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This easy no-bake Chocolate Eclair Cake is a classic Midwestern dessert. Made with graham crackers, pudding, whipped topping, and chocolate frosting, in comes together in about 10 minutes plus chilling time.
Chocolate Eclair Cake is an old fashioned sheet cake that requires no baking and is reminiscent of a chocolate coated, creamy eclair. Made for generations, this cake is always one of the most popular desserts at any potluck, so I thought it deserved a revisit.
You don’t have to be a baker to layer graham crackers with pudding and whipped topping, and then slather everything in rich chocolate frosting.
Overnight, the refrigerator does all the hard work for you, softening those layers into a perfectly sweet, creamy, chocolatey cake that tastes like you worked much harder than you did.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Instant vanilla pudding: If you prefer from-scratch, unprocessed food, you could make Homemade Pastry Cream to use instead of the pudding.
- Whipped topping: Or substitute Homemade Whipped Cream for the frozen whipped topping.
- Chocolate frosting: I warm my tub of prepared frosting in the microwave for 20 seconds, then stir. It spreads much easier. Feel free to substitute Homemade Chocolate Frosting if you prefer that.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together pudding mix and milk until smooth.
- Fold in whipped topping.
- Line bottom of a 9-inch x 13-inch pan with a single layer of graham crackers, breaking some if necessary to fill the layer. Pour half the pudding mixture over the crackers and spread evenly. Top with another layer of crackers. Pour the remaining pudding mixture over the second layer of crackers and top with a third layer of crackers.
- Carefully spread the frosting over the top layer of graham crackers. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
- Serve chilled and store any leftovers covered in the refrigerator.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe yields one 9-inch by 13-inch Eclair cake. Your actual servings vary depending on how you cut the slices, but I usually aim for 20 pieces.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The crackers continue to soften in the best way possible (I personally prefer this cake after it sits for at least 24 hours).
- Make ahead: The cake can be made up to 2 days in advance; the graham crackers continue to soften but that’s a good thing.
- Freezer: To freeze Eclair Cake, wrap it tightly in a double layer of foil and plastic. Label, date, and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw the cake overnight in the refrigerator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Give this cake at least 8 hours, but those who have infinite amounts of patience make it 2 days in advance. The crackers continue to soften as the dessert sits, but this isn’t a bad thing at all.
This recipe is definitely not from scratch, but if you would rather use whipped cream folded into the pudding instead of the topping, that is absolutely fine.
Yes, you can. Really, store-bought chocolate frosting really works for this cake! I warm my tub of prepared frosting in the microwave for 20 seconds, stir, then spread. It spreads much easier.
If you’re aiming for picture-perfect cut squares of cake, it helps to freeze the cake before cutting. But if you need to freeze this cake, wrap it tightly in foil and store in a zip-top plastic bag to store in the freezer. It should keep well up to two months. Thaw the cake overnight in the refrigerator.
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Chocolate Eclair Cake
Ingredients
- 2 (3.4-ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix (see note 1)
- 3 1/2 cups milk
- 1 (8-ounce) container whipped topping thawed (see note 2)
- 1 box graham crackers
- 1 can dark chocolate frosting (see note 3)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together pudding mix and milk until smooth. Fold in whipped topping.
- Line bottom of a 9-inch x 13-inch pan with a single layer of graham crackers, breaking some if necessary to fill the layer. Pour half the pudding mixture over the crackers and spread evenly.
- Top with another layer of crackers. Pour the remaining pudding mixture over the second layer of crackers and top with a third layer of crackers.
- Carefully spread the frosting over the top layer of graham crackers. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight. Serve chilled and store any leftovers covered in the refrigerator.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Instant vanilla pudding: If you prefer from-scratch, unprocessed food, you could make Homemade Pastry Cream to use instead of the pudding.
- Whipped topping: Or substitute Homemade Whipped Cream for the frozen whipped topping.
- Chocolate frosting: I warm my tub of prepared frosting in the microwave for 20 seconds, then stir. It spreads much easier. Feel free to substitute Homemade Chocolate Frosting if you prefer that.
- Yield: This recipe yields one 9-inch by 13-inch Eclair cake. Your actual servings vary depending on how you cut the slices, but I usually aim for 20 pieces.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The crackers continue to soften in the best way possible (I personally prefer this cake after it sits for at least 24 hours).
- Make ahead: The cake can be made up to 2 days in advance; the graham crackers continue to soften but that’s a good thing.
- Freezer: To freeze Eclair Cake, wrap it tightly in a double layer of foil and plastic. Label, date, and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw the cake overnight in the refrigerator.
Easy and tasty. I’ve made this for at least 25 years. It was a quick dessert that my granddaughters loved.
Thank you, Sheila! – Meggan
how far in advance can i make this before serving? i want to serve for a picnic monday afternoon, and its friday afternoon right now. is this too soon?
Hi Keara, just a little too early. I would make it up to 2 days in advance so the crackers do not over soften. I hope you love it! – Meggan
I made this completely sugar-free except for the graham crackers, and it is amazing
So glad you loved it, Toby! – Meggan
I mean, it’s a no-bake fridge cake. Fun, easy, and a crowd pleaser. I’m not wild about graham crackers, so I leave out the middle layer of them, I choose sugar free pudding, regular cool whip (keeps it stable versus fresh whipped cream, which I’ve also done), whole milk, bottom and top layer of grahams only, and half a can of frosting, melted a little then spread like a thin ganache (which I’ve also done, but family reported the intense chocolate of a proper ganache overpowered the dessert). I find the swap out of regular versus sugar free pudding mix imperceptible in the final product, which already packs plenty of sugar in the grahams, cool whip, frosting, and the milk sugars themselves. The sugar free pudding and halved frosting choices cut out some of the excess sugar, if you’re prone to watching that kind of thing, with little impact on the quality of the final product.
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to write and share! – Meggan
I made this recipe today July 4th. It is. GREAT!! I had made it before The only suggestion I have is I found if you put the is if you put the container of chocolate frosting in the microwave for 1 minute intervals, and stir after each minute until it is liquified. Then all you have to do is pour it over the Gram crackers and smooth it out. Because taking each gram crackers and putting it on therm separately is a pain in rear-end. Good luck and I hope it works for you if you try it.
I”m so glad you loved it, Nancy! Thank you for the suggestion! – Meggan
This is SOOO much better with Evaporated milk. Richer. Used it for decades
Thanks for the recommendation, Chrissy Dawn! – Meggan
Can this recipe be made with sugar free ingredients?
Hi Trudy, I haven’t tried it myself, but another reader shared they made it with sugar-free putting mix, sugar-free Cool Whip, and sugar-free chocolate fudge icing, and regular graham crackers. I hope this helps! Please write back if you make it! – Meggan
YUM!!
Thank you, Ken! – Meggan
should you cover cake when it goes in frig?
Hi Linda, it should be covered while it is refrigerator while chilling, and the leftovers should be covered as well. I hope you love it! – Meggan