PARIS BREST

Steps:

• Place a bowl and beaters in the freezer to chill. You will need these later. STEP 1: Pâte à Choux Preheat oven to 400°F(200C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly butter the paper. 1. Heat the water, salt and butter until the butter melts. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. 2. Immediately add the flour and stir quickly with a wooden spoon, until smooth. 3. Set the mixture over low heat and stir for about 30 seconds. Remove and allow to cool for a few minutes. 4. Add 1 egg and beat it thouroughly into the mixture. Beat in the second egg until the mixture is smooth. 5. In a small bowl, beat the third egg. Gradually add enough of this egg to the dough until it becomes shiny and soft enough to just fall from a spoon. 6. Pipe the dough into finger or doughnut shaped rounds. They should be about 1-1/4-inches in width. Brush lightly with the egg glaze and using the back of a fork, very gently push down any points because they will burn. 7. Bake about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cut off the top third of each puff. Transfer to a rack to cool. STEP 2: Crème Chantilly: 1. Pour the cream into the chilled bowl. Add the sugar and the vanilla and whip with the chilled beaters until stiff. Refrigerate until ready to use. STEP 3: Hard icing: Set a small bowl with the butter, icing sugar and milk, inside a larger bowl filled with hot water and blend well until the mix is an even spreadable consistency. It must not be too thick for eclairs because the filling is quite sweet. The icing should be quite thin (2-3mm) and set hard when chilled. The icing should idealy be like a delicate shell. STEP 4: for best results assemble soon before serving: Fill the puffs with the chilled strawberries. Use a pastry bag with a star tip to pipe cream onto each puff. Allow the berries to peek out from underneath. Set the top part of the puff on top and dust if not already iced.