Sometimes I just don't want to bake. Don't get me wrong- I LOVE baking. But summertime, without air conditioning, is just not conducive to baking. And why bake when I can have NO BAKE eclairs that taste just like baked ones?! These Strawberry Tiramisu No Bake Croissant Éclairs are also called "Cheater Éclairs."
With a creamy mascarpone chocolate filling and fresh strawberries and whipped cream, they taste just like eclairs but without all the work of making choux pastry, making them perfect for a last-minute potluck dessert or bake sale.
🍒Reader Review
"These are absolutely delicious. My son couldn't get enough. He really loved the chocolate touch inside with the strawberries and whipped cream. These would definitely be a hit at any family gathering, office potluck, or school bake sale. Great recipe!" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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- 🍒Reader Review
- Recipe Overview: Strawberry Tiramisu Cheater Eclairs
- Summarize and Save this Content on:
- 🥘 Ingredient Notes
- 📖 Variations & Substitutions
- 🔪How to Make No Bake Croissant Éclairs
- Expert Recipe Tips
- ❔Recipe FAQ's
- Leftover Mascarpone Cheese
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- 🍓More Strawberry Recipes!
- 📋 No Bake Strawberry Tiramisu Croissant Éclairs Recipe
Have you ever had a last-minute request from the kids that you need something for a bake sale tomorrow?! Well, I have. And the NIGHT BEFORE a bake sale is precisely the day that I don't have time for actual baking.
If so, you'll also want to put my Strawberry Milkshake Cookies or my Easy Root Beer Float Fudge in your back pocket for times like these. And if you're not in the mood to make choux pastry and looking for more 'croissant hacks' try my No Bake Cream Puff Dessert!
Recipe Overview: Strawberry Tiramisu Cheater Eclairs
- Ready in: 20 minutes
- Serves: 8
- Calories: 340 kcal (approximately)
- Main Ingredients: Mini croissants, strawberries, whipped cream
- Dietary info: vegetarian
- Difficulty: Easy
- Why You'll Love It: These delicious no-bake éclairs use a clever croissant shortcut to deliver bakery-quality results in just 20 minutes. They feature a rich chocolate-mascarpone filling and fresh strawberries, making them the perfect effortless dessert for last-minute potlucks, bake sales, or an easy dessert!
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🥘 Ingredient Notes
Made with mini croissants, whipped cream, strawberries, an easy tiramisu filling, and semisweet chocolate, this quick and easy mini eclair recipe, also known as Cheater Éclairs, are the perfect solution to your last-minute bake sale dilemma. You can easily make them last minute because they take a total of 20 minutes and only have 6 ingredients!
- Mini Croissants: These are the ultimate "Lazy Way" shortcut! They provide that light, airy, and buttery texture without the work of a traditional choux pastry. *Fresh Croissants are too soft, so be sure to let them dry out overnight before making this recipe!
- Chocolate Pudding (Snack Packs): A brilliant shortcut that ensures your filling is the perfect consistency every single time. And you don't have to 'make' pudding.
- Mascarpone Cheese: This provides that authentic Tiramisu richness. If you can't find it, you can substitute full-fat cream cheese.
- Fresh Strawberries: These balance the rich chocolate with a bright, zesty pop of flavor.
- Kahlua (Optional): This adds that signature "Tiramisu" depth. If you're making these for a school function, you can easily omit it!
- Whipped Cream: Stabilized whipped cream ensures your whipped cream doesn't 'fall' or run. A quick hack I use is adding ¼ cup of piping gel per 2 cups to your whipped cream when it reaches soft peaks, then beat it to stiff peaks.
📖 Variations & Substitutions
- Fruit Swap: Instead of strawberries, try using fresh raspberries or sliced bananas for a different flavor profile.
- Lighten it Up: To lower the Weight Watchers points, use fat-free chocolate pudding and light or fat-free whipped topping.
- Alcohol-Free: Skip the Kahlua and use a teaspoon of strong cold coffee or espresso to keep the Tiramisu essence without the alcohol. You can also use ½ teaspoon of Coffee extract (affliate link).
- Mini "Bites": Use the smallest bite-sized croissants found in the bakery department to create a spectacular platter of dessert "sliders."
🔪How to Make No Bake Croissant Éclairs
PREP *IMPORTANT! The fresh croissants will be too soft when you buy them, so you need to let them sit out overnight to dry out a little. This will be much easier to work with and closer to the texture of an actual eclair.
- Step 1: Mix chocolate pudding and the mascarpone cheese together in a separate bowl. Add Kahlua, if you are using it.
- Step 2: With a bread knife, using a sawing motion, slice croissants down the wide side (but do NOT cut all the way through!)
- Step 3: Spread the pudding mascarpone mixture on the bottom of the croissant, dividing evenly between all croissants.
- Step 4: Top with sliced strawberries, dividing them evenly between the croissants.
- Step 5: Fill a pastry bag with whipped cream. Using a pastry bag fitted with a 1M tip, pipe whipped cream into croissants, dividing evenly between all the croissants, but reserving about ¼ cup for garnish. Gently close the top of the croissant over the filling. * You can use a spoon if you aren't comfortable piping whipped cream. Or if you don't have a pastry bag, use a ziplock bag with the corner cut off.
- Step 6: Pipe a dollop of whipped cream on top of the croissants and add a half strawberry.
- Step 7: Set croissants on parchment paper. Melt the chocolate on 50% power in the microwave for about 1 ½ - 2 minutes, then dip a spoon in the melted chocolate. With a flicking of the wrist motion, drizzle chocolate across each croissant. * When you're drizzling the chocolate, don't aim for perfection. You want a whimsical, rustic look. Those messy, beautiful lines are exactly what tell your guests these are spectacular homemade éclairs and not something you just pulled off a grocery store shelf! VIDEO- How to drizzle chocolate with a spoon. She uses coconut oil to thin it a little, but you don't have to do that in this case. However, if your chocolate is a little thick, you can also use plain vegetable shortening instead.
Expert Recipe Tips
- Handle with Care: When slicing and filling the croissants, be gentle! You want to keep the "loft" and airiness of the bread so they look like traditional, plump éclairs.
- The "Zip" Hack: If you don't have a professional piping bag, just use a large Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off. It makes filling these mini éclairs a 2-minute job with zero mess.
- Melt Slowly: When melting your chocolate for the drizzle, use 50% power in the microwave. Chocolate can seize easily if it gets too hot or if any liquid touches it!
- Serve Chilled: These are at their absolute best after sitting in the fridge for about 30 minutes. It allows the mascarpone and pudding filling to firm up.
These eclairs are the best because they are so easy, but look like you bought them at a bakery! I once brought these to a potluck at work, and to avoid waste, I left them in the original plastic containers the croissants come in from the grocery store.
After the potluck, my colleague asked me what I brought, and when I told her, she was disappointed because she didn't try one. She thought they weren't homemade because I had them in the plastic container from the store, and said she would have had one had she known they were my homemade eclairs.
When I recently made these for another potluck, I made sure to bring them in my own plastic containers. They were gone in a flash!
These Strawberry Mini Eclairs are not only the perfect snack size, but they are perfect for little hands!
❔Recipe FAQ's
You can make them up to 4 hours in advance. However, because croissants are porous, they will eventually soften. For the best texture, I recommend prepping the filling in advance and assembling the éclairs just before you are ready to serve.
No problem! You can use an equal amount of softened cream cheese. To get closer to that mascarpone texture, whisk in a teaspoon of heavy cream or sour cream.
By using mini croissants and fresh fruit, we've created a portion-controlled treat that is much lighter than a massive bakery éclair! These are approximately 14 WW points per éclair as written, or lower if you use the "lighten it up" swaps mentioned above.
Store any leftover éclairs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Note that the croissant will lose its "crunch" and become softer the longer it sits with the filling inside.
Leftover Mascarpone Cheese
And since you'll have leftover mascarpone cheese, why not try my Healthy Creamy Ham Pasta with Peas, Raspberry Tiramisu Tarts, Cake Mix Tiramisu Cupcakes Recipe, or my Carrot Cake Doughnut Muffins!
Mascarpone cheese also freezes well for up to 3 months in an airtight container. Just be sure to let it defrost in the fridge.
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So if you want the taste of eclairs without the fuss of actually baking them, then give these Cheater Éclairs a try. But a word of advice, don't leave them in the store containers the croissants came in, or people will think they aren't homemade!
Strawberries are the perfect summer fruit for these eclairs because strawberry season never ends! Strawberries are grown all year long in some parts of North America. So, if you're looking for a strawberry eclair, give these a try!
🍓More Strawberry Recipes!
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📋 No Bake Strawberry Tiramisu Croissant Éclairs Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 mini croissants
- 2 -99 g packages of prepared chocolate pudding (snack packs) about 1 cup
- ½ cup Mascarpone cheese
- 1 tablespoon Kahlua (optional)
- 16 oz container of fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced in quarters, reserve 4 for topping
- 3 cups whipped cream This is about 2 cups of whipping cream (liquid) sweetened to your liking. I use about 2 tablespoon of white sugar for 3 cups.
Garnish
- 4 whole strawberries, cut in half
- ¼ cup whipped cream (reserved)
- 1 oz semi sweet chocolate, melted
Instructions
- PREP *IMPORTANT! The fresh croissants will be too soft when you buy them, so you need to let them sit out overnight to dry out a little. This will be much easier to work with and closer to the texture of an actual eclair.
- With a bread knife, using a sawing motion, slice croissants down the wide side (but do NOT cut all the way through!)8 mini croissants
- Mix chocolate pudding and mascarpone cheese together in separate bowl. Add Kahlua, if you are using it.2 -99 g packages of prepared chocolate pudding (snack packs), ½ cup Mascarpone cheese, 1 tablespoon Kahlua
- Spread pudding mascarpone mixture on bottom of croissant, dividing evenly between all croissants.
- Top with sliced strawberries, dividing evenly between each croissants16 oz container of fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced in quarters, reserve 4 for topping
- Fill a pastry bag with whipped cream. Using a 1M tip, pipe whipped cream into croissants, dividing evenly between all the croissants, but reserving about ¼ cup for garnish. Gently close the top of the croissant over the filling. * you can use a spoon if you aren't comfortable piping whipped cream. Or if you don't have a pastry bag, use a ziplock bag with the corner cut off.3 cups whipped cream
- Set croissants on parchment paper. Melt chocolate on 50% power in the microwave and dip spoon in melted chocolate. With a flicking of the wrist motion, drizzle chocolate across each croissant (see VIDEO below (in NOTES) for how to do this).* When you're drizzling the chocolate, don't aim for perfection. You want a whimsical, rustic look. Those messy, beautiful lines are exactly what tell others that these are spectacular homemade éclairs and not something you just pulled off a grocery store shelf!1 oz semi sweet chocolate, melted
Garnish
- Top with a dollop of whipped cream and a half strawberry. Serve. * You can garnish with whipped cream and strawberry before or after you drizzle the chocolate.¼ cup whipped cream (reserved), 4 whole strawberries, cut in half
Notes
- Handle with Care: When slicing and filling the croissants, be gentle! You want to keep the "loft" and airiness of the bread so they look like traditional, plump éclairs.
- The "Zip" Hack: If you don't have a professional piping bag, just use a large Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off. It makes filling these mini éclairs a 2-minute job with zero mess.
- Melt Slowly: When melting your chocolate for the drizzle, use 50% power in the microwave. Chocolate can seize easily if it gets too hot or any liquid touches it!
- Serve Chilled: These are at their absolute best after sitting in the fridge for about 30 minutes. It allows the mascarpone and pudding filling to firm up.
Kathryn says
These are absolutely delicious. My son couldn’t get enough. He really loved the chocolate touch inside with the strawberries and whipped cream. These would definitely be a hit at any family gathering, office potluck, or school bake sale. Great recipe.