{"id":221150,"date":"2019-07-01T23:24:56","date_gmt":"2019-07-02T03:24:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=221150"},"modified":"2019-07-01T23:24:56","modified_gmt":"2019-07-02T03:24:56","slug":"this-chocolate-eclair-cake-is-an-instant-dessert-classic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/07\/01\/this-chocolate-eclair-cake-is-an-instant-dessert-classic\/","title":{"rendered":"This chocolate eclair cake is an instant dessert classic"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Since the cake layers required no more work than lining a pan with graham crackers, we made the effort to prepare a quick stovetop vanilla pudding, folding in whipped cream to lighten it. (File Photo<\/a>: Marco Verch<\/a>\/Flickr<\/a>, CC BY 2.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chocolate eclair cake is an instant dessert classic; this no-bake cake features layers of store-bought vanilla pudding and Cool Whip sandwiched between graham crackers and topped off with chocolate frosting.<\/p>\n

As the graham crackers soften, the whole thing melds into a creamy, sliceable cake. We loved the ease of these convenience items, but our enthusiasm waned when confronted by their flavour. With a couple of easy techniques and very little active time, we produced a from-scratch version that easily trumped its inspiration.<\/p>\n

Since the cake layers required no more work than lining a pan with graham crackers, we made the effort to prepare a quick stovetop vanilla pudding, folding in whipped cream to lighten it.<\/p>\n

For the eclair topping, we created a simple microwave-and-stir glaze. Six ounces of finely chopped semisweet chocolate can be used in place of the chips.<\/p>\n

CHOCOLATE ECLAIR CAKE<\/p>\n

Servings: 15<\/p>\n

Start to finish: 3 1\/2 hours plus cooling time<\/p>\n

1 1\/4 cups (8 3\/4 ounces) sugar<\/p>\n

6 tablespoons cornstarch<\/p>\n

1 teaspoon salt<\/p>\n

5 cups whole milk<\/p>\n

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces<\/p>\n

5 teaspoons vanilla extract<\/p>\n

1 1\/4 teaspoons unflavored gelatin<\/p>\n

2 tablespoons water<\/p>\n

2 3\/4 cups heavy cream, chilled<\/p>\n

14 ounces graham crackers<\/p>\n

1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips<\/p>\n

5 tablespoons light corn syrup<\/p>\n

Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in large saucepan. Whisk milk into sugar mixture until smooth and bring to boil over medium-high heat, scraping bottom of pan with heatproof rubber spatula. Immediately reduce heat to medium-low and cook, continuing to scrape bottom, until thickened and large bubbles appear on surface, 4 to 6 minutes. Off heat, whisk in butter and vanilla. Transfer pudding to large bowl and place plastic wrap directly on surface of pudding. Refrigerate until cool, about 2 hours.<\/p>\n

Sprinkle gelatin over water in bowl and let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Microwave until mixture is bubbling around edges and gelatin dissolves, 15 to 30 seconds. Using stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip 2 cups cream on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form, 1 to 3 minutes. Add gelatin mixture and whip until stiff peaks form, about 1 minute.<\/p>\n

3 Whisk one-third of whipped cream into chilled pudding, then gently fold in remaining whipped cream, 1 scoop at a time, until combined. Cover bottom of 13-by-9 inch baking dish with layer of graham crackers, breaking crackers as necessary to line bottom of pan. Top with half of pudding-whipped cream mixture (about 5 1\/2 cups) and another layer of graham crackers. Repeat with remaining pudding-whipped cream mixture and remaining graham crackers.<\/p>\n

Combine chocolate chips, corn syrup, and remaining 3\/4 cup cream in bowl and microwave on 50 per cent power, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Let glaze cool completely, about 10 minutes. Spread glaze evenly over graham crackers and refrigerate cake for at least 6 hours or up to 2 days before serving.<\/p>\n

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Nutrition information per serving: 469 calories; 227 calories from fat; 25 g fat (14 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 68 mg cholesterol; 334 mg sodium; 58 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 40 g sugar; 6 g protein.<\/p>\n

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For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https:\/\/www.americastestkitchen.com<\/a>\u00a0. Find more recipes like Chocolate Eclair Cake in \u201cThe Perfect Cake .\u201d<\/p>\n

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America’s Test Kitchen provided this article to The Associated Press.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chocolate eclair cake is an instant dessert classic; this no-bake cake features layers of store-bought vanilla pudding and Cool Whip …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":221153,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-221150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-food","mauthors-americas-test-kitchen","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221150"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":221154,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221150\/revisions\/221154"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}