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!

Decadence

There was a recipe floating around facebook a few weeks ago for a Peanut Butter Chocolate Eclair Ice Box Cake. I've never made an ice box cake, nor eaten one as far as I know, and thought this would be a new learning experience. And it sure was. It turned out that some of the measurements were incorrect and I was left to improvise. For anyone who makes my recipe, please let me know if this is what an ice box cake should taste like, since I am a bit clueless. Oh and I lightened this baby up as much as I could because I know you're all going to want seconds.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Eclair Cake with Chocolate Frosting
makes 16 slices in a 9 x 13 inch pan

Cooking spray
1 box chocolate graham crackers (you will have a few left over)
2 boxes Jello Sugar Free/Fat Free Instant Vanilla Pudding (1 oz each)
3-1/2 cups fat free milk
1 8 oz container of Sugar Free Cool Whip defrosted
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Frosting
this is Diane Smith's recipe and it is out of this world rich
1/4 c unsalted butter softened
1/4 c cocoa- I use Hershey's Extra Dark, yummmmm I really see a difference when I use this brand
1/4 c low fat evaporated milk
1-1/2 c powdered sugar- Diane uses more and you can too, but I decided to cut back
dash of salt
2 T peanut butter (my addition)
2 T crushed dry roasted peanuts (also my addition)

Spritz a baking pan with cooking spray and set aside. In large bowl combine instant pudding and milk. Whip a minute or two (I used a hand mixer) and add your peanut butter. Whip a few minutes more until all seems combined. Now fold in your whipped topping. 

 

 

I discovered a half a bag of chocolate mini chips in my freezer and decided to toss those in too.

 

 

Set this creamy bowl of loveliness aside and let's get ready to assemble the cake. In sprayed baking pan lay 7-1/2 graham grackers on the bottom.

 

 



Top with half the pudding mixture.

 



 

Add another layer of graham crackers and top that with the rest of the pudding mixture. Just one more layer of graham crackers and we're ready to make the frosting.

 

 

In large bowl cream the butter, cocoa, salt and evaporated milk. Now add the peanut butter and whip until incorporated. Add the powdered sugar and combine until smooth. Spread over top layer of graham crackers and sprinkle with crushed peanuts.

 

 

 

Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12 hours. Then get ready to dig in. Well, not really dig in, try and cut this as civilized as possible. I cut mine into 16 portions, and I must say, cutting the cake was the hardest part of this experiment. But I did it and it tastes great! And it's so much lower in calories and fat than other cakes of it's kind. Doesn't this look decadent and inviting?

 

 

Give this cake a try, I know you will like it. And when you do, get back to me and let me know if this is indeed an ice box cake and maybe some instructions on how to easily cut it.

 

The re-mix: I might try this combo as a trifle. And I may at sometime replace the peanut butter with a creamy raspberry/vanilla type pudding with the addition of fresh raspberries. I might even make the chocolate frosting with a hint of raspberry jam. Ooh this was delicous fun!