The reason I keep coming back to this no bake caramel apple eclair cake is that it gives me apple pie flavor without rolling out crust or using the oven. It takes 7 ingredients and about 15 minutes to put together, and then the fridge does the work overnight.
By the next day, the apples have softened into the pudding, the pudding has set firm enough to scoop, and the caramel slices cleanly with the rest of the layers.
It uses the same graham-cracker-and-pudding template as my Strawberry Eclair Cake, with the same caramel apple flavor profile as my Caramel Apple Dump Cake.
Read Before You Start
Use a straight-sided metal pan, not a glass dish with rounded corners. Sharp 90-degree corners gives you clean slices and holds the caramel where you spread it. A glass dish with curved corners makes the edge layers bow outward, and the caramel pools toward the middle of the pan as the cake sets.
Ingredient Notes
- I’ve tested this recipe with vanilla pudding and French vanilla pudding. I recommend using French vanilla pudding as it has more flavor. If you can’t find French vanilla, cheesecake instant pudding is the next best swap.
- Use whole milk. It’s the fat in whole milk is what helps the pudding set firm. Pull the milk straight from the fridge. Room-temperature milk thickens slower and unevenly.
- If you’re wanting different flavor profiles, check out my lemon eclair cake and classic eclair cake.
If you like easy desserts that come together with a tub of Cool Whip and a few simple ingredients, take a look at my list of Cool Whip desserts packed with creamy pies, layered treats, fluffy salads, and easy cakes for sharing.
Don’t Miss These Steps
Filling Selection
Some store brands are mostly sauce with a few apple chunks floating in them, and that’s what makes the bottom layer soupy. I tested with Duncan Hines More Fruit because there’s more apple per can than in the standard brands.
If you can’t find a canned filling with enough apple in it, make your own apple pie filling from scratch, or open a second can and scoop out only the apple pieces.
Cut The Apples In The Filling
I found the step that really changes how the finished slices look is cutting the apple pieces smaller before layering them.
Pie filling apples come out of the can about 1.5 inches across. At that size, a cut slice ends up with either a giant pocket of apple in the middle or no apple at all. Half-inch pieces spread across the layer evenly, so there’s apple in every forkful.
I like to use kitchen scissors during testing, snipping the apples in the bowl. It’s faster than a knife and it doesn’t smash the pieces the way pressing down with a blade can.
A small offset knife pressed straight down also works. Do the cutting in the bowl before you start layering, never in the pan. Chasing softening apples around a half-built cake is how layers get smashed.
What I Learned During Recipe Testing
The biggest thing I did wrong during recipe testing was using a caramel sundae sauce when I should have been using caramel apple dip.
You’re looking for a caramel dip that’s thick enough to coat a sliced apple at room temperature, so it sets up firm once it’s in the fridge.
Serving Instructions
This cake never gets fully firm, even after an overnight chill. That’s normal for a no-bake cake like this one, and it’s not a sign anything is wrong. Slice it straight from the fridge.
Storage Guidance
The cake gets softer every day it sits in the fridge, not firmer. By day 2, the bottom layer is fully soft like cake, and the caramel has loosened a little because it picked up moisture from the layers below. The cake still tastes good, but the slices won’t look as clean-cut as they did on the first day.
If I’m serving this for a specific occasion, I make it the day before, not 2 days ahead. The graham crackers softened up nicely.
There’s one more thing the recipe card doesn’t mention. If you put a tight lid on the cake while it’s chilling in the fridge, the lid will sweat overnight and leave water beads on top of the caramel. I leave the cover slightly cracked.
Do not freeze this recipe.
Caramel Apple Eclair Cake
Ingredients
- 6.8 ounces instant French vanilla pudding mix, Jell-O brand used (two 3.4-ounce boxes)
- 3½ cups whole milk, very cold
- 8 ounces frozen whipped topping, thawed (Cool Whip brand used)
- 21 ounces apple pie filling, Duncan Hines More Fruit brand used
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 30 whole graham cracker sheets
- 13.5 ounces caramel apple dip, Marzetti brand used
Instructions
- Whisk together the instant French vanilla pudding mix and milk in a large bowl for 1-2 minutes or until it is smooth and starts to thicken. Let the mixture rest for 3 minutes while it continues to thicken up.
- Fold the thawed whipped topping into the pudding mixture until evenly combined and no white streaks remain. Set aside.
- Transfer the apple pie filling into a small bowl. Using a small sharp knife, or food-grade kitchen shears, cut the larger apple pieces into smaller (approximately ½ inch), uniform-sized pieces. Stir in the ground cinnamon until evenly distributed and set aside.
- In the bottom of a 9×13 straight-sided baking pan, place 10 whole graham cracker sheets. You will need to break apart some of the graham crackers to fit snugly into the pan as a single layer.
- Spread half the apple pie filling evenly over the first layer of graham crackers.
- Spoon half the pudding mixture over the first layer of apple pie filling and spread to an even layer.
- Top with another layer of 10 graham crackers, followed by the remaining apple pie filling, remaining pudding mixture, and final layer of graham crackers.
- Remove the lid to the caramel apple dip, heat in the microwave for 30-45 seconds or just until loose enough to spread easily over the final layer of graham crackers. A small offset spatula makes it easier to spread the caramel evenly over the graham crackers.
- Refrigerate the caramel apple eclair cake for a minimum of 6-8 hours or up to overnight before serving.
Notes
- Running a sharp knife under hot water, then wiping dry before slicing will help to easily cut through the caramel layer for cleaner slices.
- A thick salted caramel apple sauce (such as Mrs. Richardson’s brand) or homemade thick caramel sauce will work as a substitute for the caramel apple dip.
- If your brand of canned apple pie filling has more of the sauce than it does the apple pieces, you may want to use a second can and just scoop out the apples leaving the excess sauce out of the recipe. If too much of the sauce from the canned apple pie filling is added, it can cause your filling to become too soft and messy when sliced and served.
Nutrition
If you like this style of no bake dessert but want a version that leans even harder on apple instead of caramel, my Apple Delight skips the caramel layer entirely and adds a second pudding tier instead.
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