No-Bake Cream Cheese Pudding Cake

This is a re-mix of the ice box cake I made a few weeks ago. The concept is similar, but I made it smaller in an 8 x 8 inch glass dish. I didn't have enough graham crackers to make the big one and after visiting the market way too many times over the weekend I decided I'd make do with what was on hand. I also eliminated the peanut butter and cool whip and gave 8 ounces of low fat cream cheese star billing. Plus I used white chocolate instant pudding this time and had some filling left over which was great mixed with fresh fruit for breakfast or intermittent snacks. And of course I thickly slathered this decadent little cake with Diane's super rich chocolate frosting. Here's what you need to get started:

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Filled No-Bake Chocolate Eclair Cake

13 chocolate graham crakers
2 boxes (1 oz each) Jello sugar free/fat free white chocolate instant pudding
3-1/2 cups fat free milk
8 oz neufchatel cheese at room temp
3/4 cup mini chocolate semi sweet chips

Frosting
1/4 cup unsalted butter at room temp
1/4 cup Hershey's Special Dark cocoa
1/4 cup fat free half and half
1-1/2 cup powdered sugar
dash of salt

Get out your pudding. This is what I used:

In large bowl mix pudding with milk. I use a small hand mixer and whirl for about 2 minutes until the mixture thickens a bit, scraping down the sides to get every last bit of goodness combined. Now add the softened cream cheese and blend for another minute or two. Taste it, it's creamy and cream cheesy.

Time to add the mini chips.

And fold them into the cheese/pudding mixture.

Set this aside and let's get ready for assembly. In an 8x8 inch dish, spritz a little cooking spray around bottom and sides and place 4 and 1/3 chocolate graham crackers on the bottom, so they look like this:

Cover the top of the crackers with enough of your pudding mixture so all the crackers are covered. Layer another 4 and 1/3 crackers on top of the pudding mixture. We're building a masterpiece for sure.

Cover the second layer of crackers with enough pudding to make sure crackers are going to be soaking up the decadent pudding mixture and top with your last 4 and 1/3 graham crackers. We're ready to frost this baby. Most exciting part of the dish!

In medium size bowl combine all frosting ingredients and pull out that hand mixer one more time. Combine all ingredients until smooth.

Cover, no slather your cake liberally with this most heavenly frosting. Lick the spoon of course and cover your cake with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 12 hours, slice and enjoy with or without some whipped cream.

 So now you've got a little bit of pudding/cheese mixture left over, what're you gonna do? I made a fabulous fruit salad and used a dollop or two as a garnish. But this little mixture has legs and I discovered you can serve this creamy, white chocolate pudding with French Toast. I did that and it deserves a post of it's own. I will take some pics and post the French Toast next time I'm making cream cheese pudding again. Lovin' all the pudding possibilities!