Combine the water, salt, butter and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over high heat. There’s no need to stir. Turn the heat down to medium and add the flour all at once. Stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture combines and starts to form a ball. This usually takes about three minutes. (It comes together very fast but you need to cook it for a bit still.)

Transfer the mixture to a bowl or stand mixer and mix for about 1 minute to slightly cool it.

Mix in the eggs, one at a time, until all four are added. Check the consistency of the batter by pulling the a wooden spoon through it. When the groove it makes slowly closes in on itself, you’ve added enough eggs.

Bring the milk to a simmer over medium heat.

In a bowl, whisk the sugar, egg, egg yolks, and cornstarch together.

When the milk comes to a simmer stir half of it into the egg mixture. (Make sure to pour and stir at the same time so that the egg mixture does not curdle.)

Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan containing the rest of the milk. Turn to medium heat and whisk until the cream comes to a boil and thickens. (Make sure to get the whisk down into the bottom sides of the pan to make sure nothing burns.)

Once thickened, transfer mixture to a bowl. Add chopped coconut and coconut extract. Mix well. Cover with plastic warp touching the surface, so a skin doesn’t form.

Put in fridge to cool down. If it thickens while in fridge just whisk it back up.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

For a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch piping tip (2A) and fill with the choux pastry.

Pip 1 1/2 – 2 inch circles about 1 inch high.

Once oven is preheated, turn down to 400 degrees and bake choux for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown and puffed.

Then turn the oven down to 300 degrees and bake for about 25 minutes, until they feel light when picked up.

Take out of oven and let the eclairs cool for about 20 minutes.

While eclairs bake, toast coconut in a frying pan on medium heat. Stirring constantly so it doesn’t burn. Transfer to bowl once all golden brown.

Fill a pastry bag, fitted with a Bismarck piping top, with the coconut pastry cream. Poke piping tip onto the side of the eclair and fill until pastry cream starts coming out.

Once all filled, dip the top of the eclairs into the melted white chocolate and then straight into the toasted coconut.