In a medium sized bowl whisk together eggs, sugar & cornstarch until smooth. In a medium saucepan over medium low heat, warm the milk until just below boiling. While whisking, slowly pour 1 ladle full of warm milk at a time into you egg mixture. Once you have added 3 ladles full, scrape everything back into the saucepan. Continue to gently whisk as your custard cooks. It will take about 5 minutes to full thicken. Be patient & leave the heat low, so you don’t scorch the pastry cream. As soon as it has a pudding texture, turn off the heat & stir in butter & vanilla. Pour into a glass bowl and place plastic wrap right on top of the custard while it cools, so it does not form a skin.

Clean out your saucepan and use it again for the pate a choux pastry! Place water, butter, salt, & sugar into the saucepan & begin to warm over medium heat. When the water begins to boil, pour all of the flour in at once. Use a wooden spoon to vigorously mix, while the flour soaks up all the liquid. Continue to stir quickly for about a minute. Pour hot mixture into a food processor. Run the food processor for about a minute to release as much steam as possible. Begin adding eggs one at a time through the feeding tube. Mix only until each is just combined. Your choux pastry is read to pipe.

Preheat your oven to 400. Pipe eclairs onto a parchment lined sheet tray. Bake for 10-15 minutes, then lower the temp to 375. Bake for 10-15 minutes longer. The bake time will depend on the size of your eclairs. What you want is for them to be dried out, but not over brown. For a 2-3 inch éclair, it will take about 30-35 minutes.

Place chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl (glass or metal). Warm the cream until the edges begin to bubble, but it does not break into a boil. Pour over chocolate & let sit for a minute. Whisk it together and add a pat of butter once the mixture has come together.

To fill the eclairs, wait until they are cool. Using a paring knife, poke a small hole on either end on the bottom of the éclair. Pipe pastry cream into either side until full, but before it starts to seep out! Dip the tops of the eclairs into the ganache, and place on a sheet tray in the refrigerator until they set. Enjoy!!