Gluten Free Dairy Free Eclairs

Ingredients

For the Eclair Shell:
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoon gluten free flour blend (choose a flour with xanthum gum)
• 2 tablespoon sugar (use white sugar, do not substitute other sugars)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup butter (can substitute dairy free butter like Earth Balance)
• 1 cup water
• 4 eggs, at room temperature
For the Filling:
• ½ cup butter, softened (can substitute non dairy butter like Earth Balance)
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 3-4 tablespoon tapioca or arrowroot starch
• 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Chocolate Topping:
• ½ cup non dairy chocolate chips (we used Enjoy Life semi sweet)
• 2 tablespoon butter (can substitute non dairy--we used Earth Balance)

Instructions

To Make the Shells
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a saucepan, bring the sugar, salt, butter and water to a boil. When mixture starts to boil, remove from heat and stir in the flour. MIx by hand for two minutes, then pour the mixture into a mixer bowl. Stir at medium speed for one minute. Add eggs one by one until the mixture becomes smooth and sticky.
3. Pour the dough into a pastry bag and pipe 1 ½ inch wide x 4 inch long on the baking sheet, leaving some space in between each eclair.
4. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 325 and bake an additional 20 minutes. Remove from oven and place eclairs on a cooling rack to finish cooling. When cool, slice horizontally and fill.
For the Filling:
5. In a mixing bowl, sitr together all filling ingredients until a custard like consistency is reached. (You may need to add 1-2 more tablespoons of tapioca or arrowroot until consistency is reached).
For the Chocolate Topping:
6. Melt the chocolate chips using the microwave or double boiler method. Remove and stir in the butter, continuing to stir until smooth.
To Serve:
7. Open the sliced eclair, fill with a generous amount of filling. Place the top half of the eclair on top then pipe or spoon chocolate on top of the eclair. Serve immediately or freeze for best results if not eaten that same day.