Salted caramel èclairs

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees fan, or equivalent, and line a greased baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. For the choux pastry: Heat the water, sugar, butter and salt in a medium-sized heavy-based saucepan. Increase the heat and as soon as it boils, remove the pan from the heat and quickly add all the flour, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon. Return to a low heat and keep stirring for one minute to slightly cook the flour (and to remove any excess moisture). The mixture will come together as a ball and pull away from the pan sides.

3. Allow the mixture to cool to tepid before adding the eggs. Beat in each egg gradually, before adding the next egg, until you reach a smooth, shiny paste with a dropping consistency (this will take five minutes vigorous hand-beating).

4. Spoon the paste into a piping bag fitted with a 1.5cm-wide nozzle and pipe 10cm lengths on the parchment paper. Bake the piped choux in the preheated oven at 200 degrees, or equivalent, for 25 minutes until puffed up and browned (do not open the oven door during this time). Lastly, to crisp them up, remove the eclairs from the oven, prick the bases twice with a skewer to release steam and bake for two further minutes. Allow them to cool on a wire rack.

5. To make the salted caramel: Gently melt the condensed milk, sugar, butter and Golden Syrup in a medium saucepan. Over a medium heat, stir continuously for 20 minutes until the sauce deepens to a caramel colour (occasionally reduce the heat and use a wooden spoon to scrape around the inside edges of the pan where the mixture might catch and burn). Cool, then add sea salt to taste.

6. Make a light caramel cream filling by whisking a quarter of the cooled caramel with a quarter of the whipped cream.

7. Slice open and fill the base with whisked caramel cream, followed by a layer of whipped cream. Spread caramel over the upper lids and place on top. Serve immediately.