Chocolate Eclair Cake

By sugarbear

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 6 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 cups whole milk
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
• 5 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 1/4 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
• 2 3/4 cups heavy cream, chilled
• 14 ounces graham crackers
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips *
• 5 tablespoons light corn syrup
• You can use 6 ounces of finely chopped semisweet chocolate in place of
• the chips.

Preparation

Step 1

1. Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in large saucepan. Whisk milk
into sugar mixture until smooth and bring to boil, scraping bottom
with rubber spatula, over medium-high heat. 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.
2. Stir water and gelatin together 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, whip 2 cups cream on medium-low speed until
foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until soft
peaks form, about 2 minutes. Add gelatin mixture and whip until
stiff peaks form, about 1 minute.
3. Whisk one-third 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.
4. Microwave chocolate chips, remaining 3/4 cup cream, and corn syrup
in bowl, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Cool
glaze to room temperature, about 10 minutes. Cover graham crackers
with glaze and refrigerate cake for 6 to 24 hours. Serve. (Éclair
cake can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)


Two Keys to Creamy Filling


The filling combines custard and stabilized whipped cream.

1. Thicken Custard Just Enough Take the custard off the heat when large
bubbles appear on its surface and leave a brief imprint.


2. Stabilize whipped cream Whip the heavy cream to soft peaks, stir in
the softened gelatin, and continue whipping to stiff peaks.