Lemon and White Chocolate Eclairs

Preheat oven to 200 degree centigrade. Lightly grease a baking tray with butter or baking spray and keep aside.

In a saucepan, add water and butter and heat gently till the butter melts. Bring to a rolling boil and take the saucepan off the heat.

Immediately add the flour, all at once, beating well (I used a wooden spoon for this) until the mixture forms a ball. Keep aside to cool slightly.

Once the flour mixture has cooled, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. It will take a little time for the egg to mix in with the flour mixture, just keep at it till you have a smooth mixture.

Spoon the mixture into a disposable piping bag fitted with a 1 cm nozzle or with a pair of scissors cut the pastry bag to get an opening about a cm wide.

Lightly sprinkle the baking tray with a little water. Pipe éclairs about 3 inches long, leaving a gap of about an inch in between each éclair.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until the éclairs are nicely brown and crisp. Remove from the oven when done and make a slit (on the side) in each one to let the steam escape. Let the éclairs cool before filling.

Lemon Curd- Place a mesh strainer over a bowl and keep it aside. Cut the butter into cubes. Add lemon juice, sugar, eggs, cardamom powder and ginger in a saucepan. Whisk it all together, and then add the butter.

Put the pan on the stove over low heat, whisking constantly. Once the butter melts, you can increase the heat to medium or if you’re unsure continue cooking on low.

Cook the mixture, whisking constantly until it becomes thick, it will take some time but keep whisking.

Once it has reached the desired thickness (it will thicken slightly more once it cools) take it off the heat and immediately pour it into the bowl lined with a strainer.

Press it through the strainer and cover with cling wrap. Make sure the cling is touching the surface of the curd so it doesn’t form a skin. Let cool before using. Store in a refrigerator.

To fill the éclairs you can either split each éclair length wise all the way or make a slit long enough to easily fill with lemon curd.

Once filled, cover the éclairs with the melted white chocolate. Pour or spoon over the white chocolate to cover the top of the éclairs. Top with chopped pistachios and lemon zest.