Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On the reverse side of a sheet of parchment paper, draw out ten 5" lines with space between them, to serve as a guide when piping the eclairs. Line a large baking sheet with the parchment.

Sift the 1 1/4 cups of All-Purpose flour into a bowl.

In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, using a wooden spoon or sturdy rubber spatula, add the 1/2 cup of butter and stir until melted. Once the butter is melted add the 1/4 tsp salt, 2 tsp of sugar, 1/2 cup whole milk, and 1/2 cup of water. Bring to a boil. As soon as it starts to boil remove it from the heat.

All at once, pour the sifted flour into the saucepan and stir vigorously to quickly incorporate the flour and form a non-lumpy dough. Move the saucepan back to the burner and cook over medium heat for 1 minute.

After this, transfer the choux dough to your Kitchenaid mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add each egg to the dough one at a time, mix on medium speed until each one is fully incorporated. After the first two eggs, scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula to make sure the dough is mixing thoroughly. You may not need the 5th egg. The Choux dough should not be too runny! It's ready to be piped when you lift the paddle attachment out and the dough slowly forms a V dropping off of the paddle.

When the Choux dough is the right consistency, scoop it all into a 16" piping bag. Once all the dough is in the piping bag, measure 2 1/2" up from the bottom tip of the bag and cut it off. This will form the perfect size opening to create 10 nice-sized eclairs.

Follow the 5" guides you drew earlier and pipe the 10 eclairs. You can use a plastic bench scraper to keep pushing the Choux dough down in the piping bag to avoid getting air bubbles in the dough while piping.

Once the eclairs are all piped, place them on the middle rack of the oven and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. After this, turn the oven down to 375 degrees and bake for an additional 30-45 minutes. They will be very golden brown when they are finished baking, don't be tempted to remove them early, or open the oven as they're baking, as they will go flat.

Once they are finished baking, turn off the oven and crack the door open, allow them to sit like that for 10 minutes, and then remove them from the oven and finish cooling them on a cooling rack.

While the eclairs are baking, make the vanilla almond pastry cream. In a small bowl, begin by combining the 2 tbsp of flour with the 2 tbsp of cornstarch and set to the side.

Add the 2 cups of whole milk and tsp of vanilla extract, and 1/4 tsp of almond extract to a medium saucepan. Bring it to a boil and then remove it from the heat and set it to the side.

In your Kitchenaid mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, add 4 egg yolks (save the egg whites for the frosting) and 1/3 cup of granulated sugar. Whisk together until the mixture turns pale yellow and fluffy. Next, add in the flour/cornstarch and whisk until combined. After this, measure out a 1/2 cup of the hot milk and with the mixer running at medium speed, slowly drizzle the hot milk into the eggs.

Once you've added the 1/2 cup of hot milk to the eggs, remove the bowl from the mixing stand and pour the egg mixture into the rest of the milk in the saucepan. Put the pan back on the stove over medium heat and whisk continuously until the pastry cream begins to thicken. This should only take 3-7 minutes.

Remove the pastry cream from the stove and pour it into a bowl. Cover the pastry cream with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic wrap is touching the entire surface of the cream to keep it from forming a skin as it cools. Place the bowl in the fridge to allow it to fully cool before filling the eclairs.

Once the pastry cream is fully chilled, add 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream to a medium-size bowl and whip it until stiff peaks form. Next, scoop the whipped cream into the pastry cream and fold them together until fully incorporated. If you're not ready to assemble the eclairs yet, return the pastry cream to the fridge.

In a heat-proof bowl, combine the 3/4 cup of granulated sugar, and the 4 egg whites you saved from earlier. Place the bowl on top of a medium saucepan filled with a couple of inches of water. The water should not touch the bowl with the eggs and sugar. Place the saucepan/bowl on the stove over medium heat and begin whisking the eggs and sugar together. Continue whisking until the sugar is completely dissolved, the mixture will turn almost clear.

After this, pour the egg whites/sugar into your Kitchenaid mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on high until stiff meringue peaks form. Add in the 1/4 tsp of salt and whisk.

Next, while the mixer is running at medium speed, add in the cup of softened butter 1 tbsp at a time. Finish by adding in the 1/2 tsp of vanilla, and the 1/4 tsp of almond. Whip until everything is combined and smooth.

Once the eclairs are cooled and the pastry cream is fully chilled, it's time to assemble! Transfer the pastry cream to a 16" plastic piping bag fitted with a pastry filling tip. Poke the tip through the bottom of each eclair once on each end and then in the middle to make sure the length of the eclair is filled with pastry cream. Continue with each eclair until all 10 are filled.

Next, transfer the Swiss almond buttercream to a 16" pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe 3-4 large swirls on top of the eclair. Once they are all frosted, place 3-4 fresh cherries along the top of the frosting!

Serve right away, or place in the fridge to keep cool until you are ready to serve! Then, enjoy this gorgeous and delicious treat!