Monday, December 26, 2011

Fantastic Eclair Cake w/ Chocolate Ganache


Seriously, what could be better?

Fluffy clouds of HEAVEN


Oops I think "chocolate ganache" is redundant. It's clearer for those who don't know what ganache is (chocolate + cream) though I guess.

Ohhh....my goodness. I wanted to bring Auntie Joanne's custard pie/cream puff pie to Christmas Eve, but it wasn't big enough, and I didn't want to make two separate pies, so I found this recipe, which is basically the same thing but with a ganache topping. Heavenly...unless you don't like eclairs or cream puffs or chocolate or something. It does have a lot of pudding, but it's dang good pudding because it's mixed with real whipped cream. HECK YEAH. Making this again for New Year's Day, so I'll take better pictures and update this post soon.

Got the recipe from All Recipes (I just broke down the directions into easier-to-read steps and changed "and"s to "&"s and stuff to save people's printer ink.

Pastry shell:
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs

Filling:
2 cups cold heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
2 cups cold milk

Chocolate Ganache:
1 cup bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used Ghirardelli's 60% semisweet chips)
1 cup heavy cream

Pastry:
1) Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C)
2) Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish
3) Chill a mixing bowl in the freezer
4) Combine the water, butter, & salt in medium saucepan & bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium & stir in the flour. Cook and stir until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan & forms a ball.
5) Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl & beat in the eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated
6) Spread the dough evenly in the bottom of the baking dish.
7) Bake the pastry in preheated oven until golden brown (25 to 30 minutes - Dough will rise & make a boat shape but should drop as it cools)
8) Cool completely on wire rack.

Filling:
9) Remove chilled mixing bowl from the freezer & pour in 2 cups of cold whipping cream
10) Whip until cream thickens (about 1 minute)
11) Stir in confectioners' sugar & vanilla extract
12) Continue to whip until cream forms stiff peaks
13) Refrigerate whipped cream while you mix the pudding
14) Pour pudding mixes & milk into a mixing bowl & stir until creamy
15) Fold in the whipped cream
16) Spread the filling over the cooled crust & refrigerate

Ganache:
17) Place chopped chocolate in a heat-proof bowl
18) Bring 1 cup of cream almost to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat
19) Pour the hot cream over the chocolate & allow it to soften for 1 minute
20) Whisk mixture until smooth
21) Let mixture cool slightly to thicken (~10 minutes)
22) Pour ganache over the cream filling, spreading to cover the entire surface
23) Return pan to the refrigerator & chill for at least 1 hour before serving

2 comments:

Michelle F said...

This looks so good! I hope you make it again for new year's! Definitely expect me and Chris to stop by for a bit. :)

Corriendo said...

YAY! see you then!!