Eclair Cake
Eclair Cake is all of the great flavors of an éclair in cake form. This easy recipe has a cream puff crust, vanilla cream cheese layer, whipped cream, and a chocolate ganache. Unlike some recipes that use a box of graham crackers, this delicious eclair cake is made with a real eclair crust. This is hands down my husband’s favorite dessert.
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CHOCOLATE ECLAIR CAKE
This measly corner piece was all that was left after us, our friends, and the missionaries (who made a surprise stop) devoured it.
This was a Father’s Day request from my husband John who loves eclairs. My sister-in-law Kristy made this for us when she came out to visit and we quickly fell in love with it.
It is very light which makes it easy to eat a TON of it! You can make it simple with Cool Whip (whipped topping) and Hershey’s syrup (it’s still great this way) or go the extra step and make homemade whipped cream and homemade chocolate sauce to make it unbelievable! This hot fudge sauce is great too on it.
There are two versions of this. A lot of people make a no-bake eclair cake with layers of graham crackers, whipped cream, and vanilla instant pudding. This is the grown up version of that.
This is one of our favorite desserts and we make it for special occasions, birthdays,…a family reunion. It tastes like a classic eclair.
INGREDIENTS
- Instant vanilla pudding mix – Instant pudding mix is used here for our pastry cream. You can use French vanilla pudding as an option.
- Choux pastry (pâte à choux) – which includes flour, unsalted butter, water, and eggs.
- Cream cheese
- Milk
- Whipped cream – made with heavy cream and powdered sugar. Of course you could use a tub of Cool Whip but it’s not the same.
You’ll get an arm workout here. Once you’ve incorporated all of the eggs it will be the texture of cake batter. There’s not sugar here. This is a classic eclair crust.
Pâte à Choux
paux de choux or eclair crust.
HOW TO MAKE ECLAIR CAKE
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 400. Lightly grease a 9″X13″ glass baking pan.
- For the Eclair Crust: In a small saucepan, melt butter in water over medium heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in flour. Mix in one egg at a time, mixing completely before adding another egg. Spread mixture into pan, covering the bottom and sides evenly. Mixture will be very wet. *If the sides of your pan are too greased you won’t be able to get the mixture to stay up the sides so make sure to just lightly grease. No big deal but I like the crust to go up the sides a bit.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown (Mine only took 25 minutes.) You may want to check it occasionally-you don’t want to overcook the crust, it will ruin the cake! Remove from oven and let cool (don’t touch or push bubbles down).
- For the Filling: Whip cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. In separate mixing bowl make vanilla pudding by beating the pudding mix and the milk for 3 minutes with an electric mixer and put in the fridge until set. Make sure pudding is thick before mixing in with cream cheese. Slowly mix pudding and cream cheese, mixing until there are no lumps. Let cool in refrigerator. When the crust is completely cooled, pour filling in, spreading to cover bottom crust. Top with layer of cool whip however thick you want it. Chill until ready to serve. Serve with a drizzle of chocolate syrup. *If you want to make this even better use homemade whipped cream. Store leftovers in the fridge.
OTHER EASY DESSERT RECIPES:
- Eggnog Eclair Cake
- Chunky Monkey Eclair Cake No-Bake Dessert
- Banana Split Icebox Cake
- Scotcheroos
- Magnolia Bakery’s Banana Pudding
- Lunch Lady Brownies
- Monster Cookies
- Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting
- No-Bake Cookies
- Carmelitas
- Banana Split Dessert
Eclair Cake
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs
Filling:
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 1 (5.1 ounce) box instant vanilla pudding
- 3 cups whole milk
Topping:
- 1 (8 oz) container cool whip or one batch homemade whipped cream, (just enough for a thin layer. I don't use the whole container)
- chocolate syrup or homemade chocolate sauce, (see notes)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400. Lightly grease a 9"X13" glass baking pan.
- For the Eclair Crust: In a medium saucepan, melt butter in water over medium heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in flour. Mix in one egg at a time, mixing completely before adding another egg. Spread mixture into pan, covering the bottom and sides evenly. Mixture will be very wet. *If the sides of your pan are too greased you won't be able to get the mixture to stay up the sides so make sure to just lightly grease. No big deal but I like the crust to go up the sides a bit.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown (Mine only took 25 minutes.) You may want to check it occasionally-you don't want to overcook the crust, it will ruin the cake! Remove from oven and let cool (don't touch or push bubbles down).
- For the Filling: Whip cream cheese in a medium bowl. In separate mixing bowl make vanilla pudding by beating the pudding mix and the milk for 3 minutes with an electric mixer and put in the fridge until set. Make sure pudding is thick before mixing in with cream cheese. Slowly mix pudding and cream cheese, mixing until there are no lumps. Let cool in fridge. When the crust is completely cooled, pour filling in, spreading to cover bottom crust. Top with layer of cool whip however thick you want it. Serve with a drizzle of chocolate syrup. *If you want to make this even better use homemade whipped cream.
Notes
Want to make this for Xmas, how long before Xmas can it be made to keep the pastry from becoming soggy.
You can make 2-3 days ahead or even freeze a month ahead
The best!
Thank you!
Just wondering how much in advance you can make this dessert? Could it last 2-3 days in the fridge?
Nisha
Yes it can last in the fridge for 2-3 days.
I’ve made this a ton of times and I love the classic version, but with fall coming up I wanted to try it but make it pumpkin! If you add 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree and 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice to the cream cheese before you add the pudding, its amazing!!!
Ooh great tip!
Didn’t you have a different version of this recipe? Please repost it! I never wrote it down and always just looked it up when I needed it. It was so good! Thank you!
This is the only version I’ve ever had
Can I make this the day before you are to serve it?
Yes totally!
I have been making this for years and found out that if your oven isn’t 400 degrees the crust comes out terrible
Yup make sure it’s 400!
Took it to a party and everybody love it and wants the recipe.
Thank you!
Made it 3 times. The first was great and delicious. The next two the crust ended up sitting at the bottom and was pretty dense rather than rising on the sides. It still tasted good but the texture wasn’t the same. People still liked it, just frustrating not to recreate what I did the first time.
That’s strange. I’ve made this a million times. Not sure what went wrong.
I love the Eclair Cake or pie as I call it. If you want the crust to come up the sides use parchment paper. It works beautifully & the crust comes out much better! Thanks
Thank you!!
Your comment…”If you want the crust to come up the sides use parchment paper.”
That’s a good start but you didn’t explain how to use the parchment paper. Should it be used to line the glass tray or uses on top of the dough to flatten it out? Your explanation would be very helpful.
Thank you in advance for your reply.
Sorry. You use the parchment on the bottom of the pan not on top.
Has anyone tried non-dairy milk in the pudding mix? Just curious if it would make a difference. We are a non-dairy family but this recipe sounds fantastic.
I tried almond milk, it will not thicken. It needs to be dairy milk for packaged pudding I believe. Maybe you can find a non dairy recipe for vanilla pudding.
Could I use puff pasty sheets as a substitute? Thank you
I haven’t tried it with those?
Made today 29/05/23 it was absolutely delicious. The recipe was very easy to follow. Will definitely make again
Thank you!
I am a baking fiend and follow directions as precise as they come, yet for some reason my crust did not come out like that whatsoever. It was was too thick once baked and I had to trash it.
Sorry I’m not sure what happened. I just made this yesterday. Did you press it up the sides?
I have made this recipe several times and it always comes out great. It puffs up a lot but then settles way down. I mix in (with mixer) the flour and eggs immediately after taking the butter water off the heat – I think I saw that in one of the OPs comments.
I’m not sure what went wrong. It tasted great but the
Pudding center melted away! I used the 5.1 pudding, 3 c milk and let it set then added cream cheese. Any thoughts??!
Was your crust hot? That’s weird
Does anyone know if you can make this recipe in individual muffin cups?
You can!
When the crust comes out I put chocolate chips on it. Once melted I spread it into s thin layer. Then add the filling. Also, top with chic. Chips.
Sounds delicious!
Deeee- licious!!! Made 4 batches for 60 portions and serve with our lodge’s St Patrick’s Day with choc.sauce and optional creme de menthe. A really big hit and requests for the recipe! We will make this again and advertise the dessert !!!!
Thank you!
I pipe on hot fudge that is at room temp, we like this much better and it does not separate into the whipped topping on day 2. Excellent dessert.
I’ve made this for years. I would make it for potlucks, and it would be the first dessert gone. To make it go further and make it easier to serve (longer prep time) I press the dough in cupcake pans and make individual servings. I’ve made different versions of this over the years as well: Lime on D’ Coconut (coconut pudding and lime syrup), Black Forest (chocolate pudding and cherry pie filling), Orange Cream (vanilla pudding and orange syrup). The most popular, by far is orange cream. I have also used Krispy Kreme doughnuts in place of the crust when I’m in a rush.
Wow sounds decadent!
Made this before work this morning, the crusty just finished! Will assemble at lunch, and allow to cool until dinner! Thank you, my husband is going to be so happy!
It’s a good one!
Your eclair cake looks good but I’m want to know for some of us who gets a little tired of chocolate,can you make it with vanilla too?because vanilla is just as good too, or other choices is coconut,for a refreshing flavor and added variety.
The pudding inside is vanilla but you could switch it up if you like
Everyone in our family loves this recipe. We have come back to it for several years for special occasions. It’s requested often. I’ve never made the one with graham crackers and probably never will , though the crust may look challenging , its not. Turns out perfect everytime.
Awesome to hear!
Everyone’s favorite indeed. Absolutely love it.
Thank you!
Can’t wait to try this recipe!
I would like to make this for Christmas desert. Can it be mad in advance on Christmas Eve? How will it stand up and should it be refrigerated?
Thanks
Sorry it’s too late but I have made this a few days ahead and it has been fine
Has anyone ever made this recipe so that it can be served single serve? Would it be possible to bake it in cupcake pans? Trying to make desserts for work where people don’t have to handle utensils.
The crust is just a paux de choix so you could make little individual cups easily.
Can Eclair cake be frozen?
I don’t see why not. It’s basically a big eclair which can be frozen.
Can the cream cheese be omitted?
Won’t the pudding hold up on its own?
It just gives the pudding layer more substance but yes you could leave it out.
I notice most recipes for Eclair Cake use graham crackers and call for refrigerating for many hours before serving. I prefer this recipe (without graham crackers), but how does this hold up in the refrigerator with the Éclair base? Wouldn’t it get very soggy? Or is this meant to be served immediately rather than made ahead of time.
It actually doesn’t get soggy and be in the fridge for a few days.
2nd. time I made this. This time I baked on 350, raised rack to 3rd. level in oven, baked 25 mins and it turned out perfect. Next time will only make halfrecipe and use 8×8 pan, for my family size. Enjoyed so much looking forward to serving it at church suppers. Might use toasted almonds on top.
Glad you liked it!
I have been making this same recipe for over 40 years. We call it moon pie because of the craters and hills. Its soo good. My family loves it.
I love that name! I may have to change it!
Amazing recipes I turn mine into two pies instead if the baking dish . Never left overs. And I always make this dessert when trying to impress.
Great idea!