Chocolate Eclairs (Gluten Free)

These amazing gluten-free chocolate eclairs will change your life, I'm serious.  Thanks to these gluten-free chocolate eclairs, I am realizing that with a little bit of research & the right flour, I can make ANYTHING gluten-free & make it so tasty that even the gluten-full can enjoy it.  Goodbye hard, dry gluten-free baked goods.  Hello fluffy pillow of gluten-free pastry surrounding a decadent vanilla cream filling & topped with delicious chocolate.  Welcome tasty gluten-free pastries, it's been 8 years & we are celebrating your return!  The first bite of these gluten-free gems brought me right back to being a kid & sneaking mini-eclairs & cream puffs out of the box in the basement freezer while my mom was upstairs hosting fancy adult parties :-)  I hope you enjoy!

Gluten-Free Eclair Recipe

You Will Need:

FOR THE PASTRY:

• 1 Cup & 2 Tablespoons Gluten-Free Flour
• 2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
• 1/4 tsp. Salt
• 1 Stick Butter (Unsalted)
• 1 Cup Water
• 4 Eggs

FOR THE FILLING:

• 5 oz box Instant Vanilla Pudding
• 2 1/2 Cups Milk
• 1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar
• 1 tsp. Gluten-Free Vanilla Extract

FOR THE CHOCOLATE TOPPING:

• 2-4 oz Bittersweet Chocolate
• 2-4 Tablespoons Butter

use one-to-one ratio

Step-By-Step Directions:

PASTRY:

1. Preheat Oven to 400 degrees
2. In saucepan boil Butter, Sugar, Water & Salt
3. Remove from heat, add flour & stir like heck for ~2 minutes
4. Place dough in bowl of KitchenAid Stand Mixer & beat at medium speed for ~1 minute
5. While mixing, add eggs one at a time, giving them time to absorb
6. Keep mixing until dough is smooth (if it looks like mac & cheese, keep mixing!)
7. Using a Pastry Bag, pipe out dough into logs on baking sheet covered in parchment paper.  ~2 inches for mini-eclairs and ~5 inches for large gluten-free eclairs
8. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes
9. Reduce heat to 325 and bake eclairs for 20-30 minutes longer, until brown
10. Remove from oven, place on rack to cool & pierce a small hole in eclair to let steam out

FILLING:

• Make Vanilla Pudding: Combine Pudding Mix & Milk, let firm up in fridge for at least 5 minutes
• Place Cream in KitchenAid Mixer & whip (med-high speed) until soft peaks form
• Mix in Powdered Sugar & Vanilla
• Fold in Vanilla Pudding
• Go ahead & taste it, seriously - this stuff is light & airy & delicious!

CHOCOLATE ICING:

• Melt Chocolate in Microwave starting with 30 seconds, mixing, then moving to 10-15 second increments
• Add in Butter & stir until melted
• Cut Pastry Shells in half lengthwise
• Dip top of shell in chocolate (pour chocolate onto plate if needed)
• Let chocolate dry for a few minutes, then spoon cream onto bottom & place chocolate shell on top!
• Enjoy immediately!  Those that you don't eat keep best if frozen. 

Tips & Tricks

• No pastry bag?  No problem!  Place dough in ziploc bag & cut corner to pipe.  Dough too sticky?  Put it in the fridge for a few minutes for better handling. 
• Be Fancy & Gourmet: Call the pastry by it's French Name "Pate A Choux" & make your own Pastry Cream (Martha Stewart Recipe)
• Add Fresh Berries to top of Eclair or to plate to pretty it up!
• Pastries & Cream can be made ahead of time, but eclairs should be assembled close to eating time.

• Use the same dough & filling to make gluten-free cream puffs!