This Eclair cake will definitely be added to your easiest desserts ever list. It’s a no bake dessert, too, so no heating up the kitchen. The graham crackers, vanilla pudding, and chocolate topping all come together to taste just like an eclair.
Ok, I admit it. I LOVE eclairs! Whenever I visit a bakery, that’s one of the first things I look for. The combination of the custard filling with the chocolate just goes together so well.
Our local donut shop makes donuts called Long Johns. They are really eclairs with a silly name. 😉 But, when we get donuts, half of our order are Long Johns. Need I say more. 😉
Ingredients needed:
Whipped topping – I prefer to use Cool Whip but you can use any brand whipped topping.
Milk – I used 2% milk.
Pudding – any brand of vanilla pudding will be fine. I used French Vanilla because I find the vanilla flavor to be stronger.
Chocolate frosting – any brand of the cake icing frosting is fine. I used Duncan Hines Milk Chocolate frosting.
Tips:
- I like to use French Vanilla pudding. It just has such a strong vanilla flavor that it brings out more of that custard flavor.
- Be sure to chill this dessert for a minimum of four hours, even longer if you can. That will give the pudding time to thicken and all of the layers to hold together before cutting.
- Make sure the whipped topping (Cool Whip) is completely thawed before mixing. I have made the mistake of trying to short cut it and use it before it was completely thawed. That was a mess. Having to whisk and whisk to get all of the still frozen lumps smooth.
- Don’t worry if your graham crackers are not split perfectly. I always struggle with that. Mine tend to break every other spot on the cracker except for the perforated line. Oh well. You won’t see it covered in the pudding mixture. Just be sure, though, to fill in any spot without a graham cracker so you may need to break small pieces to fill in the gaps.
If you are an eclair lover, too, this dessert will be right up your alley. Also, it gets better as it sits in the refrigerator. If you think it tastes amazing on the first day, just wait until the second or third one. It’s SO good!!
Post below if you’ve made this before and if you do anything different. Or if you made this and how it turned out.
Eclair cake
Ingredients
- 2 3.5 oz packages of vanilla instant pudding
- 1 8 oz container frozen whipped topping, thawed
- 3 cups milk
- 1 14.4 oz package of graham cracker squares
- 1 16 oz package prepared chocolate frosting
Instructions
- Prep! Gather all ingredients.
- In a medium size bowl, mix the whipped topping, vanilla pudding, and milk until combined and smooth.
- In a 13 x 9-inch pan, arrange one layer of graham crackers.
- Pour half of the pudding mixture on top.
- Add another layer of graham crackers.
- Repeat the process by pouring the remaining half of the pudding mixture on top of the graham cracker layer.
- Add the last layer of graham crackers.
- Stir the frosting in the container and then microwave for 25 seconds to soften.
- Pour the softened frosting on top of the graham cracker layers and spread evenly to completely cover.
- Chill for a minimum of 4 hours before serving.