Doorstep Desserts Subscription Box Review – Eclair Cake

Doorstep Desserts is a new dessert subscription box – get everything you need weekly (or biweekly or monthly) to make a fun dessert at home. Every box includes pre-portioned and pre-made components for the final dessert.

The box arrives with both the cute Doorstep Desserts label and highly-visible warnings to get to your desserts sooner rather than later.

This week’s box was an eclair cake — I couldn’t distinguish it from a Boston Creme Pie.  Whatever you call it, it was really good!

The box wasn’t packed with cooler packs, since the items didn’t need refrigeration.  They were tucked in securely, and everything arrived safely.

Everything in the box.

Nutrition info is included, if you’re into that sort of thing.  I noticed that the filling and icing have exactly the same ingredients, in the same order — I assume this is an error, since the icing should have chocolate of some kind in it, or at least different coloring.

This assembly operation was as simple as could be.  The instructions were clear and concise — the illustrations were included just in case you were having a tough time visualizing the process (e.g. you thought “cut yellow cake in half” meant cut it vertically.

The cake was super moist and cut really easily.  A bit of the surface peeled off, due to us leaving it in the fridge a bit instead of making it immediately.

This dessert was particularly simple — after slicing each cake, we spread on the filling.  It had an odd texture when working with it (more like a smooth tapioca pudding than a custard).  The interesting texture was readily apparent when making the eclairs, but it was not a factor when eating them!

The finished cakes.  They look a bit like a Boston creme donut… Yum.  I used a hairdryer to give the topping a final smooth and shine.

[Note from Brandy: This explains why my hair dryer was downstairs. Mystery solved!]

A cross-section of the completed cake.  We used every bit of the filling and topping, so it was a delicious, gooey pile of sweetness.

We liked the taste of this dessert quite a bit.  It was super-simple to make — it is really just dessert assembly, on par with making an ice cream sundae, as there is no baking (unless you count warming in the microwave).  The cost is similar to having a dessert added to a Plated subscription (which costs $8 for 2 servings, ignoring apportionment of shipping).  This recipe made two cakes with the diameter of a giant grapefruit (5″) and was enough for four people easily, so it had about twice the amount of food of a typical Plated Dessert.  So, the per-serving cost is in the same ballpark — the prep is easier, but the ingredients are not as gourmet.  It is worth noting that the ingredients aren’t all natural — it does have propylene glycol, questionable fats, and artificial colors and flavors.  These are not unusual in prepared and packaged dessert snacks from a store, but subscribers shouldn’t be expecting farmers’ market fare.  Given the nature of the ingredients, the simplicity of preparation is not quite as big a sell, as you could go to your supermarket bakery for similar items — this subscription is really about convenience and receiving a pleasant surprise on your doorstep.

Visit Doorstep Desserts to subscribe or find out more! Use coupon code EMAIL to try your first box free. See even more free and nearly free subscription boxes!