Chocolate Mint Eclair Recipes

Steps:

• Coat a 13-in. x 9-in. dish with cooking spray. Break five whole graham crackers in half; line the bottom of pan with three half crackers and six whole crackers., In a large bowl, whisk milk, pudding mix, extract and food coloring if desired for 2 minutes (mixture will be thick). Fold in whipped topping. , Spread half over graham crackers. Top with a another layer of three half and six whole crackers. Top with remaining pudding mixture and graham crackers (save remaining half cracker for another use). Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours., For frosting, melt butter in a saucepan. Stir in cocoa and milk until blended. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spread over dessert. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Steps:

• Combine cookie crumbs, 2 Tbsp. sugar and butter; press onto bottom of 13x9-inch dish. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Mix cream cheese, remaining sugar, 2 Tbsp. milk and mint extract in medium bowl until blended. Stir in 1 cup COOL WHIP; spread over crust.
• Beat pudding mixes and 3-1/4 cups milk with whisk 2 min.; pour over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate 3-1/2 hours.
• Microwave chocolate and remaining COOL WHIP in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until chocolate is almost melted, stirring every minute; stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended. Cool 10 min. Spread over dessert. Refrigerate 30 min.

Steps:

• Grease 13x9 inch baking pan.
• Line bottom of pan with 3 cracker halves and 6 whole crackers and set aside.
• Whisk milk & pudding mixes 2 minutes in large bowl until thickened.
• Whisk in extract and food coloring.
• Fold in cool whip.
• Spread 1/2 of mixture over graham crackers in pan.
• Repeat with same amount of crackers as before.
• Spread remaining pudding over crackers.
• Repeat with cracker layer to finish.
• Cover and refrigerate 2 hours.
• Prepare frosting by melting butter in small saucepan.
• Stir in cocoa and both milks until blended.
• Remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar and vanilla.
• Spread frosting on top of top layer of graham crackers.
• Refrigerate until ready to serve.

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.

Steps:

• Mix together vanilla pudding mix and milk.
• Fold in whipped topping.
• Line 9 x 13 pan with one layer of graham crackers.
• Put half of the pudding mixture over the graham crackers.
• Place a second layer of graham crackers over the pudding mixture.
• Put the remaining pudding mixture over the graham crackers.
• Place a third layer of graham crackers over the pudding mixture.
• Heat the tub of frosting in the microwave for 30 seconds to soften. (Don't forget to remove the foil seal or you'll get fireworks).
• Spread frosting on the top of the last layer of graham crackers.
• Cover with plastic wrap and let set a couple hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
• Cut in squares.

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.

Steps:

• Line the bottom of a 9x13-inch pan with graham crackers.
• In a large bowl, combine pudding mix and milk; stir well. Mix whipped topping into pudding mixture. Spread half of mixture over graham cracker layer. Top with another layer of graham crackers and the remaining pudding.
• Top all with a final layer of graham crackers and frost with chocolate frosting. Refrigerate at least two hours before serving to allow the graham crackers to soften.