling.
- Take the other half of the pastry cream and fold in the whipped cream. Once done transfer directly to a piping bag with desired piping tip. Use immediately or reserve in refrigerator until ready to use.
Part 4: Nib & Grains Nougatine
Ingredients
Method- 248g Sugar (caster)
- 7g NH Pectin
- 71g Milk
- 319g Butter
- 71g Glucose Syrup
- 264g Cocoa Nibs (toasted)
- 20g Kasha (toasted)
- Prepare a sheet tray with baking paper or a silpat. Reserve a second sheet of baking paper or silpat on the side.
- Preheat oven to 160ºC.
- In a heat-proof bowl, add cocoa nibs, kasha and millet. Set aside until ready to use.
- In a saucepan add the remaining ingredients and cook to 106ºC.
- Once temperature is reached, take off heat and pour into bowl over the grains.
- Fold together the ingredients. Pour onto prepared sheet tray. Place second baking paper or silpat onto the nougatine and with a rolling pin roll to an even layer about 4mm thick.
- Bake nougatine for 5-6 minutes or until it starts to bubble slightly.
- Take out and cut when hot into desired shape or leave to cool and break when cooled.
Part 5: Assembly
Method- Poke a hole on the bottom side of each éclair (poking two holes will allow better filling).
- Generously fill the éclair with the reserved pastry cream (without whipped cream) from the bottom side.
- Pipe the mousseline (with whipped cream) onto the top of the éclair.
- Finish by organically placing the nougatine on the cream.
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