Heat the milk in a saucepan.

Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla pod and mix them with sugar, cornstarch, and egg yolk.

Whisk until light and airy.

Pour the hot milk into the egg mixture and whisk well.

Put the mixture back into the saucepan and bring to a boil while stirring for a couple of minutes.

Be careful not to let the cream burn.

Place the cream in the fridge and let it cool completely.

Put water, sugar, salt, and butter in a saucepan and bring to a boil until all the butter is melted.

Reduce the temperature, add the flour and stir well for a couple of minutes so the dough "toasts" in the saucepan.

Let the dough cool slightly before beating in one egg at a time.

The dough should be thick and heavy - between 3-5 eggs may be needed depending on their size. The dough must not become too thin.

Put the dough in a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe two sticks onto the baking sheet.

Bake at 200 degrees Celsius (392 degrees Fahrenheit) in a conventional oven for about 25-30 minutes. Do not open the oven door meanwhile.

Let the sticks cool completely before decorating.

Whip the cream to stiff peaks.

Lightly boil the jam in a saucepan for about 2-3 minutes, then let it cool completely.

Spread a bit of jam in the middle of the bases.

Whisk the vanilla cream smooth and delicious, then distribute it in the middle of the sticks.

Optionally, sprinkle with crushed macarons.

Put the whipped cream in a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe a pretty pattern over the vanilla cream, covering it completely.

Decorate with fresh berries and chopped or melted chocolate.

Enjoy the process.