Cream puff chocolate eclair cake is layered with a choux pastry, a silky smooth chocolate filling, a vanilla pudding and cream cheese layer, followed up with a sweet whipped topping. This one-pan dessert is truly mouthwatering!
Why this recipe works
This eclair cake is one of those recipes that people have been making for years, just like my Pineapple Dream Dessert. Seems like everyone I mention it to has either made it themselves or their grandma or aunt or mom used to make it. It’s also one of those recipes that everyone loves and it never goes to waste. Every crumb and morsel is devoured, it’s just that good.
Now I’m sure the calorie and fat count on this is ridiculous. So, if that’s a factor for you, maybe you shouldn’t make it. Or maybe you should, and factor in a piece then give the rest to a neighbor. Or, maybe you should make it and take it to the next barbecue you are invited to. I guarantee you’ll be the star of the afternoon.
Ingredients you will need
Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable version at the end of this post.
Ingredient Info and Substitution Suggestions
CRUST – The crust of this eclair cake is what is known as cream puff, or choux pastry. A soft, delicate dough made from butter, water, flour, and eggs.
CHOCOLATE – The second layer of this cake is a silky smooth chocolate sauce made with semisweet chocolate, butter, vanilla extract, confectioners (powdered) sugar, and hot water. Using a dark chocolate would also work well if you prefer that over semisweet. But be sure to get baking chocolate instead of chocolate chips, baking chocolate typically comes in the form of a bar and is measured by weight.
CREAM FILLING – Instant vanilla pudding, cream cheese, and milk come together to make the creamy pudding-like filling.
TOPPING – We use Cool Whip for the topping thanks to its readiness and ability to hold up well. You are welcome to use a homemade whipped topping of your own if you prefer.
How to Make Cream Puff Chocolate Eclair Cake
These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. You can Jump to Recipe to get the printable version of this recipe, complete with measurements and instructions at the bottom.
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- In a large heavy saucepan, heat butter and water to boiling over medium-high heat. Add flour and reduce heat to low. Cook and stir until it forms a ball and pulls away from the pan. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl. With a wooden spoon, beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg.
- Spread on the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9×13 inch pan. Bake at 400 degrees F for 35 minutes. Cool completely.
- Melt chocolate and butter in the microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir. Continue heating at 20-second intervals until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Sift in the powdered sugar, a little at a time, stirring as you go. Dribble water into the mixture until smooth and spreadable (you may or may not use all the water). Spread over the cooled pastry.
- In a mixing bowl beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Slowly and gradually add the milk while still beating. Once these are well combined, add dry pudding mix and beat until thickened. Spread over chocolate layer in cooled pastry.
- Top with whipped topping.
- Draw lines of chocolate syrup across the top.
- Run a knife down the top in the opposite direction of the syrup lines, about every 2 inches. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, this dessert can be frozen for 2-3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in the refrigerator before serving.
This cream puff chocolate eclair cake can be stored in the refrigerator sealed with plastic wrap or a tight lid for 3-4 days.
Yes, you can use a homemade whipped topping in place of the Cool Whip.
This eclair cake is one of those desserts that makes a person’s head tilt backward, their eyes roll back in their head, and moans of pure enjoyment pass through their lips. I would call it purely orgasmic, but the kids love it too, so I think I’ll keep it G-rated instead.
More One Pan Dessert Recipes
- Blueberry Lush
- Eclair Cake
- Strawberry Pretzel Salad
- Boston Cream Poke Cake
- Strawberry Icebox Cake
- No-Bake Chocolate Eclair Cake
- Lemon Cream Cheese Pudding Dessert
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Cream Puff Chocolate Eclair Cake
IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate ItIngredients
Pastry:
- ½ cup unsalted butter 1 stick
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
- 4 large eggs
Chocolate Filling:
- 2 ounces semisweet chocolate
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 3 tablespoons hot water
Cream Filling:
- 4 cups milk
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 10.2 ounces instant vanilla pudding 2 5.1-oz pkgs or 3 small, 3.4 oz pkgs
Topping:
- 8 ounce Cool Whip
- 3 tbsp Chocolate syrup
Things You’ll Need
Before You Begin
- This cream puff chocolate eclair cake can be stored in the refrigerator sealed with plastic wrap or a tight lid for 3-4 days.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
For the Pastry:
- In a large heavy saucepan, heat butter and water to boiling over medium-high heat. Add flour and reduce heat to low. Cook and stir until it forms a ball and pulls away from the pan. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl. With a wooden spoon, beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg.
- Spread in bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9×13 inch pan. Bake at 400 degrees F for 35 minutes. Cool completely.
For the Chocolate Filling:
- Melt chocolate and butter in the microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir. Continue heating at 20 second intervals until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Sift in the powdered sugar, a little at a time, stirring as you go. Dribble water in to the mixture until smooth and spreadable (you may or may not use all the water). Spread over the cooled pastry.
For the Cream Filling:
- In mixing bowl beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Slowly and gradually add the milk while still beating. Once these are well combined, add dry pudding mix and beat until thickened. Spread over chocolate layer in cooled pastry.
- Top with whipped topping, and draw lines of chocolate syrup across the top, then run a knife down the top in the opposite direction of the syrup lines, about every 2 inches. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
Nutrition
This post originally appeared here on June 1, 2013 and has since been updated with new photos and expert tips.
Amanda Davis
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Cristy says
Do you think you could use almond milk instead of cow milk? I’ve made non-dairy custard before with it (using an egg yolk and corn starch), but I’ve never made pudding.
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Cristy. I have not personally used almond milk with boxed pudding. However, I did ask a few friends and one of them told me that she has made pudding with almond milk and that it worked just fine! Let me know your results :)
Sdhraha says
Sounds wonderful but wondering about homemade whipped cream. Anyone tried?
Debra Boland says
I used homemade whipped cream; I always think that’s a better choice and it only takes minutes to make! It was delicious!
Amanda Formaro says
Homemade whipped cream is perfect for this :) So glad you liked it!
Jennifer says
I have to tell you, I kinda squealed when I saw this. I got really super excited, because anything that involves a less sweet dessert makes me semi-giddy. So, here’s what I did to temper the sweetness even more:
I increased the semi-sweet chocolate by half and cut the powdered sugar by 1/3 for the chocolate filling. Instead of Cool Whip, I used a block of Philadelphia Cream Cheese, a pint of heavy whipping cream, 1/4c powdered sugar and 1t vanilla (just beat it all till it’s stiff. The cream cheese stabilizes the whipped cream. Good for frosting cakes too).
I have died and gone to calorie overload Heaven and am, from here on out, wearing only sweat pants and stretchy clothes. It was the puff pastry – oh, the glorious, glorious puff pastry – that lured me with its siren song. I was a goner after that. I’m not sure if I should thank you, or curse you. But I’m definitely going to have my cake and eat it too!
Amanda Formaro says
Ha ha, what a great comment Jennifer, thank you! I’ve heard of a similar cake using graham crackers and happened to stumble across the recipe yesterday. Looks pretty similar, but I have a feeling the puff pastry one is better :)
Mike says
Nice! But what size “block” of cream cheese? The big 8-ounce or small 2-ounce ones?
Amanda Formaro says
Sorry for the confusion Mike. I always include the exact measurements and sizes in the printable version at the end of the post. The printable recipe states 8-ounces. :)
ESTHER CARR says
I just came back from FL where I spent a month with my dessert Chef son Stephen. We worked together on making desserts and have a ball. I’m back home in GA now, and went wild when I saw the Cream Puff Chocolate Eclair Cake recipe you posted.
It looks easy and most of the ingredients are staples so am going to also share with my other children and all my new neighbors in Buford, GA. Thanks so much.
Amanda Formaro says
Sounds like you had a fun trip Esther! Hope you enjoy the cake :)
cathi says
I didn’t change a think and it was super easy and delicious! I even was able to make it while my 1 yr old grandbaby was here visiting!
Amanda Formaro says
Awesome to hear Cathi, so glad you enjoyed it!
Comet says
CHOUX PASTRY–the base for this Eclair Cake–never has sugar! And it is exactly the SAME recipe to make Cream Puffs or Eclair Shells. The only difference is how you portion out the dough after you beat the eggs in–if you either make a “log” or pipe a THICK hot dog bun shape/ dough shape and then bake you will get an Eclair shell. If you use a piping bag or zip-lock to make a circular puff pastry–or you can just drop a blob of dough from a large spooon!!!–this makes a Cream Puff case or a case for a savory filling–think cheese or scrambled eggs or roasted veggies—-any other substance that can be spooned or piped into these–
To use–For a standard Eclair you would pipe the custard into the center using a piping bag—zip bags prob would NOT hold up to this. OR you can carefully slice OFF the top using a serrated knife; fill; and then frost with chocolate for a traditional Eclair. For a Cream Puff you can again pipe the filling in or slice off the top OR you can slice in half and have TWO cases! You can also use any other filling for sweet cases–ice cream; cheese cake fillings; pie fillings—endless!
The only “trick” to these is when you remove them from the oven you WANT them to cool and lose their steam–so pierce the side with a sharp knife just a bit and lay them on their SIDES to cool on a rack.
Amanda Formaro says
Great info and tips, thanks for sharing Comet!
Regina says
This looks delicious, I;ve seen it in the Amish Bakeries. I never purchased it because I don’t like pudding. Can it be made withy custard instead?
Amanda Formaro says
I really don’t see why not Regina! However, I believe custard packages are cook and serve. This recipe calls for instant pudding. So you would need to adjust accordingly. My thought would be to prepare the custard, and then if you wish, add cream cheese to it after it cooled. You could probably leave it out and it would be fine too.
Peg says
I’m not much of a baker so can you use frozen already made puff pastry?
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Peg. I’m sure you could! Just follow the directions for the pastry on the package and then go from there. Should be fine.
Carol Demers says
I was wondering the same thing, the easier the better for me!! What about prepared bavarian cream?? I believe u can get it in bulk, used to anyway!!
Amanda Formaro says
Again, I don’t see why not!
Linda Niles says
Thank you Amanda, I’ll give the cottage cheese a try.
Amanda Formaro says
Awesome, hope it works out!
mz says
or better yet – let’s just go ahead and make the puffs with the pastry dough- my mom used to do that and every one loved them
mz says
Oh! I meant only doubling the pastry recipe – not the filling
mz says
To make it even more of a chocolate eclair, I’m thinking maybe I could either double the recipe or put in two smaller pans using one for the top and then adding the custard filling from my other choc eclair recipe (the one with the graham crackers) which is french vanilla pudding mixed with coolwhip and then put an actual chocolate icing on top instead of the syrup- what do you think?
Amanda Formaro says
Anything with pudding sounds good to me! I say go for it and let us know how it turns out!
Linda Niles says
Does anyone ever make anything like this without cream cheese? I hate cream cheese and won’t make anything that has cream cheese in it!
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Linda. I am not speaking from experience with this, but I’ve heard you can puree cottage cheese and use it as a substitution (equal measurement to the cream cheese). I’ve also heard the Greek yogurt or plain yogurt strained over night through cheesecloth will work too.
Shanon says
Thanks for the hint! I hate cream cheese too, but I like Greek Yogurt so I’m definitely giving this a try!
Sheila says
You could use mascarpone cheese instead. It’s creamier than cream cheese and has a different flavor. I use it in place of many things, cream cheese and ricotta are 2 expamples.
Kathy Whitman says
I make this and it is very good. You do not need the cream cheese. Just do the instant pudding with a little less milk. The pudding box has a recipe for making it for pie and it sets up just fine.
Wendy J says
I don’t like cream cheese, either. The first time I made a recipe that called for it, I did it just because my children wanted it (can’t remember what it was now). Turned out that I did like the final product. I’ve made other desserts using it; After I got past the idea that I was using cream cheese. I don’t think I could do the cottage cheese thing, though. :)
Margo says
I used to make cream puffs all the time. For the filling I used a French Vanilla cream filling (like pudding) from my Betty Crocker Cookbook. It was heavenly! I haven’t done it for years now that my children are grown and gone. Time to try it again.
Kristin @ Dizzy Busy and Hungry! says
So pretty! What a great dessert. Perfect for company! Printing this for the next time I have visitors!
Amanda Formaro says
Thanks Kristin! It’s definitely a keeper!
Lana @ Never Enough Thyme says
How in the world have I missed this recipe all these years!?! I have already printed it out and will not be able to sit still until I’ve made it :-)
Shaina says
My mom makes this for family dinners all the time, and everyone loves it. We call it cream puffs in a pan, though. I like the chocolate eclair cake title better. Maybe I can get all 45 of us to buy in?
Noble Pig - Cathy says
OMG…so I must be one of the few who has never made or heard of this masterpiece! Must make over the summer…thank you lady!
Angie | Big Bear's Wife says
I’ve never made this with puffed pastry, we always use graham crackers but wow, I bet it really does taste like eclair with the puff pastry! looks good!
Linda says
I make cream puffed pastry from scratch and this pastry sounds just like it. It is easy. I ca not wait to try this one for Easter…
Sue {munchkin munchies} says
Well, I have never heard of it before. It’s like a giant eclair, and looks amazing! I better only make that if I’m going to have people around to help me eat it, or it could be dangerous:)
Danielle says
what a great recipe. I’ll probably never made actual eclairs, but making a cake version is right up my alley! So glad you shared.
Amanda Formaro says
Thanks Danielle! Let me know what you think if you give it a try :)