No Bake Chocolate Eclair Cake

Looking for more penny pinched recipes? Here you go!

Don't you just love when penny pinching makes you a wee bit resourceful, and the results turn out fantastic?

 

(Me too.)

Last week my sweet boy turned sixteen.

Sixteen.

 

 

However, over the weekend we'd purchased a new car (finally retiring my 10-year-old-190,000-mile-mini-van ~ eek!), and I've been determined to really be wise with our finances. (We were able to purchase our new-to-us-car using cash which is the coolest feeling ever. But, shelling out that much cash that's been saved hurts just a bit!)

 

So, I decided I was absolutely not going to buy anything we didn't need for at least a few weeks.

 

And then I remembered that I needed a cake for my cute kid's birthday.

I went through my pantry, fridge and freezer to try to come up some genius plan, and remembered this E'clair cake a friend of mine made for us years ago.

 

It usually calls for cool whip, but I only had Kroger Reddi Whip in the fridge, so decided to make that work.

Goodness, that boy of mine was in heaven.

 

In fact, he asked this weekend if I could make him some e'clair cake again.

 

The moral of the story?

 

Get a little creative with what you already have before spending more moo-lah ($40 for a cookie cake? No thanks!) and your family might just enjoy that little penny-pinched-splurge too.

 

🍴 MENU TIP: This delicious dessert is from Week 1 of our Freezer Menu Planning Made Easy Set! 

Directions

Mix together cool whip or reddi whip, pudding and milk. Layer graham crackers on bottom of 9×13 baking dish.

Next, spread half pudding mixture over graham crackers, then cover with another layer of graham crackers.

Spread remaining pudding mixture over graham crackers, then top with another layer of graham crackers.

  

Pop frosting in microwave and heat for about 30 seconds. Then spread carefully over graham cracker layer.

Refrigerate for 4-6 hours, then serve.

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No Bake Chocolate Eclair Cake

Ingredients:

2 (5.1 oz) packages instant vanilla pudding
2 cans of dairy whipped topping (or one 8 oz tub of non-dairy whipped topping)
3 cups milk
1 package graham crackers
1 container chocolate frosting

Directions:

1. In a bowl mix together the pudding mix, whipped topping, and milk until completely combined.
2. Place a single layer of graham crackers in the bottom of a 9×13″ dish. Spread half the pudding mixture over the graham crackers. Top the pudding layer with another layer of graham crackers.  Add the other half of the pudding mixture and top that with a final layer of graham crackers.
3. Spread frosting over the graham cracker layer all the way up to the edges of the pan. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

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Looking for more dessert recipes?

• Whoopie Pie Cake
• Scandalous Grace Cake
• Buckeye Brownies

• Reese’s Peanut Butter Pudding Cookies
• Cake Mix Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake
• Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Paula Deen’s Best Ever Carrot Cake
• Paula Deen’s Banana Pudding

Recipe adapted from All Recipes.  If you need a little more menu inspiration, go HERE.