I recently published a recipe for gluten free choux pastry that originally appeared in my second cookbook, Intolerance Friendly Kitchen. Well, we need something to make with the choux pastry, right? And what is better than these delicious gluten free eclairs?!
Gluten free eclairs
These delicious eclairs are gluten free, nut free, easily low FODMAP and can be made dairy free as well. With the right filling, they are also xanthan gum free. The choux pastry recipe is naturally xanthan gum free but some cream products contain gums for texture improvement and whipping.
The choux pastry is made from a white rice flour mixture. You can use a small amount of tapioca flour in the choux or all rice flour, eliminating the need for starch based flours. Once you have cooked the choux, piped the eclairs and baked them, it’s time to fill them.
My preference is a lactose free pastry cream and a dark chocolate shell. Of course, you can mix things up if you have filling and toppings you prefer.
These eclairs are as simple to make as eclairs can be, but the result is so worthwhile. Nothing better than a fresh eclair!
Ingredient notes and recipe tips
For ingredient notes specific to the gluten free choux pastry, see the notes in that recipe.
It’s up to you to decide if you’d like to make the pastry cream in the recipe or if you’d prefer to use something else. You can fill your eclairs with whatever you like – some people prefer sweetened whipped cream. Keep in mind that whipping cream generally contains xanthan gum if you are avoiding it.
You can use whatever sort of chocolate you prefer. I love a good dark chocolate, but you might be more of a milk person.
The oil in the chocolate helps keep it softer so the eclair is easy to eat. If your chocolate shell gets too hard it will rip off as you bite. You can use any sort of neutral oil you prefer.
Eclairs are best on the day of making. Not to say that they won’t keep, but they are best fresh.
I prefer to make my pastry cream the night before so it has time to chill and firm up. This makes it easier to pipe and just less of a hassle.
FODMAP notes
These thresholds are current as of August 2025 and will be periodically reviewed to ensure they remain up to date.
There are a few bits and bobs to discuss in relation to making a low FODMAP gluten free eclair.
First, make sure you use a low FODMAP milk in your choux pastry. I like to use lactose free full fat milk. Butter is very low lactose and thus low FODMAP. It is high fat which can effect gut motility, but this is a separate issue to the FODMAPs.
Next, make sure you use a low FODMAP milk in your pastry cream.
Finally, the chocolate. Entries for chocolate have a few gaps on the Monash FODMAP app. My personal grievance is that even the entry for dark chocolate contains moderate lactose in serves of 80g or more. The dark chocolate I use generally doesn’t use milk at all.
Their entry for a dairy free, super dark chocolate (85%) specifies it is low FODMAP in 20g servings, but doesn’t mention an upper limit.
FODMAP Everyday have a similar issue with the lactose and dark chocolate, but they put a low FODMAP threshold at 100g.
Either way, dark chocolate is the lowest FODMAP choice for these eclairs and also contrasts beautifully with a sweet pastry cream.
More gluten free dessert recipes
- Lactose free egg free chocolate mousse recipe
- Gluten free choc chip shortbread cookies
- Gluten free dairy free chocolate cake without xanthan gum
- Gluten free vanilla cupcakes without xanthan gum
- Gluten free white chocolate panna cotta with agar agar
Gluten free eclairs
Ingredients
For the low FODMAP pastry cream:
- 180ml (3/4 cup)* lactose free full fat milk
- 1/4 teaspoon agar agar powder (for thickening)
- 1 extra large egg (45-55g, weighed out of shell)
- 1 extra large egg yolk
- 25 g gluten free cornstarch
- 25 g butter
For the choux pastry:
- 1 batch gluten free choux pastry (recipe linked in notes below)
For the chocolate topping:
- 100g 70% cocoa solids dark chocolate
- 10ml (2 teaspoons) coconut oil or melted butter
Instructions
- Prepare the pastry cream as per the instructions in the pastry cream post linked in the notes section below. The quantity in this recipe is smaller than that one, so make sure you choose these quantities (unless you'd like some leftover pastry cream). Pop it in the fridge to chill and firm up completely – I like to make it the night before.
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Very lightly grease and then line a large baking tray. Greasing the tray first will ensure the paper doesn't slip around as you pipe your eclairs.
- Prepare the choux pastry dough as per the instructions in the gluten free choux pastry recipe linked below. Prepare the dough up until step 7.
- Place the choux pastry in a piping bag with a large round nozzle. Pipe 8-10 eclairs that are roughly 10cm X 3cm rectangles (4 inch X 1 inch). I like to pipe them a few layers upwards to give them a little bit of height. Hopefully the dough is holding shape as you pipe onto the tray. If not, you may have added a bit much egg (but bake them anyway because sometimes choux pastry can surprise you!).
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the eclairs are golden and puffed. If they are extra golden, you might like to place a piece of foil on the top oven rack to prevent them from over-browning.
- Turn the oven down to 150C/300F. Bake the eclairs for a further 10-20 minutes to bake them through thoroughly.
- Remove the eclairs from the oven. Working quickly, poke 1-2 small air holes in each eclair (I like to do one on each short end of the eclair) using a skewer. This will help any air escape and should hopefully mean your eclairs hold their shape. Allow the eclairs to cool completely on the tray.
- Using a shape knife, cut two small circular holes in the bottom of each eclair. You will use these holes to pipe the pastry cream into the eclair. Alternatively, you can slice each eclair in half longways and sandwich the pastry cream between the top and bottom slice.
- Pipe pastry cream into each eclair until it puffs up a little (if you are filling the eclairs through the holes in the bottom) or until it looks nicely filled (if you are sandwiching the pastry cream in).
- Repeat until you have filled all the eclairs.
- To make the chocolate topping, place the chocolate and oil or butter in a small heatproof bowl over a small pot 1/3 filled with water. Ensure the water doesn't touch the base of the bowl. Turn the heat to medium and cook, stirring regularly, until the chocolate has fully melted.
- Dip the top of each eclair in the melted chocolate. Allow the excess chocolate to drip off thoroughly while the eclair is inverted, then place it on a cooling rack to allow the chocolate to set.
- These eclairs are best consumed on the day of making, but can keep in the fridge in an airtight container for a couple of days.
Notes
- See the recipe for the lactose free pastry cream here.
- See the recipe for the gluten free choux pastry here.
- The recipe for the gluten free choux pastry contains plenty of tips and tricks for making gluten free choux that holds its shape. If you are having choux issues, see that post.
- If you love a very full eclair, make double the pastry cream.
- Agar agar powder is a vegetarian alternative to gelatin. It makes the choux pastry firmer, easier to pipe and more stable in the eclair. I don’t recommend omitting it. You can buy agar agar in more boutique supermarkets, specialty stores or online. Note that agar agar powder works differently to the sheets and I can offer no advice on using sheets, flakes or anything other than the powder. I also haven’t tested gelatin as I don’t work with it.
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