I spent a month with my father's family. And it's almost already over. Sadly. In our house in Mormaison, we lived simply and happily. We seized everyday and tried to enjoy the most of it. But every good thing has to end and I feel like this month flew by so quickly. Almost like a minute, like a light breeze softly skimming our cheeks. We didn't feel it. We tried to capture it in our pictures, as to make it last longer. But it won't work. At least, the pictures will prevent us from forgetting it. 

I enjoyed a cooking session with my younger brother Nicolas! We baked chocolate eclairs together. He's so shy, he barely asked me to translate in english when he wouldn't understand french! But he's so cute! And I'm sure he'll be a great cook too! It's in the family's blood! We had a really good time together. I even had a chance to try to get to know him better and I really thank God for that. He blessed me with three wonderful little brothers and there are no words to describe what I feel when I think of them!

Baking those eclairs was quite a funny adventure! We only come to our house in Mormaison once a year, so of course, some cooking materials are missing. The oven is not always working as good as it should. So many details make our plans change and I think it makes us even happier. We're on holidays and we're having fun. We don't live according to a clock Only the church's bell give a musical rhythm to our day. Other from that, the sun is our only clock. We live peacefully and unstressed, away from our routine problems. 

Finally, we had our chocolate eclairs and they were yummy! We made everyone happy. We made everyone forget that the end is coming soon. We made everyone on holidays a bit longer. Withe the leftovers of the choux pastry, I baked gougères, some choux pastry with cheese. It's a delicious appetizer!

Recipe

Choux pastry: 

4 eggs

5,5 ounces flour

1 cup water

2,8 ounces butter

A bit of salt

Chocolate cream:

2 egg yolks

1 cup milk

1 vanilla clove

2,8 ounces chocolate

2,8 ounces sugar

5 ounces flour

Frosting:

1 ounce chocolate

5 tablespoons milk

Choux pastry: 

In a saucepan, heat the butter, the salt and the water. Once the butter has totally melted, add the flour all at once. Away from the heat, stir the dough until it's homogeneous. 

On a low heat, stir the mix until a thin film appears at the bottom of the pan. Turn off the heat and add the first egg. Blend it well to the dough and repeat the operation with the three remaining ones. 

Preheat your oven at 450°F (220°C). 

Lay the eclairs on a cooking block with a pastry bag. 

Bake them for 30 minutes. They must double size and be glazed. Set them on a grill until they are completely cool.

Chocolate cream:

In a saucepan, heat the milk and the vanilla clove. Let the vanilla clove infuse for at least 10 minutes.

In another saucepan, whisk the egg yolks and the sugar. Add the flour and stir together. Add the milk and the vanilla and stir together. Keep string over medium heat until the bubbles on the surface of the cream disappear. 

Add the chocolate and set apart to cool down.

Assembly:

Once everything has cooled down, cut the top of one eclair and fill it with chocolate cream. Close it and repeat the step until all the eclairs are filled. 

Heat the chocolate and the milk over medium heat and apply a thin layer on the top of the eclairs. Set apart until the chocolate has dried and enjoy it!