Boston Cream Eclair Cake: this showstopper homemade eclair cake is filled with custard cream and piped with a decadent chocolate ganache frosting! Make this dessert in three easy steps.Nothing’s more important than dessert. And CHOCOLATE! I’m all about the chocolate.

So here’s a decadent recipe: Boston Cream Eclair Cake. It looks grand, but trust me, you can easily make this too. This simple recipe was given to me by dear Italian friends in Rhode Island many years ago. It’s a crowd pleaser, gorgeous and delicious.There are three simple parts to the Boston Cream Éclair Cake: the éclair pastry crust, the cream filling and the rich chocolate frosting. You can make this dessert all at once or in stages.

The crust is just four simple ingredients: butter, flour, eggs and water. (This recipe had me at the butter.)

Your pastry dough is ready when it looks like this, smooth without lumps.

Dollop the dough by large spoonfuls onto a greased round pizza pan, into a ring.

After baking, crust should be a deep golden brown.  (Resist the temptation remove from the oven too early.)

Cool on a wire rack, then split horizontally with an electric or serrated bread knife.

I often make the éclair pastry crust ahead, then freeze.

A day or two before serving, make the custard filling and chocolate frosting. On serving day put it all together and pipe the chocolate frosting on the Boston Cream Éclair Cake in about 15 minutes. It’s such an amazing dessert. It gives me great joy to deliver “pastry happiness” to friends and family.

Here’s a big tip, and once in a while I forget to do it myself. After filling the cake and before piping the chocolate, carefully cut the Boston Cream Éclair Cake into serving slices with an electric knife (or serrated bread knife.) THEN pipe the chocolate on top. It’s so much easier to keep the cake pieces intact for easy and beautiful serving.

Let me know if you make the Boston Cream Eclair Cake, I’d love to hear how you like it!

Print

Boston Cream Eclair Cake

It doesn't get any better than this. Serve this eclair pastry and you instantly rise to superhero status. Never met anyone who didn't adore the Boston Cream Éclair Cake!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 35 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings 1

Author Allie Taylor

Ingredients

• Crust:
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup flour
• 4 large eggs
• Cream Filling:
• 2 3.125 ounce packages instant vanilla pudding
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 6 ounces Cool Whip 3/4 of an 8 ounce Cool Whip
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Topping:
• 1 and 1/2 squares unsweetened chocolate 1.5 ounces
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

• Crust:
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Boil together the water and butter
• Stir in 1 cup flour until throughly combined and cook until ball forms and it pulls away from the sides.
• Remove from the heat.
• Add in eggs one at a time, mixing throughly by hand after each. (I use a wooden spoon or my King Arthur bread dough whisk.)
• Drop by spoonfuls into a ring on a lightly grease cookie sheet or round pizza pan.
• Bake at 400 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until the middle is dry. Sometimes it takes as long as 55 minutes, so watch very carefully towards the end.
• Check with a cake tester to make sure it's dry inside.
• Cool completely on a wire rack.
• Cut in half horizontally with a serrated or electric knife.
• Cover the bottom half with filling, put the top half back on.
• Filling:
• Using an electric mixer or whisk, mix the instant vanilla pudding with milk for two minutes.
• Gently fold in the Cool Whip and vanilla with a rubber spatula.
• Rich Chocolate Frosting:
• Melt chocolate in a saucepan over low heat.
• Add in butter 'til it melts.
• Remove from heat.
• Stir in milk 'til combined.
• Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla.
• Pack frosting in a pastry bag and pipe with a decorating tip (or use a ziploc bag with snipped corner), going around the entire cake.
• Refrigerate for a short time 'til chocolate sets, cover in plastic wrap, then return to refrigerator.
• Refrigerate leftovers. (If you have any!)

Notes

Make all at once, or in stages and construct it the morning you serve.
Use a pastry bag and decorating tip to pipe your chocolate icing, or snip a hole in the corner of a ziploc bag.
There will be lots of extra filling. Save it for another use or get out your spoon for a treat.

You may also like: Famous Brick Street Chocolate Cake

The post Boston Cream Eclair Cake appeared first on Through Her Looking Glass.

Hey friends – hope you’re well today!

Love it when the dots connect.

It seems there are often themes going on in my life beneath the surface that seem to converge almost simultaneously. This happens to me a ton, and here’s the latest scoop.

At the beginning of this past week I was sitting in front of my computer screen with Jon. Throat tight. Eyes wet. Watching a clip of a local young man, fourteen years old, named Christopher Duffley. He was singing the national anthem at the Red Sox game in Boston last Monday night. At one time Christopher took music lessons and music therapy at the Manchester Community Music School here in Manchester, NH where Hudson does. (I don’t know if he still does.) I’ve read several articles about Christopher through the years, and while I’ve never had the privilege of meeting him, he holds a very special place in my heart. You see, Christopher is completely blind. Also has autism. And while Christopher lacks in some areas, God has overwhelmingly gifted him with a deep love of music, an amazing voice, perfect pitch and a beautiful heart. Christopher’s notes rang out clear and true, and my own heart overflowed with joy for him and the very special place he’s found in the world despite all odds. If you do one thing today, will you listen? It’s beyond moving, gonna make your day.

I’m just so proud of that boy. Learn more about Christopher’s amazing story here.

And that was dot #1.

Dot #2 happened a day later when I received a text from a friend offering for Hudson to come and visit for a few days. Yeah.

Now for those of you who don’t know Hudson, Hudson is our five year old little boy. The youngest of four boys, he also has Down syndrome. Hudson is very dear, has had a lot of physical and behavioral challenges in his short little life, of which my friend is keenly aware. Right now he’s into throwing things. That’s tough when your little one is 18 months or two years old. While he is developmentally in the terrible two’s and has been for some time, he’s five size-wise. But as he’s grown physically, unfortunately the size of the objects (chairs, lamps, etc.) he pitches has also grown. So these are especially challenging days in our home, 24-7. No off button. And an offer to have Hudson for a visit right now is a beautiful and meaningful gift, also a true sacrifice for the giver.

Throat tight. Eyes wet. Overwhelmed, I hardly knew how to respond. And I didn’t for some time. Speechless. (Rare.)

What could I possibly accomplish/do in a whole 48 hours minus Hudson duty? Truly mind boggling.

Dot #3

I received a text from another kind friend the next day:

“We have Red Sox tickets we can’t use. Would love for you to have them if you can go.”

Take me out to the ball game
Take me out with the crowd
Buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks
I don’t care if I never get back
Let me root, root, root
For the home team
If they don’t win it’s a shame
Aahh.
For it’s one,
Two, Three strikes you’re out
At the old ball game!

Extra Red Sox tickets. Gulp. Are you even kidding?

And an offer to watch Hudson already in place? You know it’s no coincidence. The dots were connecting.

I love a good baseball game. Green Monster. National anthem. Fenway franks. Cheering.

Big Papi. 7th inning stretch. As for me, I Don’t Care if I Never Get Back !

We had a GREAT time in Boston Thursday night, thanks to some very kind friends.

Enjoyed a lovely Sox Lemonade….

And know what?

Truth is, I DO care if I never get back.

(Though it was still nice to get away.)

It’s good to be back, connect the dots of these seemingly random events. To me, they spell providence. I love it when the dots connect. They always do. But like the sun shining behind the clouds, I can’t always see it.

P.S. I have to share one more crazy dot #4. Because it just happened seconds ago AFTER I pressed publish at 11:32 p.m.

This random Red Sox ad showed up on my site side bar. Never had a Fenway ad show up on my site before. And I might never again. Crazy, that’s what it is. These connecting dots.

Like baseball? Gotta dot story? I’m all ears. Have a great weekend!

You may also enjoy: Twinkle, Twinkle

The post Don’t Care If I Never Get Back appeared first on Through Her Looking Glass.