Where the classic French eclair is finicky and high-level, the eclair cake takes a much more simplistic approach, with all the same great flavors and one-third of the time. This cake uses graham-cracker cake layers to mimics the pate a choux from traditional eclairs, and replaces the pastry cream filling with instant vanilla pudding. It’s not a chocolate eclair—or even a cake, for that matter—without chocolate frosting on top, so we keep things easy and use a store-bought chocolate frosting (but feel free to make yours from scratch). Eclair cake is creamy and decadent with a luxuriously chocolatey bite, just like any good chocolate eclair should be.

Eclair Cake Ingredients

• Whole milk: Rich and creamy whole milk hydrates the instant vanilla pudding mix, turning it into a luscious custard.
• Instant pudding mix: We forgo the usual homemade pastry cream in favor of easy and just-as-yummy instant vanilla pudding. Make sure the packaged mixes say “instant” and not “cook and serve.”
• Frozen whipped topping: Buy a frozen whipped topping (like Cool Whip) and thaw it before using in this eclair cake recipe.
• Graham crackers: No need to make a tricky pate a choux here! Graham crackers act as the easy, bready base for our chocolate eclair cake.
• Chocolate frosting: This eclair cake is finished with chocolate frosting. You can use homemade chocolate frosting, but feel free to keep this recipe easy by using the best store-bought chocolate frosting.

Taste of Home