Eclair Cake

5 from 75 votes

For those hectic times when you need to entertain, this chocolate eclair cake is such an easy recipe requiring very few ingredients.

Prep Time15

Chill Time10

Total Time10 15

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: eclair cake recipe

Servings:

Calories: 453kcal

Ingredients

1 box cinnamon graham crackers
6.8 ounces French Vanilla instant pudding, (two 3.4-ounce boxes) with ½ teaspoon removed from one of the bags
16 ounces Cool Whip
3½ cups whole milk
16 ounces dark chocolate fudge frosting

Instructions

Spray a 9x13x3-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray on the bottom and lightly on the sides. It’s very important to use a dish that is 3 inches deep because it creates space for the graham crackers to be snug up against all of the edges.
Mix pudding and milk using either a mixer with a whisk attachment or a mixing bowl and a whisk.
Fold in the Cool Whip until it is fully incorporated and there are no more white and yellow swirls. You want the mix to be fully yellow and uniform.
Layer graham crackers along the bottom of the pan, covering the entire bottom to the edges.
Divide the pudding mixture in half.
Spread the first half of the pudding mixture on top of the first graham cracker layer (an offset spatula is great for this) until fully covered. Do your best to get each layer as level as possible, so your end product is evenly distributed.
Spread the second layer of graham crackers on top of the pudding layer to the edges.
Fully spread the remaining pudding mixture over the second layer of graham crackers.
Lay the third and final layer of graham crackers to the edges.
Microwave your tub of dark chocolate fudge frosting (DO NOT microwave the frosting in the tub, transfer to a microwave-safe bowl) for 30 seconds, remove, and stir fully.
Microwave for another 30 seconds, stir and remove any lumps. Immediately pour the frosting onto the final layer of graham crackers and spread gently to the edges. With two hands, give your whole dish a gentle shake back and forth for a few seconds to level out your layers!
Cover in saran wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 10 hours or overnight.
When you’re ready to serve your cake, remove it from the fridge and let the cake thaw uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes for it to get that beautiful shine restored to the frosting topping.

Video

Notes

The pudding will not set with dairy-free or lactose-free milk. Make sure you are using regular milk in this recipe.
Don’t forget to remove ½ teaspoon from one of the 2 pudding box bags before dumping them in your bowl! The ½ teaspoon you remove can be discarded, you won’t need it for anything in this recipe.
A box of graham crackers usually comes with a broken piece or two, these pieces work great to fill in the gaps along edges or along the uneven edge of a cracker that’s slightly broken
If you want to weigh your pudding mixture after it's been mixed to get a more precise measurement of it divided in half, you can! Humidity can affect the weight and swell of Cool Whip, so that could slightly impact your weight. But generally, you want each pudding mixture in 2 different bowls to each weigh approximately 1468 grams or 3.2 pounds.
Chilling your dessert is not optional. It is very important that this step happens because the pudding and frosting need to set, and the graham crackers need to soften up.

Nutrition