Ingredients
- Makes about 30
- 75ml whole milk
- 60g butter
- 100g plain flour
- A good pinch of cayenne pepper
- A good pinch of dry mustard powder
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1–2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
- Wild rocket, mizuna or baby leaf spinach leaves
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- For the crab mayonnaise:
- 4 tablespoons good quality mayonnaise
- Zest and juice of ½ lemon
- Half to one teaspoon Dijon mustard
- A pinch of cayenne pepper
- 250g white crab meat</li><li/></ul>
These savoury spiced éclairs simply encase beautifully picked white crab meat, with a little lemon and mustard mayonnaise finished off with some peppery rocket. They go perfectly with chilled Champagne or for a dinner party tea service, an espresso cup of crab or lobster bisque.
You will need a large piping bag fitted with a 1-cm/3/8-inch plain nozzle; two baking sheets lined with baking parchment.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (35°F) Gas 4.
Put 75 ml of water in a medium pan with the milk and butter and set over a medium heat. Stir constantly to melt the butter. As soon as the mixture comes to the boil, reduce the heat slightly and, working quickly and keeping the pan over a low heat, stir in the flour, cayenne pepper and mustard powder. Season well with salt and black pepper. Beat vigorously until the mixture is smooth and cleanly leaves the sides of the pan – this will take about two minutes.
Transfer the dough to a stand mixer or mixing bowl using a handheld electric whisk and gradually beat in the eggs 1 tablespoon at a time. You might not need all of the egg – when the dough is soft and smooth and drops off a spoon leaving a ‘V’ shape behind it is ready. Scoop the dough into the piping bag and pipe 30 éclairs buns onto the prepared baking sheets leaving plenty of space between each one. Scatter with grated Parmesan cheese and bake on the middle shelves of the preheated oven for 10–15 minutes until well risen, golden brown and sound hollow in the middle when tapped.
Remove from the oven and make a small hole in the side of each bun with a skewer. Return to the oven for a further 1 minute to dry out the insides. Leave to cool on a wire rack until completely cold.
To make the crab mayonnaise, spoon the mayonnaise into a bowl, add the lemon zest and juice, mustard, cayenne pepper and a good seasoning of salt and black pepper. Mix to combine and taste. Add more salt and black pepper if required, then add the crab meat and stir gently to coat.
Using a serrated knife split the éclairs in half, lay wild rocket, mizuna or baby spinach leaves in the bottom of each bun and top with a heaped teaspoonful of crab mayonnaise. Put the lids on and serve.
