Not an Eclair in the World

I’m not sure how this cake got a name associated with an eclair; its taste is not dissimilar to the fluffy choux dough pastries filled with cream but it is definitely not the same!

This cake is a reminder of a long lost era of cooking. One where everything was pre-made and came from a box, one where our grandmothers made icebox cakes, baked Alaska, and jello molds. My grandmother came to the United States during the height of the country’s jello and icebox cake obsession, and while she hates Jello because of how much it jiggles, this cake is one of her go-tos for every family gathering and celebrations! No matter if there was another cake, my grandma always brings along an eclair cake.

The original recipe uses boxed vanilla pudding, cool whip, and graham crackers. This time I made the pudding from scratch and used whipped cream, with a homemade chocolate ganache on top!

I suggest making the pudding, assembling the cake, and then making the ganache and storing in the fridge.

Pudding

⅔ Cup sugar

4 Tablespoons cornstarch

¼ Teaspoon salt

4 Cups milk

4 Large egg yolks, lightly beaten

4 Tablespoons butter

2 Teaspoons vanilla extract

In 2-quart saucepan, mix sugar, cornstarch and salt. Gradually stir in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils.

Gradually stir at least half of the hot mixture into egg yolks, then stir back into hot mixture in saucepan. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla.

Pour pudding into loaf pan. Cover and refrigerate about 1 hour or until chilled. Store covered in refrigerator.

Chocolate Ganache

2 Cups Chocolate chips

1 Cup milk

1 Tablespoon coconut oil

Place chocolate chips into a large bowl. Warm milk on the stove until just about boiling. Add milk to chocolate chips and whisk together until smooth.

Cake Assembly

Pudding

1 box of graham crackers

Chocolate ganache

Lay a layer of graham crackers down in a rectangular baking dish. Add a layer of pudding. Add a layer of graham crackers, until you run out of graham crackers. The top of the cake should be a layer of graham crackers so that the ganache and pudding don’t mix together.

Make chocolate ganache and pour over the top of the graham crackers. Let sit in fridge covered for at least 24 hours, then enjoy!