Eclair Cake Recipe

We love eclairs. We didn’t fully realize it until about two years ago, when picking up a two-pack from our local Wegman’s became a habit. Then I found a decent recipe and we were head-over-heels. My husband requested an "eclair cake" for his birthday (yesterday) and you KNOW I am always up for a cake challenge! If you search for eclair cake recipes, you will get a slew of links to the exact same recipe that I in NO WAY think resembles an eclair. It uses graham crackers and vanilla pudding from a box. It’s a fine enough recipe on its own and is always a hit at a low-key potluck or picnic, but it was definitely not what I had in mind. So, I made my own recipe!

In a nutshell, this is what you do: make a classic pastry that is used for cream puffs, eclairs, etc. and bake it into two rectangles, fill the rectangles with a pudding-whipped cream combo, and frost the top with ganache.  Want specifics? Read on.

Eclair Cake Recipe

Pastry (very similar to the filling of the Danish Almond Puff)
1 cup water
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup flour
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache
4 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream 
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
1/4-1/2 cup confectioners sugar (optional)

Filling (Time for a short-cut! You can make your own custard or pudding . . . but this canned pudding is quite good.)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon confectioners sugar
1 15.75 oz. can "Thank You" The Ultimate Vanilla Pudding

1. Preheat oven to 425. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. On one side of the parchment, mark two rectangles, 12" by 4" each, with a pencil and a ruler. Flip paper over so that the pencil marks are underneath.

2. Prepare the pastry: In a medium saucepan, combine water, 1/2 cup butter, salt, and sugar. Bring to a rolling boil and remove from the heat. Quickly stir in (with a wooden spoon) the flour until combined. Dough will be glossy. Transfer the dough to a mixing bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating until combined. Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract with the last egg.

3. Divide dough in half and spread each half evenly on a rectangle on the parchment. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 and bake an additional 25-30 minutes, until tops are completely golden.

4. Remove from oven. Cool on pan for 10 minutes, then slide with parchment onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

5. While pastry is baking and cooling, prepare the chocolate ganache and the filling. For the ganache: Place chocolate pieces in a medium mixing bowl. In a small saucepan, heat cream just to boiling. Remove from heat and pour over chocolate in bowl. Allow to sit for about five minutes, then stir until combined. Stir in two tablespoons of butter, until melted and mixed in thoroughly. Allow to cool to lukewarm. With a hand mixer, beat ganache for one minute on medium speed. Taste-test; if you would like it a little sweeter, add optional vanilla extract and confectioners sugar. Beat until combined thoroughly. Set aside.

6. For the filling, pour 1 cup heavy whipping cream into a chilled medium mixing bowl. Add vanilla and confectioners sugar. Beat until soft peaks form. Place pudding into a medium mixing bowl. Transfer whipped cream to bowl and fold into pudding. Cover and chill.

7. To assemble the eclair: Place one pastry rectangle onto a large serving platter. Top with filling. Place other pastry rectangle on top, flat side facing up. Frost with ganache. Chill thoroughly to set, at least an hour.  Using a serrated knife, cut slices that are 1" by 4". Serves 10-12.