Donuts are a Canadian Right

See, I'm still here. After much cajoling by my mom and Auntie B yesterday I made a dessert (well, I made it a few days ago)....but I'm going to talk about it for them. Must be love ;) I'm still not really cooking, but I'm golfing, having fun with my motorcycle and working lots. And here's the reason why (see, we'll sneak it into a post)....S and I seperated 6 months ago. That's all there is to say and why I have lived on liverwurst and triscuits for awhile. No desire to cook.

But on to donuts....I am not a huge donut fan. I know....Tim Hortons (the Canadian donut god) would not stay in business if it had to rely on me to buy donuts (coffee and bagels...whole other story). I'm just not a sweets fan and find donuts to be too sugary. A good cake donut is great...an apple fritter or cruller once in awhile. I hate hate hate Krispy Kreme (way to sweet).

But....there is a donut....one special donut that even Tim Hortons doesn't do right. The only time this little donut is good is when it's fresh from a bakery.....preferably some fancy schmancy little bakery that does all things french the right way (also a croissant fiend, but that's not what this is about).

Eclairs....pastry, creamy filling and chocolate....heaven in your mouth. Perfection. Why god created pastry chefs.

Now, I eat maybe one a year. But while perusing Karly at Buns in My Oven's blog, she had a recipe for an eclair cake. And hold your horses.....a NO BAKE eclair cake! With hot weather coming up (or so they say...I'm in Calgary, it's May 30th and snowing this morning)....no bake desserts are every entertainers life saver. I made this for a BBQ extravaganza (yes, in the snow) without high hopes for it going over well with the crowd...I mean, it was a no bake, easy easy dessert.

True to form, I will not serve a dessert unless I take a bite first. I would hate to serve something totally inedible and if a dessert sucks, I'll run to the store to buy ice cream. So I quickly wiggled my spoon into the corner of the dessert and popped it into my mouth while tugging on my shoes to get going to the bbq. And I stopped........I stared at the dessert....I stuck another spoonful in my mouth and leaned against the fridge for support. OH....MY....FREAKING....GOD.......I'm in love. I could have eaten the whole pan! (note my picture does not show the missing corner).


Ladies and gents.....this...this is the cake to make. Last summer it was the Cinnamon Roll Cake but this summer...this is the summer of love...the summer of the eclair cake. Do not turn your nose up at the simple ingredients...it works. The pudding and cool whip mixture do something funky to the graham crackers that make them taste like eclair pastry...and the pre-bought chocolate frosting...it works.....oh does it work.

Now, Karly's pics are way better than mine (I think I had too much filling). But head to your local store, grab the worlds easiest ingredients and pop this in the fridge the night before (so you sleep through the 4 hours it takes to set or you will be wanting to taste test...a lot!).

Éclair Cake

1 package Graham Crackers
2 packages (3.4 oz) instant Vanilla pudding
8 ounces Cool Whip (thawed)
3 cups milk
16 ounces chocolate frosting

In a large bowl, mix together the pudding mix, Cool Whip, and milk. Beat well.

Arrange graham crackers in a single layer on the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Pour half of the pudding mixture over the graham crackers. Add another layer of graham crackers and pour remaining pudding on top. Add the final layer of graham crackers and spread with chocolate frosting. You may need to soften the frosting up a bit in the microwave to help it spread easily.
Refrigerate for at least four hours before serving.