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Peanut Butter Cup Eclair Cake is so easy, and NO-BAKE! Layers and layers of chocolate, peanut butter and cream will make this dessert a summer favorite for years to come.
I do love an eclair cake. I’ve been making them for years, and definitely made this Cookies and Cream Eclair Cake about five times last summer.
It may have started out as a way to purposely get leftover peanut butter cups out of my house before I devoured them single-handedly, but this cake has turned out to be an amazing addition to our summer dessert repertoire.
A bit ago, I made Karly’s Peanut Butter Cup Pancakes. And whoa baby, are they good. They have one flaw, if we’re going to call it a flaw. We like to buy things in excess around here, so we had an entire bag of those new Reese’s Minis Unwrapped Peanut Butter Cups leftover.
They were calling to me when I walked by. Haunting me when I tried to eat a salad. This would simply not do, friends. I have a hard enough time trying to resist all the Ghirardelli baking chips hanging out in there, having a party of their own. Add peanut butter to the mix? I’m in trouble. Serious trouble.
I decided the only thing to do was put them in a dessert that I wouldn’t dare finish all by myself. It’s self-preservation, really.
Now that we live so close to family, folks are always stopping by to visit. We love it. Since we’re both home with Elle, we get to see her relationships with our extended family grow and grow. But you better believe that when you have a baking and dessert website as your J-O-B, people expect to be treated to delicious things when they walk through my door. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
So I made this delectable no-bake icebox cake, a Peanut Butter Cup Eclair Cake, that solved two problems. First, it got rid of those hauntingly scrumptious mini peanut butter cups. Second, this fabulous cake stores in the freezer for weeks.
Every time someone stopped by, all Eric or I had to do was pull the foil-wrapped cake out of the freezer, slice some pieces off, and wait for them to thaw on the counter a bit while coffee was made, water was offered, and Elle got snuggles.
This is the perfect entertaining cake. Sure, you can make it ahead of time and take it along to a barbecue, where it’ll feed a big ol’ crowd. But you can also keep it handy for when guests drop by – or a super mega peanut butter craving hits. Not that that ever happens to me. I heard about it from a friend.
I mean it, guys. This cake is for you if you love having something on standby for drop-in guests. With simple ingredients like chocolate grahams and Cool Whip or TruWhip, you’ll have it put together in minutes. Then just let it set up in the fridge overnight before serving or popping it directly into the freezer.
Next time the doorbell rings, you’ll be ready.
Peanut Butter Cup Eclair Cake
Ingredients
- 2 packages instant Jell-o Vanilla Pudding Mix 3.4 ounces each
- 3 ½ cups whole milk
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 12 ounces container frozen whipped topping thawed (Cool Whip or Truwhip)
- 14 ounces chocolate graham crackers
- 1 ½ cups mini peanut butter cups halved (divided use)
- 16 ounces prepared chocolate frosting
Instructions
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat together the pudding mixes and milk until thickened, about 3 minutes.
- Beat in peanut butter until fully incorporated.
- Using a rubber spatula, fold in the whipped topping until incorporated and no streaks remain.
- Arrange a single layer of graham crackers in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Evenly spread half of the pudding mixture over the crackers.
- Sprinkle 3/4 cup halved mini peanut butter cups over the pudding mixture and gently press them down into the pudding mixture.
- Top with another layer of graham crackers and the remaining pudding mixture.
- Top with a final layer of graham crackers.
- Melt frosting in microwave for 25 seconds and stir until it is an even consistency. Use an offset spatula to spread the frosting over the whole cake, covering the graham cracker layer.
- Immediately sprinkle the remaining mini peanut butter cups onto the frosting.
- Cover, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours before serving.
Do you make the pudding or just pour the packages in?
Arial-
You use the dry pudding mix. I hope this helps.
-Jamie
OMG this must really be of the best entertain cakes, love the รฉclair cake and making a peanut butter cup version is perfect!
Thanks so much, Katalina!
In spite of how much I adore the mint color on your website, it is VERY hard to see. ย Just an observation but maybe something you want to consider tweaking. ย Love the recipes, thanks!
Thanks so much for your feedback, Kirstin! We may have to darken it up a bit. It’s just so tricky because the color varies so much from monitor to monitor. :)
-Jamie
I am one of those peanut butter lovers and made eclair style I can’t imagine anything much better.
Me either, Celia! Me either. :)
This looks delicious! ย Could you use regular whipped cream instead of cool whip?
Lisa-
I haven’t tried to use regular whipped cream, so I am not how stable it will be in this recipe. If you are not a fan of Cool Whip, I’d recommend trying Truwip, or googling Homemade Cool Whip. I hope this helps!
-Jamie
Sorry-I misread. I now see that you used vanilla.
What flavor of pudding mix did you use? My family LOVES eclair cake and peanut butter. Thanks for this recipe-it will be a fun surprise after dinner one night this week!
This looks sinful- love all the layers! PInning :)
Thanks so much, Medha!
What a cake!! Looks over the top delicious, with all those luscious layers :)
It’s sooooo good, June! Thanks so much for stopping by!
-Jamie
Whoooooaaaaa. Pass me the entire pan and a cup of coffee.
Coffee is most definitely a requirement! That or a giant glass of ice cold milk! Thanks for stopping by, Rachel!
-Jamie