Coffee éclairs recipe - Telegraph Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Sift the flour and salt on to a piece of greaseproof paper that you can use as a 'chute' to add the flour to the saucepan. Put the butter and water in a heavy-bottomed pan and bring slowly to the boil. By the time the water boils the butter should have melted. As soon as it is boiling fast, tip the flour in, pull the pan off the heat and beat like mad with a wooden spoon. It will look as if it won't come together, but beat hard and you'll end up with a smooth mixture that leaves the sides. Put the base of the pan in a basin of cold water to help it cool. When it is cool, beat the eggs lightly in a bowl. Add them to the dough, a little at a time, beating well after each addition. You want to end up with a smooth, shiny mixture of dropping consistency - you may not need to add all the egg. If it is too sloppy you won't be able to deal with the mixture, so judge as you are adding. Use the mixture to fill a piping-bag fitted with a 1.25cm (½in) plain nozzle. Scatter two baking-sheets with water using your hands, then pipe 7cm (2½in) lengths of pastry, leaving lots of space for expansion. Bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until crisp and pale brown. You can use a teaspoon to form the éclairs instead, but it won't be as neat. Take the éclairs out of the oven and make a little hole in the underside of each one to allow the steam to escape. Return the éclairs to the oven to dry out for four minutes. Put them on a wire rack and leave to cool completely. Make the icing by mixing the sugar with the coffee - add a bit of liquid at a time - and stirring until smooth. It should be neither too runny nor too thick. Whip the cream then add the icing sugar and vanilla. Put in a piping bag fitted with a medium nozzle and stuff each éclair by piping in cream through the hole in the underside (or carefully split the éclairs in half lengthways and spread the cream inside). Dip each éclair in the icing so that the top is neatly iced, or spread it on with a butter knife. Leave the icing to set and eat within a couple of hours.