This one is for my mom! It was her birthday yesterday and this is the dessert I made for the celebration. My mom is a lover of all things French, especially pastries. Once we learned how to make eclairs in culinary school this week, I knew I had to try to adapt them to be gluten-free.
If you read my story on the NFCA website during celiac awareness month, you know that after my son was diagnosed with celiac disease, I was diagnosed and then my mom was too. It’s crazy to think we’ve been living with these issues for years and never knew it! I think it’s been hardest on my mom. She grew up in Egypt and attended French schools her whole life. She was an AP French teacher (along with other languages) until she recently retired. When we were little, she set up a trip for us to spend part of the summer living in an adorable apartment in a residential neighborhood in Paris.
I loved traveling through France with my mom who spoke the language so beautifully and helped us navigate our way through the incredible sights. Of course, we ate a lot of delicious food there as well. Funny enough, my favorite meal was the rotisserie chicken we would get down the street from a corner store and the Orangina I drank to wash it down. I also loved the pastries. These éclairs, though gluten-free, definitely measure up to the best of them.
In school we used a large star tip to pipe out the éclairs and the pastry cream. I used my trusty ziploc bag and cut off a corner to pipe everything out at home. As you can see, it still came out pretty. You decide which method you’d like to use. This recipe has quite a few steps. Nothing this good ever comes easy, does it? You have to make the dough for the éclairs, the pastry cream and the chocolate all from scratch. You can prep all 3 a day ahead and just assemble the éclairs right before serving.
Bon Appetit!
- PASTRY DOUGH (Pate A Choux)
- 1 cup water
- 6 T unsalted butter
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup King Arthur gluten-free flour blend
- ¼ tsp xanthan gum
- 5 eggs
- PASTRY CREAM
- 1 pint milk
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 egg
- 4 yolk
- 2 T butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- CHOCOLATE SAUCE
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 2 T sugar
- 1 T agave syrup (or corn syrup)
- 3 oz dark chocolate, chopped (I used Scharffen Berger 67%)
- pinch salt
- ½ tsp vanilla
- PASTRY DOUGH
- Preheat oven to 400 and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper
- Combine water, butter and salt in a sauce pan ver medium heat, bring to a boil, stirring occasionally
- As soon as it boils, remove the pan from the heat and add the flour and xanthan gum. Use a rubber spatula to stir until smooth
- Return pan to fire and continue to stir constantly until the paste dries slightly and begins to stick to the sides of the pan
- Transfer the paste to the bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment or use a hand mixer and beat on lowest speed to cool the paste slightly, about 30 seconds
- Add the eggs, one at a time, until each is absorbed. Scrape the sides, if needed, between additions
- Once all of the eggs are added, mix on medium speed for 2-3 minutes to ensure they are absorbed (The dough will not be completely smooth. That is ok.)
- Use ziploc bag or pastry bag with large star attachment and pipe out the dough in diagonal lines, 1" wide, 3" long.
- Bake at 400 until top begins to rise and brown a little (about 15 minutes), reduce heat to 350 and continue to bake until dough is dry (about 15 minutes more).
- Allow to cool completely before using a serrated knife to cut dough in half lengthwise and prepare for filling
- PASTRY CREAM
- Add milk and sugar to a sauce pan and bring to just boiling
- In the meantime, whisk eggs together with cornstarch until completely smooth
- As soon as milk boils, add cornstarch and eggs, whisking continuously until mixture begins to thicken and boil and "craters" begin to form
- Remove from the fire and whisk in butter and vanilla until fully incorporated
- Cool completely before using for filling (great to make a day ahead)
- CHOCOLATE SAUCE
- Combine the cream, sugar and agave in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring often
- Remove from heat and add chocolate. Do not whisk but shake pan lightly to submerge chocolate in hot liquid. Let stand 3 minutes.
- Whisk in salt and vanilla and cool to room temperature before using
- ASSEMBLING ECLAIRS
- Use pastry bag with star attachment to generously pipe cooled pastry cream onto the bottom of each eclair
- Dip tops of eclairs in chocolate sauce and cover pastry cream lightly
- Serve and enjoy or refrigerate until serving
I have to find then, a substitute for the milk. As I am also lactose-free and gluten-free, and low fat. I’m on chemotherapy, always suspected the gluten aspect, but to eliminate all dairy is tough. I’ve returned to the Middle Eastern cuisine of hummus, baba ghanoush, fava bean and chickpea salad as the Lebanese do, and rediscovering rice: brown, wild, and a mixture. I will miss tabouleh, but I find that quinoa is a good substitute. Thanks again for your blog. I will keep reading! Thank you for your education, experience, and devotion.
Phyllis, thank you for reading my blog and for your comment! I’m sure it is tough to eliminate dairy as well as gluten. Here is a link to a similar recipe (for cream puffs) from Cybele Pascale that is gluten and dairy-free http://simplygluten-free.com/blog/2010/01/gluten-free-dairy-free-cream-puffs.html Best of luck to you!
I love your site and recipies I am also gluten and dairy free…. will have to find a substiture for the milk and cream . I did makd creme puffs from my moms recipe using gluten free flour and almond milk and they turned out okay. Maybe canned coconut milk will be better.
The photos really makes you to want some now. They look really delicious.
Thank you!!!
Hello! )))
Wooooow … how it is nice!!! Thank You for sharing!!!
I have two quastions : how meny mls in Your cup? and what is T (6 T unsalted butter) ?
Thanks!!! ))))