Vintage Dessert

I’m on grandmother duty but I wrote this post before I left home. 

Chocolate Eclair Cake

Here's another vintage recipe. This is the dessert I served to my book club pals. The recipe can be made ahead and it's really easy. The recipe has been around a long time but this was the first time I've made it.  It isn't really a cake at all. And it's not baked. It's assembled. It was very popular a few decades ago and it still shows up at church dinners from time to time. So I've enjoyed it at those occasions.

But there's another reason this recipe holds a special memory for me. When my girls were about middle school age, a dear friend called me one day and said, "I've made your dinner for tonight. Stop by and pick it up when you're out." Now, I live in an area where taking a meal is common when there is an illness, a death or a new baby. But I'd never heard of anyone sending you supper "just because." There should be more people like my friend.

She was older than I and she knew all about those crazy years of driving kids back and forth to school and the after school activities. I practically lived in my car. Putting dinner on the table was one more thing on my long to-do list. On this one wonderful day we had a home cooked dinner and I didn't have to make it.

I cannot remember what the meal was but I've never forgotten the dessert. And after all the years I made it myself. 

You can find newer versions of this no bake cake that use a homemade chocolate ganache instead of canned frosting. But let's be honest. We've already used instant pudding and Cool Whip for this dessert, so the recipe isn't going to be "real" or "whole" food anyway. Canned frosting surely was easy. I had never microwaved it to make it pourable. But it worked really well. Tastes good, too.

CHOCOLATE ECLAIR CAKE

1 (14.4-oz) box graham crackers

3 cups milk

2 (3-oz) packages of instant French vanilla pudding mix

1 (8-oz) Cool Whip, thawed

1 (16-oz) can chocolate fudge frosting

Spray a 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray. Place a single layer of graham crackers in the bottom of dish. Break some cookies, if necessary, to fill in spaces. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the milk and two packages of pudding mix. Mix until smooth. Let sit for 5 minutes. The fold in whipped topping.

Spread half the pudding mixture over the crackers. Top with another layer of crackers, then spread the remaining pudding mix over. Top with a third layer of crackers.

Remove the lid and foil liner from can of frosting. (Be sure to remove all the foil.) Microwave the canoe frosting for 20-30 seconds, or until frosting is pourable. 

Pour frosting over the top layer of graham cracker and spread to cover with offset spatula.

Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Best made 8 to 24 hours ahead to let crackers soften. (I used a 9x13-inch dish with a lid instead of covering with plastic wrap. If the plastic touches the frosting, it won’t be smooth.)

Any leftovers can be frozen for up to 3 months. Which reminds me.....there is a little left in our freezer!