Old Fashioned Chocolate Eclair Cake

Why This is the Best Recipe

Old fashioned desserts, like the kind you often see on a church dessert table or at a potluck party, are some of the easiest and most delicious desserts ever.

I think this is the best old fashioned chocolate eclair cake recipe because:

1. Easy Pantry Ingredients: As long as you've got fresh milk on hand, you can keep all the ingredients to make this no bake dessert in minutes right in your pantry or freezer!
2. Just 10 Minutes: Mix the pudding and assemble the torte. This dessert takes just minutes to pull together.
3. Make Ahead Friendly: You can prep the entire chocolate eclair cake in advance, up to 2 - 3 days if you keep it covered in the fridge.
4. Cool, Creamy, and So Delicious: My family went wild for this easy dessert. It would be such a quick busy week treat to serve as a special surprise.

Ingredients

All you need to make a chocolate eclair torte is:

• Graham Crackers: Believe it or not, this is what gives the "cake" texture!
• Instant Vanilla Pudding: I used French Vanilla-flavored pudding since this is a chocolate eclair-inspired dessert. Do not buy the Cook and Serve pudding, this trick only works with instant pudding.
• Whipped Topping: I keep a tub of Cool Whip in my freezer all the time.
• Milk: I used regular 2% and it worked great. Fat-free milk would work just fine, too.
• Chocolate Frosting: You'll need a tub of prepared chocolate frosting. This is one instance where I wouldn't recommend making the frosting from scratch since you'll need to heat it in the microwave so it becomes pourable.

Prepare the Vanilla Pudding

Start by whisking together the instant pudding mixes and milk.

Beat them together for 2 minutes or until smooth and slightly thickened.

Then scrape the entire tub of whipped topping into the pudding bowl and gently fold them together.

Assemble the Chocolate Eclair Cake

Set out a 9x13-inch baking dish.

Lay the graham crackers neatly in a single layer over the bottom of the dish.

Notice how I had to arrange the crackers and even break one into a smaller piece to make them all fit correctly and cover the entire bottom of the dish:

To assemble the dessert, you'll spoon half of the pudding mixture over that first layer of graham crackers. Spread it evenly.

Then lay a second layer of graham crackers over the pudding. (Photo 3 above.)

Spoon the remaining half of the pudding over the top and spread it evenly. (Photo 4 above.)

How to Top with Chocolate Frosting

Lay a third layer of graham crackers on the very top of the pudding torte.

By now, it is much easier to arrange the crackers to cover the top of the dish.

Open up the frosting tub and remove the foil that covers the frosting. Heat it up in the microwave for 15 - 30 seconds so that it becomes pourable.

Pour the frosting over the top and spread it into an even layer.

Chill the dessert for at least 8 hours so that the graham crackers can soften from the moisture from the pudding and get their amazing cake-like texture.

Make Ahead Tips

You can make the entire chocolate eclair cake up to 3 days in advance if you store it covered with plastic wrap in the fridge.

I don't recommend freezing it, the texture of the pudding could become watery as it thaws.

Variations

I love this easy no bake dessert just as it is, but there are a few delicious variations you could make:

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Torte: Add fresh strawberries on top of the chilled frosting.

Mini Chocolate Chip Torte: You could add mini chocolate chips to the pudding layers for texture and more chocolate.

Reverse Chocolate Eclaire Torte: You could use chocolate pudding and a vanilla frosting on top if you'd like to reverse the flavors.

Chocolate Covered Cheesecake Torte: You could use a cheesecake-flavored pudding instead of the vanilla.

Chocolate Banana Cake: You could use banana-flavored pudding mix instead of the vanilla.

More No Bake Desserts

If you love creamy desserts made with pudding, cream cheese, and/or whipped topping, you won't want to miss these family favorites:

Cherry Delight Dessert

Banana Pudding {No Bananas!}

Lickety Split Lemon Torte

No-Bake Peanut Butter Pie