Pride Eclairs

Make the Lemon Cream

• Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, whole eggs, egg yolks, and sugar into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (a bain-marie).
• Cook, stirring regularly, until the mixture reaches 176°F (80°C) on an instant-read thermometer.
• Once the custard is cooked, pour it into a large measuring cup or jug through a fine sieve to remove the lemon zest and any cooked egg bits.
• Allow the mixture to cool for 15 minutes, or until it drops to 140°F (60°C) or lower.
• Using a blender (an immersion or traditional jug blender works), blend in the room-temperature butter one piece at a time until thoroughly smooth and creamy. Chill until set.

Prepare the Rainbow Craquelin

• Beat the butter in a bowl until soft and creamy. Add the sugar and beat until smooth, then add the flour and mix until it forms a uniform dough.
• Divide the craquelin evenly between 6 small bowls.
• Add a different, vibrant gel food coloring to each bowl and mix until evenly colored (the colors will dull slightly as they bake, so make them bright!).
• Place each piece of colored dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll out until it is about 1/16 inch (a couple of millimeters) thick.
• Place all sheets of craquelin onto a baking sheet and freeze.
• Once frozen, remove from the freezer and working quickly, cut each color into thin strips.
• On a fresh piece of parchment paper, line the strips up in rainbow order, repeating the pattern as many times as possible.
• Gently roll over the arranged craquelin with a rolling pin to secure all the strips together into one large rainbow sheet. Return to the freezer.

Make the Choux Pastry

• Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) or follow your standard choux baking temperature. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. On the back of each paper, draw six 4.3-inch (11cm) long lines, spaced well apart.
• Place the water, milk, salt, and sugar into a saucepan. Place over low/medium heat and cook until the butter has completely melted.
• Turn up the heat and bring the liquid to a rolling boil.
• Remove the pan from the heat and pour in the flour in one go. Mix immediately to form a soft dough, gelatinizing the flour.
• In a small bowl, whisk the eggs together. Gradually pour a little of the eggs into the dough, beating until fully combined. It might look separated or like cottage cheese at first, but keep beating. Repeat adding the egg gradually until the dough has a sheen and is silky smooth. It should easily fall from a spatula, forming a v-shaped ribbon.
• Transfer the choux to a piping bag.

Pipe and Bake

• Using your drawn lines as a guide, pipe the pastry into 12 eclairs, keeping the piping as neat and even as possible.
• Remove the rainbow craquelin from the freezer and cut out twelve 4.3 x 1-inch (11x2.5cm) rectangles. Lay these gently on top of the piped choux.
• Bake the eclairs for 35 minutes.
• Turn off the oven, open the oven door briefly to allow steam to escape, then close the door and allow the shells to cool down slowly inside the oven.

Assemble the Eclairs

• Stir the strawberry jam into the diced strawberries.
• Divide the strawberry mixture among the twelve cooled eclair shells (sliced in half horizontally), spreading them out into a thin layer at the bottom.
• Scrape the chilled lemon cream into a piping bag with the end snipped off. Pipe a layer over the strawberries and use an offset spatula to smooth it flat.
• In a large bowl, whisk the heavy cream and vanilla paste until it just holds the barest of soft peaks. (Be careful: over-whisking will make the cream grainy when piped).
• Pipe the soft whipped cream beautifully on top and serve.

Make The Lemon Cream