Chocolate Eclair Cake
This is a family favorite which was perfected by my mother many years ago. It is as they say Mmm, Mmm, Good
This is a family favorite which was perfected by my mother many years ago. It is as they say Mmm, Mmm, Good
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- -- cake --
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs
- -- topping --
- 1/2 cup butter (1-stick)
- -- filling --
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
- 2 3.4-oz packages french vanilla instant pudding
- 2 1/2 cups cold milk
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened (room temperature)
- 1 12-oz container cool whip
- 3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (i use ghirardelli)
- 3 tablespoons milk (3 to 4 tbsp as needed for a thin glaze)
- Carbohydrate 53.38813375 g
- Cholesterol 767.056666666667 mg
- Fat 44.4360720833333 g
- Fiber 0.640500010401011 g
- Protein 24.16187 g
- Saturated Fat 23.0865344166667 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (324g)
- Sodium 980.858166666667 mg
- Sugar 52.747633739599 g
- Trans Fat 5.10867316666666 g
- Calories 702 calories
Step-by-step
- To Make Cake: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Bring the water, butter and salt to boil until butter is melted.
- Add the flour all at once and mix rapidly with a wooden spoon.
- Stir until the mixture leaves the sides of pan and forms a ball.
- Lower heat and continue stirring for 2 to 3 minutes to dry dough.
- Dough should be soft but not sticky.
- Cool slightly.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition until completely smooth.
- Spread in an ungreased 10- by 15-inch baking pan.
- Bake until golden brown, about 35 minutes.
- Crust will puff up the sides of the pan while in the oven.
- When removed from the oven, prick bubbles with a fork.
- Let cool.
- To Make Filling: Using an electric mixer, beat the pudding mix, milk and softened cream cheese together until thoroughly blended.
- Spread pudding mixture over the baked and cooled eclair crust.
- Spread Cool Whip over pudding mixture.
- To Make Chocolate Syrup Topping: Melt chocolate chips and butter.
- Add confectioners sugar and milk alternately until a thin glaze forms.
- Pour or drizzle over Cool Whip.
- Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.
Replacing the traditional choux pastry base with graham crackers alters this dessert entirely, shifting the texture from crisp and hollow to soft and monolithic. Choux pastry relies on water boiled with butter and flour, which gelatinizes the starches before four large eggs are incorporated. This high-moisture batter expands via steam in a 400 degrees F oven, creating internal cavities that puff against the pan edges. Puncturing these air bubbles immediately upon removal prevents the crust from collapsing into a dense layer as it cools. The filling combines instant french vanilla pudding with softened cream cheese, thickening rapidly when whisked with cold milk. Cream cheese introduces milk solids and fats that stabilize the pudding against the moisture released by the whipped topping. Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips melted alongside butter form the base of the glossy top glaze, which requires alternating additions of confectioners sugar and milk to achieve the correct pouring consistency. Chilling the assembled dessert for at least one hour allows the starches in the pudding to set fully and firms the butter in the glaze.
