Peanut Butter Eclair Cake

Since our kitchen was dismantled while my Husband laid down our amazing tile floor I had to opt for a non-cooked dessert this week.  We both love anything involving chocolate and peanut butter so the Peanut Butter Eclair Cake from Plain Chicken fit our desires perfectly!

Here's the original post if you'd like to check it out:

Plain Chicken: Peanut Butter Eclair Cake

The recipe is so simple and very low cost!

Ingredients:
1 box chocolate graham crackers (there will be a few graham crackers left over)
2 (3 1/4-ounce) boxes vanilla instant pudding
1 cup peanut butter
3 1/2 cups milk
1 (8-ounce) container Cool Whip, thawed
1 can chocolate frosting

Directions:
Spray the bottom of a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with whole graham crackers. In bowl of an electric mixer, mix pudding with milk and peanut butter; beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Fold in whipped topping. Pour half the pudding mixture over graham crackers. Place another layer of whole graham crackers on top of pudding layer. Pour over remaining half of pudding mixture and cover with another layer of graham crackers.

Heat the container of prepared frosting, uncovered in the microwave for 1 minute. Pour over the top of the cake. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours before serving.

Cost for ingredients we did not have on hand:
Chocolate Graham Crackers: $2.58
Creamy Peanut Butter: $2.98
Vanilla Pudding: $1.18
Chocolate Frosting: $1.28
Whipped Topping: $1.98
Total: $10.00

Total prep, mixing, and  time: 25 minutes

Our daughter did not take as long of a nap as usual so I had an assistant making this cake.  I bundled her up in the Moby and let her help me make a mess in the kitchen.  This recipe was super easy.  I love that only two things need to be measured. 

I did two things the differently on this recipe.  We do not use cooking spray so I substituted by coating the bottom with a very thin layer of Crisco.  We also do not have a microwave so I melted the icing in a pan in the toaster oven (the regular stove was unplugged and in the dining room during our renovation).  It worked out perfect!

Here are photos documenting the process:

Taste and evaluation:

Again, my Husband will be helping to evaluate.



My Husband:  This particular dessert was delightfully scrumptious!! Initial impression was that it would be likened to the ordinary "Graham cracker crust, Jello pudding filled" pie. That certainly is not the case. The multiple layers give the cake a solidarity that is missing from a lot of pudding filled desserts. The combination of flavors is exquisite. The peanut butter is present, but not overpowering, and the cool whip lends it's fluffy texture well to the entire dessert. This dessert must be served to a group of people though to avoid devouring the entire dish by one's self.

Me:  I adore how simple this recipe is and how tasty is was!  The cake was fluffy, but sweet enough that I couldn't eat too much at once.  The peanut butter was so subtle in this dish.  It was amazing how the ingredients complimented each other.  This would be the perfect picnic treat!

Overall:

This recipe is a keeper!  I could easily whip this dish up in a very short period of time for any type of event.  I love how inexpensive it is and how many it would actually serve for the cost.  I definitely recommend the Plain Chicken's Peanut Butter Eclair Cake!