A few weeks ago we had our last night of Wednesday night classes at church for the spring. We don’t meet over the summer, so I wanted to make a special dessert for my biggest baking fans, my class of 3rd-5th grade girls, and some of the youth who have come up through my class. It’s already very hot here in Florida so I really didn’t want to run my oven so I made my Eclair Ice Box Cake. This used to be a go-to recipe for me, before I really learned how to bake. I haven’t made it in years, til now.
Ice Box Cakes are the perfect summer treat because you can make them the day ahead and you don’t need to turn on the oven. My S’mores Lasagna and my Strawberry Ice Box Cakes are easy and delicious too so make sure you check them out as well.
Did you know that Ice Box Cakes originated in the 1920s as the ice box, aka refrigerator, was the new must-have appliance. Instead of making the more complicated charlottes and trifles, housewives turned to ice box cake recipes, some were even printed on cookie wrappers. Ice Box Cakes are very versatile but usually consist of cookies and custard or whipped cream as the base then other flavors are added. As they sit in the ice box, the cookies soften into a cake-like consistency and thus the Ice Box Cake is made.
Eclair Ice Box Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 3.4 oz boxes Vanilla Instant Pudding
- 3 cups Cold Milk
- 1 box Graham Crackers honey
- 8 oz Cool Whip thawed
Chocolate Ganache
- 1/2 cup Butter
- 1/2 cup Milk Chocolate Chips
- 3/4 cup Sugar
- 1/4 cup Milk
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Instructions
Cake
- In a large bowl whisk together the 2 boxes of instant pudding with the 3 cups of cold milk for 2 minutes.
- Gently fold in the Cool Whip and set aside.
- Line the bottom of a 13×9″ baking pan with graham crackers. You will have to break some into smaller pieces to make them fit.
- Pour half of the pudding mixture over the graham cracker layer.
- Add another layer of graham crackers.
- Top that with the rest of the pudding mixture.
- Add another layer of graham crackers on top. Set cake aside.
Chocolate Ganache
- Over medium-low heat in a small sauce pan, whisk together the butter, chocolate chips, sugar, milk, and vanilla. Keep whisking until the chocolate is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Do not boil. After about 5 minutes test to make sure the ganache is smooth and not grainy. If it is grainy, keep whisking.
- Once the ganache is smooth, pour it over the top of the cake and use an offset spatula to smooth it out.
- Refrigerate at least 6 hours before serving.
Perfect for summer, this Eclair Ice Box Cake requires no baking and is best when made a day ahead.
- 2 3.4 oz boxes Vanilla Instant Pudding
- 3 cups Cold Milk
- 1 box Graham Crackers honey
- 8 oz Cool Whip thawed
- 1/2 cup Butter
- 1/2 cup Milk Chocolate Chips
- 3/4 cup Sugar
- 1/4 cup Milk
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
In a large bowl whisk together the 2 boxes of instant pudding with the 3 cups of cold milk for 2 minutes.
Gently fold in the Cool Whip and set aside.
Line the bottom of a 13×9" baking pan with graham crackers. You will have to break some into smaller pieces to make them fit.
Pour half of the pudding mixture over the graham cracker layer.
Add another layer of graham crackers.
Top that with the rest of the pudding mixture.
Add another layer of graham crackers on top. Set cake aside.
Over medium-low heat in a small sauce pan, whisk together the butter, chocolate chips, sugar, milk, and vanilla. Keep whisking until the chocolate is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Do not boil. After about 5 minutes test to make sure the ganache is smooth and not grainy. If it is grainy, keep whisking.
Once the ganache is smooth, pour it over the top of the cake and use an offset spatula to smooth it out.
Refrigerate at least 6 hours before serving.
I hope you enjoy this Easy Eclair Ice Box Cake recipe and all of the easy recipes I share here on The Mom Maven. Please share them on your social networks. I just ask that you not copy and share the entire recipe with photos. Please use the sharing buttons below and share the link to this post. Thanks!
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