My son in law Jaren does not have as big a sweet tooth as the rest of us so instead of a traditional birthday cake I decided to make him this cake as I know he loves Samoa and it was a success, he liked it!  It was really good and pretty easy to make.

cake

2 (3.4 oz each) packages vanilla instant pudding mix

3 cups milk

1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping

12 oz Cool Whip,thawed

1 (14.4 oz) box graham crackers plus a few extra

frosting

6 tablespoons butter

6 tablespoons milk

6 tablespoons cocoa

2 cups powdered sugar

toppings

1 cup toasted coconut

caramel ice cream topping

For the cake

1  Whisk milk and pudding mix together for about 2 minutes.  Add caramel topping and mix well.  Fold in Cool Whip.

2  In a 9 x 13″ pan, layer graham crackers to cover bottom of pan.

3  Pour half the pudding/Cool Whip mix over crackers and smooth out.

4  Add another layer of graham crackers over pudding mixture.

5  Spread remaining pudding mixture over crackers and smooth out.

6  Make a final layer of crackers over the pudding mixture, bumpy side down.

For the frosting

1  Microwave butter and milk just enough so that they melt together.  Add cocoa and powdered sugar and blend together.  Pour over top of graham crackers and spread out.  (This makes a lot of frosting, you might not need all of it, mine ran over the sides a bit.)

2  Sprinkle with toasted coconut and drizzle with caramel topping.

3  Refrigerate overnight before serving.

recipe from Chef in Training