Skylar Toth

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Fit a large pastry bag with a plain 1/2" tip.
Heat milk, butter, sugar, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally to melt the butter. Once butter is melted, add flour all at once and stir with a wooden spoon vigorously. Your goal here is to create a ball of dough while cooking out the liquid. Do not rush this part! Continue stirring until the dough does not stick to the sides. Transfer to a mixing bowl and let cool until warm to the touch (you don’t want to cook the eggs!)
Add 6 eggs to a separate bowl and whisk. Using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer (or a wooden spoon) mix 1/2 of the eggs SLOWLY into the dough. The dough takes a bit to come together here, so be patient. Slowly add the other half of eggs YOU WILL NOT NEED ALL THE EGGS and pay attention to the texture and appearance of the dough. The final texture should be smooth and glossy. The batter should not be runny and should create a “v” shape when you lift the paddle attachment out of the batter.
Scoop batter into the pastry bag. Pipe 4"-long logs of dough onto prepared baking sheet, I suggest drawing out a guide on paper prior and placing under the parchment as a guide.
Use the remaining egg wash to brush the tops of the dough. Bake 15 minutes at 425, then lower heat to 350. Continue to bake until shells are deep golden brown all over and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom, 15−20 minutes.
Poke a hole both ends of each shell with a small knife and return to baking sheet. Let dry out and cool for 30 minutes.
To make the pastry cream, combine vanilla seeds and pod, salt and milk in a pot over medium low heat. Whisk occasionally while it heats.
In a separate bowl, combine egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch. Whisk vigorously until the mixture becomes light and paler in color. Remove vanilla bean pod from milk and slowly while whisking pour the heated milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Once combined, add back to the pot, heat and whisk continuously. The mixture will become a thick, pudding like consistency. Once it does, remove from heat immediately.
Put pastry cream into mesh sieve over a bowl and strain out any lumps. Add the cold butter to your strained mixture and whisk until smooth. Let cool, then transfer to a piping bag with a small metal tip. Transfer to refrigerator.
Once pastry cream is cool, fill eclairs from two perforated holes. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, melt chocolate in the microwave in 30 second increments. Microwave, mix, microwave, etc. until melted. Mix in butter until smooth.
Invert filled éclairs and dip tops in chocolate, letting excess drip off before quickly transferring back to baking sheet, glazed side up. Let sit until no longer wet and enjoy!