Mini Eclairs

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F/Gas 6) and line two baking trays with baking paper.
2. Place the butter and water in a saucepan and stir over low heat until the butter melts. Bring to the boil, remove from the heat and add all the flour. Beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Return to the heat and beat for 2 minutes, or until the mixture forms a ball and leaves the side of the pan. Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl. Cool for 5 minutes. Add the egg, a little at a time, beating well after each addition, and continue beating until thick and glossy–a wooden spoon should stand upright in the mixture.
3. Spoon the mixture into a piping (icing) bag with a 1 cm (½ inch) fluted nozzle. Pipe 3 cm (1¼ inch) rounds of batter onto the prepared trays. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4) and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until golden and puffed. Poke a hole in one side of each profiterole and remove the soft dough from inside with a teaspoon. Return the profiteroles to the oven for 2–3 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
4. Whip the cream, sugar and vanilla until thick. Pipe the cream into the side of each profiterole. Dip each profiterole in the melted chocolate, face side down, then return to the wire rack for the chocolate to set.