High tea, low cost!

Who doesn't love a bit of afternoon tea?  From playing with tea sets as a child I've always loved a cup of tea and a slice of what you fancy.  The luxury of a Botham's cream cake or a Coopland's scone with a nice cup of tea (is there any other kind?) is perfect to keep you satisfied until tea-time. I've always had a soft spot for an eclair, lovely fluffy choux pastry covered in chocolate, that crunches as you bite, oozing with whipped cream! The thing is when everybody wants one in my house it can cost a fair bit.....unless of course you could make them? No, surely not I hear you say, otherwise everybody would do it? I'll let you in on a secret....you can! I will tell you how then you will never need to spend extra money on a cheeky treat, and before you start thinking it's too complicated or time consuming, it's really not I've knocked this batch up in half an hour. Somehow I don't think they will last that long....

55g butter
75g plain flour sifted
150ml water
Choclate for melting (I used Lidl's own brand milk chocolate)
175ml double cream whipped

In a pan on a medium heat melt the butter in the water until bubbling as shown above.

Take pan off the heat and really quickly tip in the flour and stir vigorously until it comes together as shown above.

Leaving the pan off the heat to cool for a couple of minutes, whisk two eggs. Add these to the pan gradually, beating with the wooden spoon until the mixture turns into a glossy paste.

Spoon the mixture onto a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. 

How much is up to you, if you use a small spoon you will have profiteroles, a large dollop gives you choux buns like I did, or you could use piping bag and make eclairs.

Place in a preheated oven at 200 for ten minutes, then turn up to 220 for a further 15 minutes, don't open the door until finished.

After they have cooled, slice them through the middle and you will be left with pockets perfect for filling with the cream.

You could mix the cream with lemon curd for a tangy kick, or even custard to make it go further.

When you have melted your chocolate in a bowl over some boiling water, just drizzle it over the buns and put in the fridge to set. Then all that's left to do is get the kettle on and enjoy!