Classic Éclair

1. Custard
Whisk the egg yolks & sugar and flour together in a large bowl, add a little bit of milk if mixture it too thick and difficult to whisk.
Bring milk to a boil.
Slowly pour the milk into the egg yolk mixture, continuously whisking. This is called ‘tampering the yolks’.
Pour the mixture back into the pot and bring to a boil, continuously stirring and going along the bottom of the pot in zigzag motion with a rubber spatula, to prevent scorching. It WILL stick if you stop.
Cook for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.
Add the vanilla extract & butter. Allow the butter to melt and stir for it to incorporate.
Cover the custard with plastic wrap it touches the custard. To speed up the process you can transfer the custard into a jelly-roll pan, spread it thin, covering with plastic wrap will avoid skin formation. Refrigerate until ready to use.

2. Pate Choux
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
Fit a pastry bag with plain 1/3 inch tip nozzle and drape the bag over a large glass.
Preheat oven to 215C.
Whisk the eggs together.
In a heavy bottom saucepan combine, milk, water, butter, sugar & salt. Bring to a boil.
Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add the flour all at once, reduce heat to medium and start mixing the dough with a wooden spoon vigorously. Continue doing so for another 2-3 minutes to evaporate some of the moisture.
Transfer the dough to the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and start stirring the dough on medium speed for 1-2 minutes to cool it down slightly.
Add the eggs to the mixture in 4-5 additions, each time allowing the mixer to incorporate the eggs fully before adding more. The dough might separate at first, but it will come back together as you continue stirring and adding more eggs. The mixture should be thick but still fall off the paddle attachment in a thick ribbon. You might not add all eggs before this happens. It is ok.
Transfer the warm dough to the piping bag and pipe out 2-3 inch logs, about 2 inches apart. Place the first baking sheet in the oven and bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 190C and continue baking until golden in color, about 25 minutes. DO NOT open the door before the éclairs are golden, they will deflate.
Keep the other sheet with piped logs in the freezer or refrigerator until the first sheet is out of the oven.
Allow the éclairs to cool.

3. Chocolate Glaze
Combine all ingredients in a heatproof bowl, set over a pot of simmering water. Bottom of the bowl should not touch the water.
Warm up the mixture and allow the chocolate to melt, stirring it occasionally. Do not overheat. The mixture should only be warm, not hot.
Take off the heat and allow the chocolate to completely melt, stirring it every couple of minutes until chocolate melts.