I have not had an eclair since going gluten free. If you are in the same boat and have been missing eclairs in your life you have come to the right place! These gluten free  eclairs are surprisingly easy to make and turn out INCREDIBLE (AND they are dairy free)! I couldn’t keep my hands off them! The light airy choux pastry, creamy filling, and sweet chocolate glaze makes these the perfect pastry!

There are many steps when making an eclair, and to make it even easier and quicker there were some tweaks that were made to the traditional eclair recipe. Traditionally eclairs are made with creme patisserie, but instead these were piped with coconut whipped cream (store bought ready-made). They are traditionally also topped with chocolate ganache – these were topped with a quick microwave chocolate glaze.

Be creative and have fun! Fill and top your gluten free eclairs with whatever flavors you fancy!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR GLUTEN FREE ECLAIRS

• Sun Flour Mills Pastry Flour
• Water
• Butter/Dairy-Free Butter   – In this recipe we used Dairy-Free Country Crock’s Plant Butter Sticks (Avocado)
• Xanthan Gum   –
• Salt
• Sugar
• Eggs

 HOW TO MAKE ECLAIRS

You won’t understand how incredibly good eclairs are until you have made them yourselves! Eclairs are a labor of love because they take some time and there are multiple steps, but each step is easy. What is especially nice about eclairs is you can make a large batch and freeze any you don’t use (just like the ones you see in the freezer section of the grocery store. 

MAKE THE CHOUX DOUGH

Step 1: In a large non-stick pot, on the stovetop over medium-high heat bring the water and butter to a rolling boil.

Step 2: Sift the dry ingredients and then add.

Step 3: Stir until dough forms a ball. (You can use a hand mixer for this step if needed.)

Step 4: Transfer dough into a large mixing bowl.

Step 5: Using a stand or hand mixer, beat in the eggs one at a time.

CREATE THE ECLAIRS

Step 1: Transfer dough to a large large pastry bag or ziploc bag and pipe into 3×1 in. rectangles on a parchment covered baking sheet.

*If there are rough edges from piping you can smooth them out with wet hands.

Step 2: Bake for 20-25 minutes at 425 degrees. Centers should be dry. 

Step 3: Move to a cooling rack and poke a hole in the side of each eclair to let the steam escape – this keeps them from getting soggy in the middle. 

Step 4: Once cool, poke two small holes in the bottom of each eclair and fill with whip cream/pudding/creme patisserie using a piping bag. 

*We used So Delicious Coco Whip (dairy-free whip cream) – from the freezer section of the grocery store. Eclairs are traditionally made with creme patisserie, but we wanted the ease and speed of a ready made whip cream. 

Step 5: Dip the top of each eclair in the chocolate glaze. Store in the fridge until ready to eat. You can also store in the freezer. 

CHOCOLATE GLAZE

4 oz. chocolate chips (dairy-free/semi-sweet)

4 TBSP butter/dairy-free butter

Put in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high power for 10 seconds at a time until melted. Stir after each 10 seconds.