Chocolate Eclair Dessert

Chocolate Eclair Dessert 
(also called Chocolate Eclair Pie)

Butter a 9 x 13 inch glass pan. Place in it 15 graham crackers.

{As you can see in the picture--I like to add a bit more than the 15 squares of graham crackers because I want to fill the entire pan.  I just trim them to fit.}

With a wire whisk beat together for 2 minutes:
2 (3 oz.) pkg. French Vanilla Instant Pudding
3½ cups milk

Fold in:
1 (8 oz.) carton Cool Whip

Put ½ of pudding on graham crackers. Put another layer of 15 graham crackers. Put rest of pudding on. Top with layer of 15 graham crackers.

Put in refrigerator to set up.

Mix together:
2 pkg. Nestle liquid (pre-melted) choco-bake
1 Tb. white Karo
1½ cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 Tb. milk
3 Tb. melted butter

Beat this well and spread on top. If you can’t find Nestle Choco-bake, make half a recipe of Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, and thin it a bit to spread smoothly. Chill a few hours, so the graham crackers have time to get soft. Serve cold, and keep refrigerated. From Grandma Beverly Wessman.

Tiffany's Notes: The "choco-bake" is basically a small package of pre-melted baking chocolate.  You can substitute a square of baking chocolate (melted) for each small package.  I really do like this chocolate topping--it reminds me of the chocolate frosting glaze that's on a real eclair. 

Of course, you can also substitute a chocolate frosting for the topping.  That's what I did this time--I went the very simple route and actually used a can of prepared frosting.  I softened it slightly in the microwave to make it more spreadable. {That was the first time for me using that frosting for this--it worked but I think I'll go back to the recipe.}

I originally had this Chocolate Eclair Dessert at my grandma's house and she shared the recipe with me.  I've made it many times since!  I have also made it with chocolate pudding and another time I added crushed peppermints to the layers for a holiday dessert.  But, the original vanilla is yummy!

This time I had about 5 hours for the graham crackers to soften before eating.  It worked just fine, but I do like it when it has a few more hours to soften. It's actually a great make-ahead dessert because it's wonderful when it's had 24+ hours to chill.