Preparation method

Choux pastry:

• Preheat oven to 200 C
• Boil water, milk, sugar, butter, salt and food colouring
• Remove from heat, then add flour all at once and stir vigorously
• Return flour mixture to the heat and continue stirring until dough forms
• Cook the dough for at least 1 minute
• Remove from heat. Allow to cool
• Whisk in eggs, one at a time, then allow to cool
• Transfer to piping bag with a large star tip
• Grease baking tray with wax paper
• Pipe 12 (15cmx 2.5cm) éclairs
• Sprinkle a few drops of water onto the baking tray
• Bake at 200 C for 10 minutes
• Lower the temperature of the oven to 180 C and bake for a further 20 minutes
• Remove éclairs from the oven
• Use a wooden skewer to pierce 2 holes into the ends of the éclairs
• Return to the oven and bake for a further 5 minutes
• Remove éclairs from the oven and allow to cool completely

Filling:

• Boil water then add rice
• Cook for 20 minutes then strain
• Simmer cooked rice, cream and milk for 10 minutes then add the coconut and sugar
• Simmer for another 5 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool

Coconut ice:

• Line a flat baking tray with wax paper
• Combine all ingredients
• Divide mixture in half
• Add pink food colouring to one half of the mixture
• Spread the pink coconut ice onto the tray, as evenly as possible
• Spread the white coconut ice onto the pink coconut ice, layers 5 mm thick
• Place in fridge for an hour
• Use a 2.5cm teardrop or petal cookie cutter to cut out 48 coconut ice petals

Coconut glaze:

• Use a double boiler to melt glucose, icing sugar, water and coconut essence
• Stir continuously until desired consistency is reached

Assembly:

• Slice éclairs in half, horizontally
• Fill 12 halves of the éclairs with the coconut rice filling (15-30g) each
• Dip each of the 12 top halves of éclairs into the glaze
• Take 4 coconut petals and position into a flower on one end of the glazed éclair
• Place a metallic pink dragée onto the centre of the flower
• Each éclair has three flowers and 2 pink dragées between each flower

Choux pastry:

• Preheat oven to 200 C
• Boil water, milk, sugar, butter, salt and food colouring
• Remove from heat, then add flour and cocoa powder all at once and stir vigorously
• Return flour mixture to the heat and continue stirring until dough forms
• Cook the dough for at least 1 minute
• Remove from heat. Allow to cool
• Whisk in eggs, one at a time, then allow to cool
• Transfer to piping bag with a large star tip
• Grease baking tray with wax paper
• Pipe 12 (15cmx 2.5cm) éclairs
• Sprinkle a few drops of water onto the baking tray
• Bake at 200 C for 10 minutes
• Lower the temperature of the oven to 180 C and bake for a further 20 minutes
• Remove éclairs from the oven
• Use a wooden skewer to pierce 2 holes into the ends of the éclairs
• Return to the oven and bake for a further 5 minutes
• Remove éclairs from the oven and allow to cool completely

Chocolate and honey mousse:

• Simmer milk until small bubbles form around the edge of the pot
• Whisk yolks and sugar until pale
• Add corn starch to the sugar and egg yolks
• Whisk a little hot milk into the egg mixture
• Add the egg mixture to rest of milk and bring to the boil, whisking continuously, allow to cool
• Melt the chocolate then add with 90g butter to mixture
• Allow to cool then whip mousse, adding 90g melted butter and the honey
• Transfer to piping bag with a large round tip nozzle

Caramel glaze:

• Boil sugar and water until the syrup is thick and lightly golden in colour
• Heat crème fraîche and glucose
• Add butter to the caramel, combine
• Add crème fraîche to caramel, combine

Honeycomb:

• Melt the sugar, honey and golden syrup until a thick syrup forms
• Allow caramel to turn amber in colour, then remove from heat
• Add in bicarbonate of soda and whisk to combine
• Pour the honeycomb onto a greased oven tray and allow to harden
• Smash the honeycomb into small pieces and shards
• Drizzle melted chocolate onto 48 shards of honeycomb (1-2cm large) and reserve

Decoration:

• Slice éclairs in half, horizontally
• Pipe the chocolate and honey mousse filling into 12 halves of the éclairs
• Dip the remaining 12 halves of the éclairs into the caramel glaze
• Crush and sprinkle the honeycomb over chocolate and honey mousse
• Drizzle melted chocolate over one end of the glazed éclair
• Position 4 shards of chocolate covered honeycomb on one end of the glazed éclair
• Sprinkle gold dust over the éclair