Chocolate Eclair Crepe Cake Food

NO-BAKE CHOCOLATE ECLAIR CAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine pudding mix and 3 cups milk; mix well. Fold in whipped topping and beat with mixer for 2 minutes.
• In a buttered 9x13 inch baking dish, spread a layer of graham crackers on the bottom of the dish.
• Spread 1/2 of the pudding mixture over crackers, then top with graham crackers. Spread remaining pudding over crackers; top second pudding layer with another layer of crackers.
• To make topping: In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine 1/4 cup milk, cocoa and sugar and allow to boil for 1 minute; remove from heat and add butter and vanilla. Mix well and cool.
• Pour sauce over graham cracker layer and refrigerate until set; serve.

DECADENT CHOCOLATE CREPE CAKE

Steps:

• In a microwave, melt butter and chocolate; stir until smooth. Set aside to cool. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, vanilla and cooled chocolate mixture. Combine the flour, sugar and salt; add to egg mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight. (Batter will appear curdled.), For buttercream, in a microwave, melt white chocolate with cream; stir until smooth. Set aside to cool. In a small bowl, combine sugar and cream of tartar., Place egg whites in a double boiler or metal bowl over simmering water; stir in the sugar mixture. Constantly whisk until mixture reaches 120-130° (do not overheat). Stirring gently, keep at 120-130° for 2 minutes. Immediately transfer to a mixing bowl., With a whisk attachment, beat on high speed for 5 minutes. Reduce speed and beat for 5 additional minutes or until cool and stiff. Transfer to a large bowl., In the same mixing bowl with the whisk attachment, beat butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. Beat in cooled white chocolate mixture. With a spatula, stir a fourth of the meringue into butter mixture until no white streaks remain. Fold in remaining meringue. Cover and refrigerate., Heat a lightly greased 8-in. nonstick skillet over medium heat; pour 2 tablespoons crepe batter into center of skillet. Lift and tilt pan to coat bottom evenly. Cook until top appears dry, about 2 minutes; turn and cook 15-20 seconds longer. Remove to a wire rack. Repeat with remaining batter, greasing skillet as needed., When cool, stack crepes with waxed paper or paper towels in between., To assemble, place one crepe on a cake plate. Spread with 3 tablespoons buttercream. Repeat layers until 10 crepes are used. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Repeat layering and chilling until 30 crepes are used, ending layers with a crepe. (Save remaining crepes for another use.) Refrigerate., For ganache, place chocolate in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream, corn syrup and salt just to a boil. Pour over chocolate; whisk until smooth. Cool, stirring occasionally, until ganache reaches a spreading consistency. Spread over top and sides of cake. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

CHOCOLATE ECLAIR CREPE CAKE

Steps:

• Using a blender, mix 2 cups flour, 2 cups milk, 4 eggs, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon salt until smooth; refrigerate.
• In a medium saucepan, whisk together the 1 cup heavy cream, remaining 1-1/4 cups milk, 1/2 cup sugar and 1 pinch salt.
• Cook over medium heat until steaming, 2 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 eggs and 1/2 cup sugar.
• Whisk in the remaining 2/3 cup flour until smooth.
• Gradually whisk half of the hot cream mixture into the flour-egg mixture, then whisk into the remaining cream mixture.
• Cook, whisking, over medium heat until thick, about 2 minutes; stir in the rum and the remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla.
• Scrape the pastry cream into a bowl and refrigerate, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
• In an 8-inch crêpe pan or nonstick skillet, melt 1 teaspoon butter over medium-high heat.
• Add 1/3 cup chilled crêpe batter and swirl to coat the pan.
• Cook until set on the bottom, about 1 minute; flip and cook for about 30 seconds more.
• Turn out onto a rack to cool.
• Repeat with the butter and remaining batter to make 10 crêpes.
• Place a crêpe on a cake stand or flat plate; spread 1/3 cup pastry cream on top.
• Repeat with the remaining crêpes and pastry cream, ending with a crêpe.
• Refrigerate.
• In a medium saucepan, whisk the chocolate, 3 tablespoons water, the corn syrup and remaining 2 teaspoons butter over medium-low heat until smooth.
• Let cool for 5 minutes; spread on top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides.
• Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days before slicing.

CHOCOLATE ECLAIRS

Steps:

• Filling: In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and vanilla bean to a boil over medium heat. Immediately turn off the heat and set aside to infuse for 15 minutes. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cornstarch and whisk vigorously until no lumps remain. Whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture until incorporated. Whisk in the remaining hot milk mixture, reserving the saucepan. Pour the mixture through a strainer back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and slowly boiling. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Let cool slightly. Cover with plastic wrap, lightly pressing the plastic against the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill at least 2 hours or until ready to serve. The custard can be made up to 24 hours in advance. Refrigerate until 1 hour before using.
• Pastry: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. In a large saucepan, bring the water, butter, salt and sugar to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. When it boils, immediately take the pan off the heat. Stirring with a wooden spoon, add all the flour at once and stir hard until all the flour is incorporated, 30 to 60 seconds. Return to the heat and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Scrape the mixture into a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer). Mix at medium speed. With the mixer running, add 3 eggs, 1 egg at a time. Stop mixing after each addition to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix until the dough is smooth and glossy and the eggs are completely incorporated. The dough should be thick, but should fall slowly and steadily from the beaters when you lift them out of the bowl. If the dough is still clinging to the beaters, add the remaining 1 egg and mix until incorporated.
• Using a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip, pipe fat lengths of dough (about the size and shape of a jumbo hot dog) onto the lined baking sheet, leaving 2 inches of space between them. You should have 8 to 10 lengths.
• Egg Wash: In a bowl, whisk the egg and water together. Brush the surface of each eclair with the egg wash. Use your fingers to smooth out any bumps of points of dough that remain on the surface. Bake 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375 degrees and bake until puffed up and light golden brown, about 25 minutes more. Try not to open the oven door too often during the baking. Let cool on the baking sheet. Fit a medium-size plain pastry tip over your index finger and use it to make a hole in the end of each eclair (or just use your fingertip). Using a pastry bag fitted with a medium-size plain tip, gently pipe the custard into the eclairs, using only just enough to fill the inside (don't stuff them full).
• Glaze: In a small saucepan, heat the cream over medium heat just until it boils. Immediately turn off the heat. Put the chocolate in a medium bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Set aside and keep warm. The glaze can be made up to 48 hours in advance. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use, and rewarm in a microwave or over hot water when ready to use.
• Dip the tops of the eclairs in the warm chocolate glaze and set on a sheet pan. Chill, uncovered, at least 1 hour to set the glaze. Serve chilled.

CHOCOLATE ECLAIRS

Steps:

• Start by making the custard filling. Heat the milk until almost boiling in a saucepan. Meanwhile, mix together the sugar, egg yolks and vanilla in a bowl, then stir in the flours, a couple of tsp at a time, to a smooth paste.
• Gradually whisk in the hot milk, pour everything back into the saucepan and cook over a high heat, stirring constantly, for about 5 mins until thick - it will go alarmingly lumpy but don't worry, just keep stirring it vigorously with a wooden spoon until smooth
• Lay a sheet of cling film directly on the custard surface, then cool and chill until you're ready to fill the buns.
• To make the choux buns, heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Sift the flour with the sugar and a pinch of salt into a small bowl. Put the milk and butter into a medium saucepan with 125ml water and gently heat so the butter melts but the liquid doesn't bubble.
• Once the butter has completely melted, increase the heat until the liquid comes to a fast rolling boil. Immediately turn off the heat, tip in the sifted flour and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until you a have a smooth dough that comes away from the sides of the pan. Spread over a large dinner plate to cool to hand temperature.
• Allow to cool for a few minutes, then gradually add the eggs, mixing well between each addition until the mixture reluctantly drops off the spoon. Don't add all the egg unless you need to.
• Cut two large sheets of baking parchment. On each one draw two sets of 'track' lines with a 10cm gap - these will be your guidelines so your eclairs will all be roughly the same size. Use the paper to line two large baking sheets - penside down.
• Spoon your choux mixture into a piping bag with a 1cm star or round wide nozzle, or into a disposable piping bag with a similar-size hole snipped off for piping. Pipe two rows of well-spaced, squashed 'S' shapes on each sheet between the guidelines. Bake, one tray at a time, on a high-ish shelf for 25 mins, reducing temperature to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 as soon as they go in the oven.
• After 25 mins, poke a hole in the end of each bun, or using a small serrated knife, split down the middle and return to the oven, upside-down, to dry out for 5 mins until crisp and golden. Set aside to cool.
• While the buns are cooling, finish your filling. Whisk the cream until thick, then use your electric whisk to beat the cooled, set custard until just smooth again. Fold in the cream. Spoon your filling into a piping bag - use a small nozzle if you're filling the buns through the holes you've pierced, or a large nozzle if you've split the buns in half. Carefully pipe the custard into each cooled bun - they should feel heavy once full.
• To make the icing, melt 100g plain chocolate and 25g butter together in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Once melted, remove from the heat and stir in 75ml double cream and 1 tbsp sifted icing sugar. Once cooled a little, spread over the tops of the buns and leave to cool.

CHOCOLATE ECLAIR CAKE

Steps:

• Line buttered 9 x 12 dish with graham crackers.
• Combine pudding mix with milk.
• Fold in Cool Whip.
• Pour half of the mixture over crackers.
• Add second layer of crackers.
• Add remaining pudding mixture.
• Add final layer of graham crackers.
• Over medium heat, melt chocolate glaze except for the powdered sugar.
• Remove from heat.
• Beat in 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar.
• Pour over crackers.
• Refrigerate overnight.