Margie refused to let me make this no-cook dessert from frozen whipped topping or tub chocolate frosting, as the recipe I found online suggested. It did turn out better than expected.

Ingredients

• 2 3½ oz packages instant vanilla pudding mix
• 12 oz heavy cream
• 3 c whole milk
• 16 oz package of graham crackers (or whatever size they’ve shrunk to these days)
• 1½ c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Use 8 oz of heavy cream, and whip until you have whipped cream with peaks.
2. Slowly mix into the whipped cream the pudding mix (both boxes) and the milk. Get rid of any lumps.
           
3. Put down a layer of graham crackers on the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish, getting as close to the edges as possible. Use full, intact graham crackers as much as possible (makes things easier below), but you can also break them into partial crackers, but don’t get too small.
4. Evenly spread half the pudding mixture over the crackers, filling in to the sides of the baking dish. This is where smaller pieces of cracker will be more difficult apply over.
5. Apply second layer of crackers, as above. If your 9×13 is slightly flared, you may need somewhat more.
6. Evenly spread the other half of the pudding mixture over the crackers, as above.
7. Apply a third and final layer of crackers, as above, covering the pudding mixture evenly.
8. Refrigerate the pan for 30 minutes to help the pudding set.
           
9. When that’s done, or close to it, melt together the chocolate chips and remaining cream. I put them in a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup (the cream fills to the level of the chips), and then run them through my microwave’s “melt” cycle for the chocolate chips quantity. Mix well, so that you have a smooth mixture.
10. Let the chocolate ganache cool enough so that it doesn’t melt the pudding, but not so much that you can’t pour it and spread it.
11. Pour and spread the chocolate ganache evenly across the top layer of graham crackers, from edge to edge.
            
12. Cover and refrigerate for at least four hours before serving. Overnight is best, of course.

Makes: However many servings you can slice out of a 9×13 pan. It’s pretty rich, so you can go small for starters.

Time: About 0:20 prep and 4:30 waiting.

Notes:

If you’ve done it all right, you should come out with crisply defined layers. If you don’t, nobody will notice as they gobble it down.

The semi-sweet chips give the frosting a semi-sweet bitterness (duh), which complements the sweetness of the pudding mix and graham crackers well. You can use your favorite ganache recipe instead (for example) rather than this simplistic one.

The trade-off of being a no-bake recipe is that it does need to cool and set. While four hours should suffice, it’s really best made the day before.

While it’s always called a cake, it’s really a cream pie.