Who Choux Who?

When I first learned of this months Daring Baker's challenge, Chocolate Éclaires, my first reaction was somewhere along the lines of "OMG what have I gotten myself into?"  Having never made Pâte à Choux before, and then having to veganize it as well was definitely a challenge, considering that making pastry in general is not something that I consider myself very good at.  But I closed my eyes and jumped right in, hoping that the results would at least be edible.

After several experiments I can honestly say that this will require more testing in order to have the kind of happy ending that leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy inside.  My first attempt at the dough turned out to be a good texture, but every single one of the puffs deflated.  I think I let them cool too fast, even though I followed the directions of leaving them in the oven with the door open for a period of time. 

My subsequent baches didn't deflate but I never got the dough to be as smooth as it was the first time.  I had better results with little round puffs than with the logs.  I also thought it would be a good time to use the white vanilla I bought when we went to Punta Cana so I went with a vanilla filling that sadly turned out more pudding like than whipped and fluffly as I had imagined.  While my little eclaires turned out to taste pretty good, they fell short of the greatness I was anticipating.  I'm all puffed out for now so it might be a while until I tinker with them bit more.