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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. 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. 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.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
This was very easy to make and tasted like a super soft eclair. It was light and creamy and very refreshing on a hot day. It tasted fantastic and I can’t recommend it enough! I did a full video review on my YouTube channel, The Real Deal Recipe Reviews, where I always try to make recipes as written and give honest reviews and opinions.
Thank you, Daryl! I’m so glad you loved it! – Meggan
The classic version is amazing. Using it to make banana pudding as a variation is phenomenal. Sub banana pudding for the vanilla and add in 2 layers of thinly sliced bananas that you cover in the pudding/whipped topping mixture and skip the chocolate on top. It keeps the bananas from going brown and it’s still good up to 4 days later. We’ve never had it last longer than that. I’ve done it with vanilla wafers or with graham crackers like the eclair cake but either way is super good. I’m never making banana pudding any other way again. Especially not when it can be made 1-2 days ahead of an event and be even better for it. I’ve even made it straight into a 10 cup tupperware for potlucks.
Hi Angela, thank you so much for taking the time to write and share your version of this for banana pudding! If you’re ever interested in making it from scratch, I have a great recipe you can follow: https://www.culinaryhill.com/banana-pudding/. Take care and thank you again! – Meggan
Awwwww mine is super runny ๐
I used the cook and serve, is that the wrong kind is that why it’s runny??
Hi Joan, I’m so sorry! Yes, this recipe uses instant vanilla pudding, not the cook and serve. I’m sorry again that it was runny. – Meggan
So easy and SO yummy!
Thanks, Ivy! – Meggan
Love how easy this is to follow and make! My mother-in-law makes this all the time and now I can too. Love your name btw ๐
Love yours, too! ๐ Thanks so much, Meggan! – Meggan
This is a great recipe and is so delicious. Is the nutritional value figured on the size of a serving that would be 20 slices per 13×9 pan. My 4 yr old granddaughter is type 1 diabetic, so we need to know the carbs in order to dose her correctly. This is one of my families favorite desserts, so it would be great I fo to have, so that she can enjoy it too. Thank you!
Hi Marcia, thank you so much for writing! Yes, this estimate is for 1/20th of the pan/recipe. Since products vary, you could input them into a nutition calculating app and get a more accurate estimate. I hope she loves it! – Meggan
My mom used to make these, and it was always my favorite! She passed away and I hadn’t thought of it for a long time. I couldn’t even remember what it was called, I just knew the ingredients and searched that way. The theme was to make your favorites.
I made this for a group of co-workers and all i had was cinnamon grahams, and it was so delish!
It was a hit and some asked for the recipe. Thank you for posting this, and for the variations included. Yum-oh!
You’re so welcome, Diann! I’m so glad they reminded you of your mom’s! ๐ – Meggan
I love how easy this is to put together!
I tested it out on a few of my friends and got a resounding thumbs up!
We will now be making 5 pans of these for a Seniors Dinner later this month.
My favorite kind of recipe..easy and delicious ๐
Thank you
You’re welcome, Sharon! I’m glad you all loved it. I hope you have a great time! – Meggan
Delicious ๐
Thanks, Derick! – Meggan