Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
For the crème pâtissière
- 500 ml
full-fat milk
- 4
medium egg yolks
- 100 g
caster sugar
- 2 Tbsp.
cornflour
- 2 Tbsp.
plain flour
- 2 tsp.
vanilla bean paste
For the choux pastry
- 75 g
butter, chopped
- 100 g
plain flour
- 2
medium eggs, beaten
- Step 1For the crème pâtissière, heat milk in a medium pan until steaming. In a medium bowl, mix yolks with the sugar then stir in cornflour and plain flours. Gradually add hot milk, mixing constantly. Return to pan, then cook over medium heat, stirring, until thick and smooth (the mixture will need to boil). Transfer to a bowl, stir in vanilla then lay clingfilm directly on to surface to prevent a skin forming. Cool.
- Step 2Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan) mark 6. Line 2 flat baking sheets with baking parchment. To make the choux pastry, melt butter in a large pan with 225ml (8fl oz) water. Once melted, turn up heat and bring to boil. As soon as it boils, take pan off heat and add flour in one go. Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until mixture comes away from sides of pan.
- Step 3Transfer to a large bowl and leave until just warm. With a handheld electric whisk, gradually beat in eggs. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 1½cm (⅔in) plain nozzle. Pipe a straight line roughly 12cm (4¾in) long, then pipe over line to double it in height. Repeat 11 more times, spacing lines apart. Use a damp finger to smooth any points.
- Step 4Bake for 25min, then remove sheets from oven. Using a metal skewer or small sharp knife, carefully pierce a hole roughly 5mm (¼in) wide at both ends of every choux bun to allow steam to escape. Return to oven for a further 10min to dry out. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Step 5To make chocolate glaze, heat double cream until steaming. Put chocolate, golden syrup and butter into a heatproof bowl. Pour in hot cream and stir occasionally until melted and combined (place bowl over a pan of simmering water if all the chocolate hasn’t melted).
- Step 6To assemble, stir crème pâtissière to loosen, transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 5mm (¼in) nozzle and pipe into choux buns from both ends. Dip tops into chocolate glaze and leave to set slightly (chocolate-side up) on a wire rack before serving. Best eaten within 2hr of assembling.
Get ahead Make crème pâtissière up to a day ahead. Once cool, chill. Allow to come up to room temperature before completing recipe.
Per serving:
- Calories: 289
- Protein: 5g
- Fat: 18g
- Sat fat: 10g
- Carbs: 26g
- Sugars: 16g
- Fibre: 1g
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
