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Recipe Makeover: Caramel Éclairs

March 10, 2015
Photo: Jennifer Causey
Amazing flavor and texture with less butter, no cream, and healthy whole grains. By: Sidney Fry, MS, RD
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Caramel Éclairs Made Light

Photo: Jennifer Causey

We build the dough from whole-wheat pastry flour and keep it fluffy and light with whipped eggs and egg whites. Instead of whipped cream, we make a vanilla bean custard from half-and-half and fat-free milk, a combo that adds richness and body with far less fat than heavy cream. Brown sugar, bourbon, and a dab of butter caramelize into a delicious glaze that's topped of with a sprinkle of sea salt, which balances the sweetness of the caramel and pastry cream. Forget eating in a flash; with half the calories and all the fluffy, cream-filled, caramel goodness of the original, these treats are meant to be savored.

Classic
467 calories per éclair
30.3 grams total fat
17.7 grams sat fat

Makeover
228 calories per éclair
8.3 grams total fat
4.7 grams sat fat

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Tip #1: The Pastry

Photo: Jennifer Causey

We cut butter in half, while whole-grain pastry flour and fluffy egg whites keep our pastry light as air to save 51 calories and add 1g fiber per éclair.

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Tip #2: The Cream

Photo: Jennifer Causey

A combination of fat-free milk and half-and-half stands in for heavy cream, saving 105 calories and 7.7g sat fat per serving. Real vanilla bean adds richness.

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Tip #3: The Glaze

Photo: Jennifer Causey

Brown sugar, bourbon, and a pinch of salt are made rich with half-and-half instead of pure butter, which saves 3.3g sat fat per decadent pastry.

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