Gluten Free Eclairs

by - December 19, 2018

For most of us, we may have come to the conclusion that we will just never be able to enjoy eclairs ever again. I know that I did for many years until one day I decided enough was enough and if I wanted an eclair, I was going to have an eclair! I thought that it would be easier to start with a cream puffs because they just seemed a bit easier and I could work on a recipe for the choux pastry.  I did a lot of research to try and come up with a good choux pastry recipe and my cream puffs turned out amazing.  They puffed perfectly and it was easy enough to fill them with the pastry cream.

 I also wanted to perfect the pastry cream.  I wanted to be able to make a delicious but easy pastry cream that would work every time.  I thought that by using cornstarch in the pastry cream, it would give it a good base so that it would work every time and not run everywhere.  Let me tell you, it works every time.  There has never been an instance where this pastry cream has failed me.  It works perfectly and tastes amazing. It is not too sweet but has a great flavor that just goes so well with with the delicate choux pastry.
If you have never made choux pastry the one thing that you really need to know is that you CANNOT OPEN THE OVEN  while they are baking. They puff because it is such a wet dough and all the eggs will create a steam in the oven.  The steam is what puffs these up and if you open the oven, all the steam will escape and you will have flat logs instead of a great puff.  You will want to open the oven to check on them but restrain yourself because if you don't, you will get some amazing eclairs.  There has been many times that you can find me standing at my oven staring, willing them to puff.
If you are looking for a dessert to really impress, this is the one.  People will go crazy over these because how many people make eclairs anymore?! Plus when they find out that these are gluten free, they will be even more impressed.  Choux pastry is great to make gluten free because the pastry is so thin and gluten is not necessary to make these puff.  They really are delicious and so good.  I brought these to a party recently and people went crazy for them.  I had people putting them on plates and sneaking them out so they could have some to enjoy when they got home.  They really are that good.
It is best to eat them right after you make them. These are not a make a head dessert but need to be eaten the same day. They don't really save very well but I didn't really have any problem eating the the next day, they are just a lot better same day.  You don't need to refrigerate them after they have been put together but just leave them out.  Check out the video down below to find out exactly how I made these and also head over to my YouTube channel for more great recipes and product reviews.
Yield: 18 Eclairs

Gluten Free Eclairs

A delicious choux pastry filled with an smooth and creamy pastry cream with chocolate on top. They are so good and will impress all of your friends and family.
prep time: 1 hourcook time: 30 minstotal time: 1 hours and 30 mins

ingredients:

Pastry Cream
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 4 large egg yolks
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Choux Pastry
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup gluten free flour blend (I use Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour Blend)
  • 1 cup water
  • 6 large eggs (Reserve one for egg wash)
  • 10 oz dark or milk chocolate
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • sprinkles or decorations (optional)

instructions

Pastry Cream
  1. Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt in medium saucepan. Whisk together milk and egg yolks in a separate bowl. Add milk mixture to the saucepan, along with butter. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add vanilla.
  2. Strain pastry cream through a fine-mesh colander into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. Just before using, whisk until smooth.
Choux Pastry
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine butter, sugar, salt and water. Bring to a boil and quickly stir in the gluten free flour with a wooden spoon. Continue to stir and cook for about 1 minute.
  3. Remove from heat and transfer contents into the bowl of a mixer. Add eggs, one at a time letting the egg fully incorporate before adding another one.
  4. For egg wash, whisk together the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Set aside.
  5. Transfer the pate a choux to a large pastry bag with a 5/8-inch plain tip. Pipe 2-3 inch logs onto parchment paper lined baking sheet.
  6. Smooth out any peaks/tails caused by piping with a wet fingertip (this will ensure your eclairs cook evenly and maintain their shape)
  7. Brush the eclairs with egg wash.
  8. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes at 425 degrees F. Then without opening the oven, reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes until done. (Do not open the oven until completely done or your eclairs will flatten)
  9. Remove eclairs from oven. Using the tip of the knife, cut a small "x" into the bottom of each eclair and transfer ("x" side up) to a cooling rack. (this will allow any excess stream/moisture to escape ensuring your eclairs maintain their shape.)
Assemble Eclairs
  1. Fill a piping bag fitted with a narrow tip with pastry cream. (You can also use a squeeze bottle with a tip)
  2. Just before serving, pipe the pastry cream into the cooled eclairs.
  3. Pour chocolate into a glass bowl. In a separate bowl, add heavy cream.
  4. Microwave the cream for one minute. Remove and immediately pour the hot cream over the chocolate pieces.  Stir until the chocolate has melted and a nice ganache has formed. (if necessary place the bowl with the chocolate and cream in the microwave for 10 second increments, stirring  after each until smooth.)
  5. Dip the top side of the filled eclairs into the  melted chocolate.
  6. Sprinkle with sprinkles or decorations. Best served immediately!
Created using The Recipes Generator

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4 comments

  1. I haven’t assembled this yet, but the filling is delicious and the crust turned out exactly like the picture. I’m going to make vanilla bean whipped cream for the top. Thanks for the great recipe!

    Riyanna
    Something about deliverance from generational curses

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So glad they turned out! Hope they tasted just like you expected!

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  2. This was so good! I made it dairy free and sugar free as well (used monkfruit). Much tastier the next day 😊

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    Replies
    1. what did you use for dairy free? I want to use vanilla almond milk because my son is gluten free and dairy free but also fructose free and coconut milk has fructose

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