Savoury choux bun canapes with watercress filling

Cooking time: 10-15 minutes Prep time: 25 minutes Makes 20

Ingredients

• 125ml whole milk

• 55g plain flour

• 40g unsalted butter

• Pinch of salt

• 2 eggs

For the filling

• 200g cream cheese

• 1 small handful watercress, finely chopped

Method

Preheat the oven  to 200°C and prepare a flat baking tray lined with parchment paper, or with a non-stick baking mat if you have one.

Pour the milk into a saucepan and add the pinch of salt. Gently bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and set aside.

In a separate saucepan, melt the butter before adding in the flour and stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula to combine fully.  Keep stirring continuously for a few minutes in order to cook out the flour.

Use a ladle to add a small amount of milk to the flour and butter milk and stir it in until there are no lumps.  Continue adding in a little milk at a time while beating the mixture, once it becomes thin enough you can swap the wooden spoon for a whisk.  Once the milk is all combined with the flour and butter keep beating the mix until it is smooth and glossy.

Tip out the paste into a clean bowl.  You can either use a stand mixer or a hand mixer to keep beating the paste until it has cooled to room temperature.  Then add in the eggs one at a time and beat on a low speed until fully mixed in.  It’s important that the paste is cool before the eggs are added so that they do not cook and scramble.

Use a spatula to scrape the mixture into a piping bag, fitted with a plain nozzle.  Pipe 3cm wide round of the paste onto the prepared tray, making sure there is plenty of space left in between.  Place the tray into the centre of the pre-heated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until risen and golden brown.  Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

To make the filling simply beat together the cream cheese and chopped watercress then transfer into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.  Once the choux buns have cooled take a small sharp knife and slice them in half cross-ways, then fill the bottom with the cheese mixture and place the other half on top.  Et voila!