Salted Caramel Eclairs

1. To a medium pot, add the milk, cornstarch, sugar, egg yolks, pinch of salt and the split vanilla bean and bring up to medium heat.
2. Whisk the mixture together until smooth and thickened and the cream mixture coats the back of a spoon.
3. Once thickened, remove mixture from the heat and strain through a fine mesh sieve into another bowl. This will help remove any lumps or eggs that may have scrambled.
4. Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly over the cream, making sure it touches so no "skin" forms and chill the pastry cream in the refrigerator until completely cool, at least 4 hours. (Note* The longer it sits, the thicker cream will get and easier it is to pipe into pastry).

Make the Pâte à Choux (Pastry Dough)

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium pot, melt the butter, water and salt together over medium-low heat.
3. Add the flour and stir with a spoon until everything is mixed together and forms a dough. Continue to cook the dough for 2 minutes, making sure there is no raw flour left.
4. Add the eggs in, 1 at a time and continue mixing with a spoon until everything is well incorporated. It may look wet at first, but the dough will come come together and pulls away from the sides of the pot.
5. Remove the dough from the heat and transfer to a piping bag or resealable plastic bag. Fill the bag 3.4 of the way full and cut a whole in one of the corners.
6. Pipe logs of pastry cream onto the baking sheet, about 4-5 inches long, you can fit about 10-12 on each baking sheet.
7. Bake the pâte à choux at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 250 degrees Fahrenheit and continue baking for another 20 minutes or until all the pâte à choux is golden brown. When done, remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

Make the Salted Caramel Sauce

1. Add the sugar to a small pot and cook on low heat until the sugar gets clumpy.
2. Use a wooden spoon to break up the sugar, if needed and continue cooking until the sugar melts and is completely smooth and turns a light brown color.
3. Add butter, vanilla and heavy cream and stir together. Add a pinch of the flaky sea salt and taste for seasoning.
4. Turn off heat and continue to mixing the caramel sauce until thickened and pourable. The set aside.

Assemble the Eclairs

1. Use a chopstick or skewer and poke holes on each side of the pastry shell, creating a tunnel inside the pastry.
2. Pipe the chilled pastry cream into the pastry dough, but don't overfill.
3. Dip one side of the eclair into the caramel sauce, or you can use a spoon to spoon the caramel sauce over the top.
4. Garnish the eclair with extra sea salt or edible sprinkles.

A Few Tips

• Make the pastry cream at least 4 hours in advance. The longer it sits and chills, the thicker and easier it will be to pipe into the eclair pastry shells.
• Make the caramel sauce ahead of time as well, the longer the caramel sits, the thicker it will be.
• To re-heat the caramel sauce, place on the stove top in a small pot over low heat and slowly heat until warmed and smooth.

More Dessert Recipes to Try

• Meyer Lemon Souffle
• Kadaif (Kadayif) Shredded Phyllo with Pistachios
• Plum Cake with Vanilla and Cinnamon
• Blueberry and Peach Clafoutis
• Amaretto Tiramisu