Eclair Cake
Eclair Cake is an easy no bake dessert that has layers of graham crackers, vanilla pudding, whipped topping and topped with chocolate frosting!
A Simple, Summertime, Layered Dessert
This Easy No-Bake Eclair Cake is not only simple to make but it is absolutely scrumptious. Absolutely no stovetop or oven is needed! The hardest part? Waiting to eat it! This is a great dessert for a crowd. The idea with this delicious cake is, the graham crackers soften up when it sits overnight so they are no longer crunchy at all. So you get the flavors of an eclair, basically, but in a much easier to make way!
I have made this several times and always get rave reviews! Thank you for something simple and impressive for those of us that don’t bake.
– Klaire
Frequently Asked Questions:
It’s really easy to switch up the flavors. You could use chocolate graham crackers and vanilla pudding. You could substitute the vanilla pudding with French vanilla, chocolate or cheesecake pudding. I’ve made it with banana pudding and added some sliced bananas to the filling. You can top with Cool Whip instead of a chocolate frosting. You can substitute the graham crackers with Nilla Wafers, chocolate graham crackers or cinnamon graham crackers.
So many flavor combinations you can experiment with!
This dessert does not take long to prepare but it definitely needs time to set up. Make this the night before you actually need to serve it. It helps the graham crackers to soften and gives time for everything to set up. It is a great dessert to make the night before you plan to enjoy it.
If you don’t want to use the store-bought stuff, you can make this homemade frosting. It will be more like a glaze and not too thick.
Ingredients:
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup milk
½ cup salted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the granulated sugar, cocoa powder, and milk. Over medium-high heat, bring the mixture up to a boil and remove it from the heat. Stir in your butter and vanilla extract. Keep stirring until all of the butter is melted.
Pour the chocolate glaze over the éclair cake and spread it into an even layer. Place in refrigerator for at least 4 hours (overnight is best) to allow the graham crackers to soften and the glaze to harden.
No. Freezing eclair cake is not recommended. It does not defrost well and the texture becomes unappetizing in my opinion but if that doesn’t matter to you, then go for it!
This dessert can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Ingredients Needed: (See Recipe Card Below For The Full Recipe)
- instant vanilla pudding– you MUST use instant pudding mix, don’t mix it up and grab a box of the Cook N Serve mix. That stuff won’t set up properly because it needs heat to set up.
- whipped topping (Cool Whip)– also know that you can use a smaller 8 ounce tub of Cool Whip if you want, it will just be a bit thinner. As for homemade whipped cream, I suppose you could do that but homemade whipped cream doesn’t stay as stabilized as the whipped topping. Also, it takes the easiness out of this whole thing, but, I guess it could be done, just know that I haven’t personally tried it.
- milk– I haven’t tried this with nondairy milk. However, I do know that soy milk does NOT work with instant pudding- it won’t set right.
- graham crackers– I suppose you could use graham cracker crumbs, but you won’t get the nice looking layers like you do with regular graham crackers. These do get very soft after it sits if that is a concern for you. They’re meant to soften up to make this like an eclair – hence the name of the recipe.
- chocolate frosting– I shared an alternative in the FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) section.
How to Make Eclair Cake
In a medium bowl, mix together the pudding mix, milk and Cool Whip.
In a 9×13-inch baking dish, arrange a single layer of graham cracker squares on the bottom. You may have to break them up a bit to get enough crackers to cover the bottom of your dish. Spread half of the pudding mixture on top of the crackers.
Layer another layer of graham crackers over the pudding mixture. Then layer the other half of the pudding mixture on top of crackers.
Top with a final layer of graham crackers. Put plastic wrap over dish and put in fridge for about 30 min to an hour to allow pudding to set. When pudding has set up, put the tub of chocolate frosting in the microwave for about 15 seconds to soften slightly (remove lid and aluminum foil top before microwaving.) Take out and stir frosting. It should be easily spreadable now. Remove plastic wrap from dish and evenly spread chocolate frosting all over the top layer of graham crackers.
Place plastic wrap over top of dish and put back in fridge. Wait at least 4 hours before digging in (overnight is best). This dessert gets better over time. The graham crackers need time to soften up. When ready to serve, slice in squares and enjoy cold!
CRAVING MORE DESSERTS?
Eclair Cake
Ingredients
- 2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix (must be INSTANT, not cook & serve)
- 2 ½ cups milk
- 16 ounce tub whipped topping, thawed (larger tub, Cool Whip)
- 14.4 ounce box graham crackers
- 16 ounce container chocolate frosting (see notes below for homemade frosting)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix together 2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix, 2 1/2 cups milk. Then gently stir in 16 ounce tub whipped topping, thawed.
- In a 9×13-inch baking dish, arrange a single layer of the 14.4 ounce box graham crackers on the bottom. You may have to break them up a bit to fill in all the spaces.
- Spread half of the pudding mixture on top of the crackers.
- Layer another layer of graham crackers over the pudding mixture.
- Then layer the other half of the pudding mixture on top of crackers.
- Top with a final layer of graham crackers.
- Put plastic wrap over dish and put in fridge for about 30 min to an hour to allow pudding to set.
- When ready, put the 16 ounce container chocolate frosting (with the lid and aluminum foil removed) in the microwave for about 10 seconds to soften – DO NOT MELT. You don't want it melted, just easily spreadable.
- Take out and stir frosting. It should be easily spreadable now. If it did melt, allow it to cool a little bit until it is pourable but not totally melted and too liquidy. If it is not soft enough, put it back in for a couple more seconds at a time, stirring after each time until it stirs easily.
- Remove plastic wrap from dish and evenly spread chocolate frosting all over the top layer of graham crackers.
- Place plastic wrap over top of dish and put back in fridge and let it chill for at least 4 hours (overnight is best).
- When ready, slice and serve!
Video
Notes
- UPDATE: Since first sharing this recipe in 2011, it appears different brands put different amounts of graham crackers in each sleeve. Some brands are also making smaller sleeves so you don’t have to open a whole full sleeve. And some brands are also getting cheap and putting less graham crackers in a box. So, it is possible you may need to use the entire box you purchased.
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Originally published: February 2011
Updated photos and republished: April 2026
