Banoffee Éclairs Recipe

These banoffee éclairs are something really special: perfectly light lengths of freshly baked choux pastry, beautifully filled with muscovado sugar-infused whipped cream and cool slices of fresh banana. Divine.

📝 Ingredients

• 60 g unsalted butter
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 125 g plain white flour (all purpose flour) (sieved)
• 4 medium free range eggs (beaten)
• 200 g dark chocolate (bittersweet) (broken into pieces)
• 600 ml double cream (heavy cream)
• 4 tbsp dark muscovado sugar (molasses sugar) (make sure it's lump-free)
• 4 bananas (thinly sliced)

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- Make choux pastry ---
2. 2Add the butter and salt to 225ml (7.6 fl oz) water in a pan and bring to the boil. Tip in the flour and whisk until the mixture clings to the whisk.
3. 3Using a wooden spoon, beat well on the heat for 2-3 minutes until the mixture is glossy.
4. 4Transfer the mixture to a food mixer and beat for 1 minute.
5. 5Add the eggs one at a time while keeping the mixer running. Go carefully with the eggs as you may not need them all. You are aiming for a smooth and glossy mixture that will hold its shape.
6. 6Preheat the oven to 190C (170C fan, 350F, Gas mark 3). Fit a plain nozzle about 1cm diameter to your piping bag and fill with the choux pastry.
7. 7On a lightly greased baking tray, pipe 12 lines of choux, 12-15cm long, onto the baking tray. (I find it works best to squeeze the bag quite firmly and move slowly with the nozzle almost horizontal to ensure a nice thick, even line).
8. 8Bake the éclairs for 15-20 minutes until golden and puffed up. For the last 4 minutes, leave the oven door slightly ajar to allow the steam to escape and help the drying process. Remove them from the oven and leave to cool.
9. 9Once cooled, halve the éclairs lengthways, and separate the tops and bottoms.
10. 10--- Make the chocolate glaze ---
11. 11Put the chocolate into a bowl over a pan of simmering water, above water level. Turn the heat low to melt the chocolate slowly, stirring all the time. Take off the heat.
12. 12Dip the upper halves of the éclairs in chocolate, drain over the bowl, then leave to set on a tray.
13. 13--- Make the filling ---
14. 14Whip the cream into soft peaks.
15. 15Sprinkle the sugar over it and gently fold in.
16. 16Fill your piping bag with the cream and pipe it onto the choux bases in waves.
17. 17Layer the banana slices on top, slightly overlapping them.
18. 18Add dots of cream, then top with the chocolate-covered halves. Serve as soon as possible.