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Prep time
11 hours
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Cook time
55 minutes
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Serves
9
Author Notes
A classic French pastry, the invention of the éclair is credited to Marie-Antoine Carême, the same chef known for the croquembouche. Both desserts hinge on pâte à choux—fun fact, choux translates as “cabbage,” which is what the dough looks like when it bakes up, sort of. In the case of éclairs, you pipe a strip of pâte à choux, bake it until puffy, fill with pastry cream (or crème pâtissiere in French), then glaze with icing. Let’s be real: It’s not an easy dessert. As Alice Medrich notes in her guide to éclairs, you have to worry about evenly piping the pâte à choux, whether it’ll puff properly in the oven, and more. The good news: This recipe has all the same components of a chocolate éclair—pastry! custard! ganache!—with way less worry.
This idea popped into my head after coming across a recipe claiming to be an éclair cake—but the components were completely different. Graham crackers, vanilla pudding, and chocolate frosting. It had close to nothing to do with an éclair. And so this actual-éclair cake become my new life mission. The result has all the deliciousness of the pastry with less of the fuss. No more individual portions. Instead, you bake big squares of pâte à choux and fill them with pastry cream like a layer cake. Feels rebellious, but it works! And if the choux doesn’t puff up in the oven, guess what? It’ll get covered in pastry cream and melted chocolate, so who cares?
The pâte à choux portion of this recipe comes from the wonderful Erin McDowell, Food52’s resident baking BFF—check out her full recipe here.
Helpful tools for this recipe:
- de Buyer Reusable Piping Bags (Set of 3)
- de Buyer Stainless Steel Pastry Tips (Set of 26)
- Five Two Ultimate Baking Tool Set
—Carolina Gelen
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Éclair Cake
Ingredients
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Pastry Cream:
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1/2 cup
(99 grams) granulated sugar
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4
large egg yolks
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1/3 cup
(37 grams) cornstarch
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1/4 teaspoon
kosher salt
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1 1/2 cups
(341 grams) whole milk
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1/2 cup
(114 grams) heavy cream
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1/2
vanilla bean (or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract)
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2 tablespoons
(29 grams) unsalted butter, cubed
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Pâte à Choux:
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1/2 cup
(114 grams) whole milk
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1/4 cup
(57 grams) unsalted butter
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1 teaspoon
(4 grams) fine sea salt
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1 1/2 cups
(180 grams) bread flour (or all-purpose flour)
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5
large eggs (have an extra 2 on hand, just in case)
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Chocolate Ganache:
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1 cup
(227 grams) heavy cream
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1/2 teaspoon
kosher salt
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1 cup
(170 grams) chopped dark or semisweet chocolate (or chips)
Directions
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Make the pastry cream: Stir together the sugar, yolks, cornstarch, and salt in a heatproof bowl. Combine the milk, cream, and vanilla in a medium saucepan over medium heat and heat until hot. While whisking, slowly stream about half of the hot liquid in the yolk mixture. Pour this tempered yolk mixture into the pot with the rest of the milk mixture (you can pour through a fine-mesh sieve if you're worried about any cooked egg bits). Cook over low to medium-low heat for 4 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently, until bubbling and thickened like pudding. Turn off the heat, then mix in the butter. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof bowl, discarding any clumps caught in the sieve. Cover the pastry cream with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until cold. (This step can be done up to 2 days in advance.)
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Make the pâte à choux: In a medium saucepan, combine ½ cup (114 grams) of water, the milk, butter, and salt. Bring to boil over medium heat. Stir in all of the flour with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon. Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes sticky paste and there’s a visible film of starch on the bottom of the pan, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the flour mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Whisk the eggs in a large liquid measuring cup. With the mixer running on medium speed, add the eggs in slow, steady stream and continue mixing until totally incorporated, about 4 minutes total. Dip the paddle into the batter and lift it up—the batter should form a V shape that eventually breaks away from the batter in the bowl. If the dough is too stiff or pulls away too quickly, add another egg to loosen the consistency.
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Bake the pâte à choux: Heat the oven to 375°F. Get out an 8-inch square baking dish. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Using the baking dish as a guide, trace two squares with pencil on the parchment, then flip the parchment. Pipe or spread the choux evenly inside those two squares (about 320 grams of pâte à choux per square), leaving a ½-inch or so border for the pastry to expand in the oven and fill out the squares. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until puffed and golden brown. (Don’t open the oven during the first 25 minutes, otherwise the choux will depuff.) Transfer the baked choux squares to a wire rack to cool completely.
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Make the ganache: In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, bring the cream to a simmer. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate and salt. Wait a few minutes, then stir until the chocolate is silky smooth. Let cool until barely warm.
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Assemble the éclair cake: If needed, use a pair of scissors to trim the border of the choux squares so they can fit inside the baking dish. Place one choux square at the bottom of the baking dish. Stir the pastry cream to smooth out, then evenly spread that on top. Place the second choux square on top. Spread the chocolate ganache on top. Tightly cover the pan and refrigerate for 10 to 24 hours before slicing and serving.
Carolina is a resident at Food52. She's also one of the hosts of Choose Your Own Recipe Adventure, our YouTube show where our Food52 readers pick the ingredients and techniques for a brand new recipe. Carolina recently immigrated to the U.S. from Transylvania, a place she spent most of her life. She continues to get inspired by the classic Romanian and Hungarian foods she was raised on, creating approachable, colorful, and fun recipes. For more cooking ideas and candid moments, check out her Instagram @carolinagelen.
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