I remember the first (and only time) I made choux pastry from scratch. It went much better than I expected, and my husband Ian and I enjoyed eating the resulting eclairs. But honestly, as much I love eclairs, I will always prefer cupcakes. So when Ian suggested making eclair cupcakes I was all about it! Just imagine buttery vanilla cupcakes filled with creamy vanilla pudding and topped with chocolate ganache. Are you drooling yet? Plus they’re way easier to make than their choux pastry cousins!
Note: I originally created this recipe for Eagle Brand® who generously compensated me for my efforts.
The best part about this recipe (besides the soft and fluffy cupcake and the rich chocolate ganache) is the creamy vanilla pudding filling. This recipe yields way more pudding than you’ll need to fill the cupcakes, but that just means there’s more pudding to eat! You could also double (or even triple) the cupcake recipe.
Start by mixing the pudding mix, whole milk and Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk.
Whip the cream until stiff peaks form. The peak is “stiff” if it holds its shape when you dip a spatula in and pull it straight out. Gently fold the whipped cream into the condensed milk mixture until completely combined. Place the pudding in the refrigerator to chill.
The cupcake recipe is based on these salted caramel cupcakes. I just made a few tweaks to change the flavor. One of my favorite additions is 1/4 teaspoon of butter extract. Choux pastry has a buttery undertone, and the butter extract helps bring out that flavor.
Once the cupcakes are baked and cooled, use a strawberry huller spoon or a cupcake corer to remove the centers, leaving a hole that’s about 1.5 inches wide and 1 inch deep.
Spoon the pudding into a piping bag or a ziplock bag and cut off the tip. Fill the cupcake centers with pudding, no higher than the top of the hole.
Make the dark chocolate ganache by heating 1 cup of heavy cream into the microwave for 1 minute, pouring it on top of the dark chocolate chips, letting it sit for 2 minutes and then whisking it smooth. Dip the top of each cupcake in the ganache. It sets fairly quickly.
Store the cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator along with the leftover pudding.
Tag me @rosesandwhiskers on Instagram if you try these eclair cupcakes and use the hashtag #rosesandwhiskers. Happy baking! 🙂
Eclair Cupcakes
Ingredients
Filling Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 1/3 cup instant vanilla pudding mix
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream whipped
Cupcake Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup gluten free 1 to 1 baking flour (substitute all-purpose flour for gluten-full cupcakes)
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup sour cream room temperature
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp butter extract
- 1/2 cup whole milk room temperature
Chocolate Ganache Ingredients
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2/3 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Whisk together the Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk, pudding mix and whole milk until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the cream into the pudding mixture until completely incorporated. Cover and set in the refrigerator to chill. (Note: This will be more pudding than you need to fill the cupcakes. Eat the leftover pudding on its own or use it for another dessert. You could also make more cupcakes!)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C) and line cupcake pans with wrappers or lightly grease with cooking spray. (Note: If you use wrappers you’ll need to remove them before adding the ganache.) This recipe yields about 13 cupcakes.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter, sour cream and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl to make sure each is incorporated. Mix in the extracts.
- Mix in half of the flour mixture on low speed, followed by the milk and the remaining flour. Mix until just combined. You might need to gently whisk the batter to remove any remaining lumps.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pans, filling each cup 2/3 full. Fill any empty cups 2/3 full of water so that the cupcakes bake more evenly.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a middle cupcake comes out with a few moist crumbs. Leave the cupcakes in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Remove the middle of each cooled cupcake, leaving a hole that’s about 1.5 inches wide and 1 inch deep. I used a strawberry huller spoon to scoop out the centers.
- Spoon the pudding into a piping bag with the tip cut off and fill each cupcake with pudding. Don’t fill any higher than the top of the cupcake.
- Heat the heavy cream in the microwave for 1 minute (watch to be sure the cream doesn’t boil over). Pour the cream over the chocolate chips (which should also be in a heatproof container) and let sit for 2 minutes. Then whisk until smooth.
- Remove the wrappers from the cupcakes if you used any. Then dip the top of each cupcake in the ganache. Place back on the cooling rack to set.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy!
Can I substitute 1% milk for while milk?
Yes you can!
can you use cake mix for cupcakes
You could use storebought cake mix, but I haven’t personally tried that myself!
can I use cake mix