Last Updated on September 8, 2026 by Deliciously Organic Editor
Recently I shared my Quick Chocolate Pudding and many of you asked for a vanilla-flavored version. As I was testing a vanilla pudding, I decided to take it one step further and make a Chocolate Eclair Icebox Dessert. Have you ever tried this heavenly concoction? Sweet vanilla pudding folded with whipped cream, layered with graham crackers, and topped with chocolate – it’s a hit with kids and adults alike.
You can make the graham crackers and pudding ahead of time for quicker assembly. For a fun snack, try the pudding or crackers alone.
Chocolate Eclair Icebox Dessert
The recipe only uses half of the vanilla pudding, so save the other half for later eating. I tested this recipe without the gelatin and found it is essential to this recipe (Without the gelatin, I ended up with a pool of pudding in-between the crackers).
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Total Time: 5 hours 55 minutes
- Yield: Serves 9
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
For the Graham Crackers:
For the Pudding:
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons honey, divided
- 1 1/2 cups milk (or coconut milk)
- 1/2 cup cream (or coconut milk)
- 1/8 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
- 4 large egg yolks
- 3 tablespoons arrowroot powder
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter or ghee
For the Whipped Cream:
- 1 tablespoons unflavored grass-fed gelatin
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 cup heavy cream or coconut milk
For the Chocolate Topping:
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1/3 cup honey
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter or 5 tablespoons ghee
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
For the pudding:
- Whisk together 1/4 cup honey, milk, cream and sea salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. While the mixture is coming to a simmer, whisk together the egg yolks, arrowroot and remaining 2 tablespoons honey in a small mixing bowl until pale and creamy, about 30 seconds. Using a ladle, spoon a small amount of the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture while constantly whisking (we don’t want scrambled eggs!). Then, slowly pour the egg mixture into the hot milk mixture while whisking constantly. Continue to whisk for about 8-10 minutes until mixture is very thick (like a pudding). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and butter. Pour into a bowl and set a piece of parchment paper on top of the pudding (so it touches the pudding) and chill in the fridge until cold, about 4 hours.
- Place gelatin and water in a small saucepan and heat until just dissolved. Set aside to cool for a few minutes. Pour the cream into a mixing bowl and begin to whisk on medium speed. Slowly pour the gelatin mixture into the cream and then whip to soft peaks. Pour half of the pudding into the whipped cream mixture and fold until incorporated. Fold in the rest of the pudding into the whipped cream mixture.
For the topping:
- Place cocoa, milk and honey in a medium saucepan and heat over medium-high, whisking constantly. Bring to a boil for 1 minute, still whisking. Remove from the heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Stir until butter is melted. Cool for 10 minutes.
To Assemble:
- Place half of the crackers on the bottom of an 8 x 8-inch dish in a single layer. Pour the pudding mixture over top, spreading evenly. Place the remaining crackers in a single layer on top of the pudding. Pour chocolate topping over the top layer of graham crackers. Refrigerate overnight. Cut into squares and serve cold.
Looks amazing! Can you sub the arrowroot powder with anything?
You can substitute with organic cornstarch but keep in mind that if you do, it won’t be grain-free or Paleo. I hope that helps!
Do you find that arrowroot gives dairy a slimy texture? I read this several places on the internet but had never combined them myself. I wondered if that was why you suggested coconut milk for your chocolate pudding, but this uses dairy so it must work ok!
It can give a slimy texture if it isn’t used properly. In this recipe, it’s used as a thickener and works very well.
Carrie, this looks fantastic! As an aside, have you tried using the graham cracker recipe as a sweet pie crust?
Yes, this graham cracker recipe works perfectly as as a sweet crust. I’ve found that when I make a batch of these graham crackers, I only need to use 1/2 of the crackers along with 6 tablespoons of butter to line a 9-inch pie dish.
Friend, you have out done yourself once again. This looks divine! I can’t wait to give it a try and enjoy the amazing flavors of vanilla and chocolate with graham crackers, YUM! You amaze me!
Thanks, Karen! 🙂
This sounds like a delight!! Love this recipe!
Thank you, Katrina! 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe! My mom used to make this when I was younger, and I have been missing some of these comfort foods for special occasions. They are coming in town this month, and I am going to make this for our family to enjoy!
Okay, this recipe is making me want to leap through my screen and into your icebox to grab a slice. WOW! I can’t wait to make this! I always get so excited when I see an email from you because I know it’s always going to be amazing!! 🙂
Can I use tapioca flour in place of the arrowroot powder? Do you think it will achieve the same outcome?
Tapioca is a bit more “gummy” than arrowroot, so it would lend a more gummy texture to the pudding. If you try it, I would pull back on the gelatin just a bit to make up for the texture of the tapioca. This way the pudding/whipped cream doesn’t come out too gummy.
These look delicious! Can’t remember the last time I had an eclair. These will be in my freezer very soon too :o)
Wow, you’ve outdone yourself, Carrie! I love this because it is creative and decadent yet simple. There have been alot of comments about the arrowroot powder. How do you think coconut flour would work as a substitute?
Thank you! I think the coconut flour would be a bit too coarse to create a smooth pudding in this recipe.
Hi, your recipes sound great. I have a question, seems I do not do well with beef products. What can be used in place of gelatin if anything? Thank You
Unfortunately, gelatin is essential for this recipe. Without the gelatin, the pudding/whipped cream won’t gel properly between the two layers of crackers. There are some vegetarian/vegan gelatins on the market. That might be a good option.
could this be doubled?
Yes, it can be doubled.
what can we substitute for the honey? i cant use that or agave. thanks
I haven’t tested it, but I think maple syrup would be a good substitute.
The directions for the graham cracker crust was left out (altho no graham crackers were mentioned). I believe I have all ingredients…do we just mix all ingredients together?
The graham cracker recipe can be found if you click on “use this recipe” in the ingredient list. The graham crackers are layered as specified in the instructions and not ground up and formed into a crust.
Can you sub a non dairy milk for the whole milk…maybe almond milk?
I haven’t tested it, but I think a canned coconut milk would work well.
This looks so naughty….but it’s not!
Your creations look delicious always! I actually have a question not food related….the FONT that you use on your photos, such as this one…could you tell me the name of the font? I am trying to do a project for the office and love it. Thank you in advance and thank you for creating deliciousness!
It’s called Honey Script.
Hi Carrie – Merry Christmas!! I want to make this today for tomorrow’s Christmas dessert; though I may not be able to get the gelatin you recommend at our local market. Would plain gelatin from the grocery market work ?- I know it’s not as healthy (but what I get for planning the main dessert the day before :/ ). Thanks!!
After adding the hot milk mixture to the yolks, it says to remove from heat. I’m a little confused about that part, because I assumed when ladling out the hot milk from the pan, that would essentially be removing it from the heat. ? Did I miss somethin?
Wow! This was SO good! I’ve had a hard time finding clean allergen free desserts that my family likes. Everyone took seconds, and would have taken thirds had I let them! I used canned coconut milk and ghee for dairy free and the flavors all melded together perfectly so it didn’t have the coconut flavor that comes with the canned milk. I noticed a detail left out, that may make it confusing. You mentioned adding a little hot milk to the eggs, but never said to then put the eggs into the pan of hot milk and continue cooking while whisking. I cheated and used S’morables (a GF alternative to graham crackers) because I didn’t have time to make the crackers, but hope to try yours next time.
Was planning on making this for my husbands bday but I cannot find the graham crackers recipe anywhere 🙁 Tried and searched your site but all that comes up is a marshmellow recipe without the cracker one showing.
I apologize for that! We’ve had some weird issues with our recipe software lately, but I got it fixed. You should be able to see the graham cracker recipe now. 🙂
Help!! I’m trying to make this and I’m confused with step 1 and agree with several of the comments…
This part here is incomplete: Using a ladle, spoon a small amount of the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture while constantly whisking (we don’t want scrambled eggs!) and whisk constantly for about 8-10 minutes until mixture is very thick (like a pudding). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and butter.
It makes it sound like we only use one ladle full of the milk. I’m assuming we add the entire milk mixture one ladle at a time?? Then it says to remove from the heat…but if you ladle all of the milk into the mixing bowl with the egg yolks, it wasn’t over the heat in the first place.
I went ahead and slowly added the entire milk mixture one ladle at a time while constantly stirring for 10-12 minutes and it never got thick. I even added two more tablespoons of cornstarch, thinking that might help, but it didn’t. I went ahead and put it in the fridge and am crossing my fingers that it will somehow magically set up! Help!!!
I know this recipe is going to be utterly amazing, but the steps are unclear.
One more question….
Pour half of the pudding into the whipped cream mixture and fold until incorporated.
It doesn’t say what to do with the other half of the pudding. I assumed I was supposed to go ahead and fold it into the whipped cream mixture as well??
Sorry about that! Thank you for pointing out the error in the instructions. I made the edits above.
Can you use a immersion blender in place of a whisk for the pudding?
I’ve never tried it that way, but I think it would work!
I’m still not sure when we add the rest of the hot milk back into the egg yolk mixture…
This part here is incomplete: Using a ladle, spoon a small amount of the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture while constantly whisking (we don’t want scrambled eggs!) and whisk constantly for about 8-10 minutes until mixture is very thick (like a pudding). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and butter.
It makes it sound like we only use one ladle full of the milk. I’m assuming we add the entire milk mixture one ladle at a time?? Then it says to remove from the heat…but if you ladle all of the milk into the mixing bowl with the egg yolks, it wasn’t over the heat in the first place.
I went ahead and slowly added the entire milk mixture one ladle at a time while constantly stirring for 10-12 minutes and it never got thick. I even added two more tablespoons of cornstarch, thinking that might help, but it didn’t. Mine never did firm up and it seemed like a soupy mess. I still ate it because I didn’t want to waste the ingredients, but it was rather soupy.
reply to this comment
I responded to your comment a couple of days ago, I assume you didn’t see it. I apologize that one of the steps was left out, thank you for pointing that out. Here’s how the recipe now reads:
Using a ladle, spoon a small amount of the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture while constantly whisking (we don’t want scrambled eggs!). Then, slowly pour the egg mixture into the hot milk mixture while whisking constantly. Continue to whisk for about 8-10 minutes until mixture is very thick (like a pudding). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and butter. Pour into a bowl and set a piece of parchment paper on top of the pudding (so it touches the pudding) and chill in the fridge until cold, about 4 hours.
If the recipe isn’t reading this way on your screen, then try clearing your cache to see the revised instructions.
We’re doing Keto. Anything to substitute for the honey?
I only test my recipes with the ingredients listed so I’m not sure what a good sub would be.