No Bake Chocolate Eclairs

Dessert has been on my brain lately. You may have noticed by all of the recipes I have pinned lately. I love to bake up an extravagant dessert, like our Raspberry Bliss Cupcake but sometimes, I just don't have enough time to do that. So I go with what I call a "cheater dessert". Cheater because it is totally a quick way of making something similar but not at all the same. Still totally delicious.

Today's cheat? A No Bake Chocolate Eclair. I've been making these babies for years and they are always a hit.

Ingredients:

Graham Crackers

Instant Vanilla Pudding

Milk

Whipped Cream

Chocolate frosting

Instructions:

Prepare your pudding according to box instructions. Once it is set, spray the whole can of whipped cream in and whisk together.

Now you are going to prepare your eclairs kind of like you would a lasagna. One layer graham cracker, one layer pudding mix. Back and forth until you have hit the top of your pan. End with a layer of graham crackers and then spread the frosting on top. Done. It's that simple. And so yummy.

For those who love chocolate as much as I do, on your very first layer of graham crackers, put a layer of chocolate frosting and then continue as described above.

Note: Refrigerate for about an hour before serving. This will help soften up your graham crackers.

Your New Favorite Cupcake.

**It's Valentine's Week here at Vessel Handmade. 5 Days of holiday themed posts. We'll have tutorials, recipes, decor and DIY. So follow along and fall in love. All projects and recipes will be linked at the bottom of each blog as they are posted.**

Today is my favorite day of Valentines Week. Dessert. Confession:I have not met a dessert I could pass up. I think meals should start and end with it. Eating healthy doesn't always allow for it but Valentine's Day is such a good excuse to indulge.

When it comes to sweets and Valentine's day, I instantly think chocolate and fruit. Something romantic about the combo of the two. I, however, love to bake. So I wanted to do something by meshing the two. Thus, the Raspberry Bliss cupcake was born. Thank me now.

Recipe: French Toast Cupcakes

This year for Christmas, we had a birthday party for Jesus. Since I wanted the kids to celebrate Christ's birth before opening gifts, I needed a creative way to make a birthday cake that I didn't feel guilty about giving my kids at 8am. Sooo, we had French Toast Cupcakes with a Maple Buttercream topped off with a bacon garnish.

It was amazing. I was thinking about making these bad boys for breakfast today and mentioned it on twitter. Of course, these babies got lots of attention and the recipe was demanded. Okay, I lie, my friends asked nicely. Demanded just sounded better.

It was a rough morning so I didn't get around to making them. I wanted to share the recipe with you all anyways. Since I didn't make them today, no pictures. Enjoy everyone!

For the Cupcakes:

Ingredients-
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp. maple extract
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350° degrees. Line cupcake pan with baking liners.

Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk together butter, sugar, and eggs. Add maple extract. Alternate between mixing in flour mixture and milk into liquid mixture. Make three additions of flour and two of milk. Beat until smooth.

Pour into your cupcake liners and bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Cool cupcakes completely before frosting.

For the Maple Cream Cheese Frosting-

Ingredients-
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
Pinch of salt
1 tsp maple syrup
4 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
4 slices bacon, cooked

Beat together cream cheese, butter and salt until creamy. Add maple syrup. With mixer on low, add sugar 1/2 cup at a time until light and fluffy. Increase mixer speed between additions. Frost cupcakes. Cut cooked bacon into 1 inch pieces and garnish cupcakes.

**I bake my bacon for the this recipe in order to make it a little more crispy. Better for presentation.