Chocolate Eclair Cake Recipe (With Video)

Prep Time:

45 mins

Total Time:

4 hrs 45 mins

Servings:

12

Chocolate eclair cake is our modern take on the traditional French pastry. It’s everything that you know and love about eclairs without all the fuss. You don’t have to make choux dough or bother with any piping bags. This no-bake dessert is made in one pan with simple pantry ingredients.

This cake is assembled by layering store-bought graham crackers with a quick stovetop vanilla pastry cream, then topping it all off with a smooth and rich chocolate ganache. It’s the perfect dessert for birthdays, holidays, and every celebration in between. The hardest part is waiting for the cake to chill before serving.

What Is Eclair Cake?

Eclair cake is a simpler, deconstructed take on eclairs, the classic French pastry which are made from piped nad baked choux pastry filled with pastry cream and dipped into a chocolate glaze. We actually prefer this eclair cake because it’s easier to make and just as delicious. Plus, you get a little bit of everything in each bite, since it’s neatly layered in the cake pan.

Key Ingredients

Graham crackers: Graham crackers stand in for the usual choux pastry dough that you find in eclairs–it’s the same thing that is used for cream puffs or gougères. The graham crackers have a more sweet and nutty flavor than choux, but as they sit between the layers of pastry cream, they soften to a similar texture.
Whipped pastry cream: It’s not just an ordinary pastry cream that you’ll find in this cake. It’s lightened by folding in whipped cream.
Chocolate ganache: A smooth layer of chocolate ganache, a simple mixture of chocolate and cream, is the final touch. It makes the cake look elegant and enticing (especially for chocolate lovers).

Tips for Perfect Pastry Cream

Pastry cream can seem intimidating, but this recipe has a few tricks up its sleeve that make it virtually foolproof.

Cook over a moderate heat: Keep the pastry cream at a steady medium heat the whole time. Too low of heat and it’ll take forever to cook; too high and it could thicken on you too quickly. At medium heat, everything will have the opportunity to combine slowly and evenly.
Stir constantly: To prevent any clumps from forming (or the egg yolks curdling), it’s important to stir or whisk the mixture frequently, if not constantly. Be sure you’re giving some attention to the sides of the pot as well as the bottom.
Let boil for a full minute: In order for the pastry cream to thicken properly, the cornstarch needs to fully activate. If you let the mixture boil for a full minute, that gives the starch enough time to do its thing.
Strain: Even if you follow all of the steps perfectly, you can still be left with a few lumps in your custard. Pass it through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any unwanted bits.

How to Make Chocolate Ganache

Ganache is very simple to make—it’s what’s used to make chocolate truffles. It’s essentially made by combining two ingredients, heavy cream and chocolate. This recipe calls for dark chocolate but either semisweet or bittersweet will work. You can even make ganache with white chocolate but we wouldn't recommend that for this eclair cake.

To make ganache, place the chopped chocolate in a bowl, pour the hot cream over the top, cover, and let stand for a few minutes until the chocolate melts. Give it a stir until the ganache is thick, smooth, and glossy.

To flavor ganache, stir in between ½ and 1 teaspoon of either of the following:

Orange zest
Vanilla, almond, or peppermint extract
Fruity liqueurs like Kirsch, Luxardo, or Chambord
Espresso powder or coffee liqueur
Ground cinnamon or ginger

Directions

Make pastry cream:

Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk together milk and egg yolks in a bowl. Add milk mixture to the saucepan, along with butter. Cook, stirring, over medium until mixture comes to a boil. Let boil, stirring, 1 minute. Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Credit:
Jake Sternquist
Strain and chill:

Strain pastry cream through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto surface of pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
Whip cream and add to pastry cream:

Whisk 1/2 cup heavy cream until firm peaks form. Whisk chilled pastry cream until smooth, then fold whipped cream into pastry cream.

Credit:
Jake Sternquist
Assemble cake:

Arrange 1/3 graham crackers on the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch pan. Spread half of the pastry cream mixture on top, smoothing it with a spatula to make an even layer. Repeat with half of remaining crackers and remainder of the pastry cream. Arrange remaining crackers on top of pastry cream.

Credit:
Jake Sternquist

Credit:
Jake Sternquist
Heat remaining cream and use to melt chocolate:

Heat remaining 1 cup heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium-high until just boiling. Pour over chocolate in a small heatproof bowl; cover with a plate. Let stand until chocolate melts, then stir until smooth.
Spread chocolate over cake and refrigerate:

Spread over graham cracker layer, smoothing top with an offset spatula. Refrigerate to set, at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

Credit:
Jake Sternquist

Making the Cake Ahead

You can assemble the cake up to a day ahead and refrigerate. It cannot be made any further ahead than that because the graham crackers will become soft and soggy.

If you’re looking to save yourself some time, the vanilla pastry cream can be made up to two days in advance. Give it a whisk to smooth it out before folding in the whipped cream.

Storing Leftover Chocolate Eclair Cake

Store leftover cake in the pan, wrapped tightly in plastic. The graham crackers will begin to soften after a day, but it will still taste delicious. If you want to add additional crunch, crush some more graham crackers and sprinkle them over the top of each leftover slice before serving.