Gluten and Dairy Free Decadent Eclair Cake
What’s your favorite food trend? When I saw the TikTok eclair cake, I knew I needed to recreate it because eclairs are one of my favorite things. This Gluten and Dairy Decadent Free Eclair Cake gives you all of the decadent creaminess of an eclair hugged between a light and airy cake.
I have loved eclairs ever since I can remember. Growing up my mom used to make them which probably was the start of my love affair with this French delicacy.
The Art of Pastry
Pastry is both an art and a love language. There is nothing that quite says “I love you” like the perfect balance of buttery flaky dough and luscious rich chocolate. This Gluten and Dairy Free Decadent Eclair Cake is everything you adore about eclairs in a new updated form.
Regardless of whether you’re making traditional eclairs or this cake, it always starts with the dough. The dough for eclairs is called choux pastry. In addition to being used for eclairs it’s also the pastry used when creating profiteroles, churros, and beignets.
Instead of any sort of raising agent, choux pastry utilizes high moisture and heat to help it rise. The heat creates steam which evaporates causing the dough to puff.
Unlike a traditional eclair that requires the dough to be piped out, this dough gets divided between two cake pans. Not only is this cake impressive looking, but it’s also a little less labor intensive than individual eclairs while still giving you all of the traditional flavors and textures.
When it comes to the filling of this cake, it’s all about that silky pastry cream. This recipe remains completely Dairy Free and uses oat milk. Vanilla paste adds depth and richness.
Gluten and Dairy Free Decadent Eclair Cake, Step by Step
There are a few steps to this elegant and delicious confection. I will break it down so you can easily recreate this viral sensation at home!
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and line 2 8″ round cake pans with parchment paper. This will make it easy to remove your cakes later on.
- Add your Dairy Free butter and water to a pot and bring to a rapid boil over medium heat.
- Stir in your flour, baking powder, and salt with a wooden spoon until a dough ball forms.
- Transfer the dough to mixing bowl.
- With the mixer running, add one egg at a time, waiting for the egg to incorporate before adding the next egg.
- Divide the batter between the two pans using two spoons to pull the batter apart.
- Bake for 35 minutes until golden brown and puffy.
- Allow to cool completely before cutting off the tops to make them even.
- To make your Dairy Free pastry cream for Gluten and Dairy Free Decadent Eclair Cake bring your oat milk and vanilla to a boil over medium heat.
- In a separate bowl whisk together your sugar, egg yolks, and cornstarch. Add a ladle of the hot milk mixture to the eggs, continuously stirring. Add another ladle while you whisk. This is called tempering.
- Transfer the hot egg mixture back into the pot and continue to stir until the mixture has become thick, creamy, and luscious.
Assembly Time!
- To make assembling your cake easy, I recommend using a springform pan if possible.
- Line an 8″ springform pan with plastic wrap.
- Place the first cake in the bottom of the pan.
- Add your pastry cream.
- Top with the second cake.
- Press down and wrap tightly with plastic wrap.
- Allow it to refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Top with chocolate ganache.
- Enjoy!
Top Tip
When you create a double boiler, it allows you to cook or melt something at a gentle heat without worry of over cooking it. This is useful for making custards, meringues, melting chocolate, etc. The best part is you don’t need any special tools.
Armed with a pot of simmering water and a glass bowl, you can easily create a double boiler at home. The key is to make sure the water never touches the bottom of the bowl. You want the steam created from the seal to do all of the work.
Are you looking for more recipes with choux pastry? Make sure you check out my recipe for Gluten and Dairy Free Cream Puff “Crack Buns”. Now let’s get baking!
Gluten and Dairy Free Decadent Eclair Cake
Equipment
- 1 saucepan
- 1 Mixing Bowl
- 1 Mixer
- 2 8" cake pans
- 1 8" spring form pan
Ingredients
Choux Pastry Eclair Cake
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup Dairy Free butter
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup Gluten Free 1.1 flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 4 eggs, room temperature large
Pastry Cream
- 2 cups oat milk
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 egg
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla paste
- pinch of salt
- 4 tbsp cornstarch
Chocolate Ganache
- 8 oz Dairy Free dark chocolate
- 1/2 cup Dairy Free milk
Instructions
Choux Pastry Eclair Cake
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 8" round cake pans with parchment paper.
- Place a pot over medium heat. Add the butter and water and bring to a rapid boil.
- Add the flour, salt, and baking powder and continuously stir with a wooden spoon until a dough ball forms.
- Transfer the dough ball to a mixing bowl.
- With the mixer running add one egg at a time, waiting for the egg to be incorporated before adding the next egg.
- Using two spoons spread the batter apart and divide it between the two cake pans.
- Bake for 35 minutes.
- Allow to cool completely. Trim off the top to make them even.
Pastry Cream
- Add the oat milk and vanilla to a pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil.
- In a separate bowl mix together the eggs, sugar, cornstarch, and salt.
- Once the oat milk comes to a boil turn it to low.
- Whisk one ladleful of the hot oat milk into the egg mixture.
- Add another ladle of the hot oat milk into the eggs, continually whisking.
- Pour the tempered egg mixture into the pot with the oat milk.
- Continually whisk until it thickens.
- Pour the pastry cream into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow it to refrigerate until it's completely cooled.
Ganache
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave or using a double boiler.
- Whisk in the Dairy Free Milk until it's creamy.
Cake Assembly
- Line an 8" springform pan with plastic wrap.
- Place the first cake in the bottom of the pan.
- Spread the pastry cream on top.
- Place the second cake on top of the pastry cream and press down.
- Wrap tightly with the plastic wrap, compressing the cake down. Allow to refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Pour the chocolate ganache over the chilled cake.
- Slice and enjoy!