NO-BAKE BIRTHDAY CAKE

In a late night surfing episode, I found a recipe called éclair cake. It was not really a cake, but a combination of ready made ingredients that…together made an ooey gooey dessert that looked heavenly. I didn’t even write down the ingredients, I just sort of filed the idea away. Well, last weekend, I gave my version of it a try and it was, indeed, heavenly! It is three layers of graham crackers separated by two layers of vanilla pudding and topped with a fudge-y frosting. It is one of those recipes that tastes so much better on the second day, so if you plan on making this…keep that in mind and make it a day ahead. If you refrigerate it overnight, the graham crackers absorb a little moisture from the pudding and become “cake like”. This was so good that I made it for my own birthday!

(2) 3½ ounce instant French vanilla pudding
(1) pound of honey graham crackers
8 ounce Cool Whip thawed
3 cups of milk
6 tablespoons butter (melted)
6 tablespoons boiling water
6 tablespoons baking cocoa
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Place a single layer of graham crackers in the bottom of a 9x13 dish (breaking to fit if necessary). In a large bowl, whisk the instant pudding with 3 cups milk until well mixed, then fold in the Cool Whip. Immediately pour half of this mixture over the graham crackers (spreading evenly). Put another layer of graham crackers on top of the pudding and then another layer of pudding mixture. Top second layer of pudding with a final layer of graham crackers. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour before you frost (to make it easier).

After an hour of chilling, mix melted butter, boiling water, cocoa and vanilla until well blended. Add powdered sugar and whisk until smooth. Immediately pour over chilled pudding dessert. Place dessert (uncovered) in fridge for an hour or so (until the frosting feels dry to the touch). When frosting is set (feels dry to the touch), stretch plastic wrap (tightly) over the pan so that it doesn’t touch the frosting. Refrigerate overnight.

NOTE: I use a glass 9x13 pan so that the plastic grips tightly and doesn’t sag down onto the frosting. Not necessary, but it looks prettier if the plastic doesn’t touch the frosting. A Tupperware 9x13 with snap-on lid works great too.
NOTE: I apologize to the blogger who originally posted this recipe. I tried to retrace my steps to find the submitter, however, my blog surfing obviously took me to pages I don’t recall. If this was your recipe, I apologize for not crediting you.
NOTE: The fudge-y frosting was not part of theoriginal recipe…that part of the recipe was my addition.

GIVE AWAY: The people at Stonyfield Farms sent me a bunch of coupons for free Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt. I would like to forward these to someone who would like to try this product. If you are interested in these coupons, just leave me a comment telling me why. I'll post the winners name Wednesday morning.