Vanilla Eclairs

Add the milk, water, butter and salt in a saucepan, stirring constantly. When the butter has melted, sift in the flour and guar gum. Turn off the heat, beat with a wooden spoon until well combined and transfer to a bowl.

Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking constantly. Continue whisking until the mixture is smooth and glossy and comes away easily from the sides of the bowl. Transfer to a piping bag. Line a large baking tray with baking paper and pipe in 8 eclairs, ensuring that you leave 5 cm (2 inches) between each one.

Dip your fingers in cold water to seal the ends of the éclairs. Bake them at 190 °C for 10 minutes, reduce to 180 °C and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven, make a slit down the side of each one and bake for 5-10 minutes, for the insides to cook through. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

For the cream, whisk the eggs with the sugar in a bowl, then sift in the flour. Bring the milk and the scraped vanilla pod to a boil, reduce the heat and gradually pour in the egg mixture. Whisk constantly, until fully combined and creamy. Transfer to a bowl, cover with cling film and cool down for 5 minutes.

Pour in the whipping cream over the mixture, whisking constantly (remove any vanilla pod remains). Spoon or pipe into each éclair. Break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a heatproof bowl, set over a saucepan of simmering water. Once the chocolate has smoothly melted, pipe over the éclairs.