Chocolate Pudding Dirt Cake

by Sabrina Snyder

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Chocolate Pudding Dirt Cake is a kid favorite Halloween dessert topped with pudding, crushed Oreos (dirt), and gummy worms for a spooky treat.

This Dirt Cake recipe is made up of several delicious layers. The Chocolate Cake is topped off with a chocolate pudding mixture, then it’s all topped off with cookie crumbs and gummy worms to look like worms in dirt. It’s a fun idea for a delicious Dessert that’s a real crowd-pleaser!

Chocolate Pudding Dirt Cake with pudding, crushed oreos, and gummy worms on top in baking dish with slice missing

CHOCOLATE PUDDING DIRT CAKE

If you need a dessert recipe perfect for your next Halloween party, then look no further than this Oreo Dirt Cake—or Graveyard Dirt Cake as some people call it. The kid-friendly dirt dessert was made for this spooky season. The cookie crumbs and gummy creatures add a whimsical touch. It’s an on-theme treat that’s still cute and tons of fun!

Along with the gummy worms and cookie crumbs, you can serve other toppings to go with the chocolate cake and creamy pudding. Hot Fudge and Cool Whip would both taste amazing on the chilled cake.

Chocolate Pudding Dirt Cake Collage of prep steps

CHOCOLATE DIRT PUDDING

This dirt dessert recipe is inspired by chocolate dirt pudding. If you want the fun toppings, but don’t have the time to make a whole cake with chocolate filling, try just making pudding dirt cups. It’s a no-bake dessert that you can have ready in no time.

  • Combine the packages of instant pudding with milk and whisk according to the instructions.
  • Give the pudding time to chill, then spoon the pudding mixture into dessert cups.
  • Top the dirt pudding with crushed Oreos and gummy worms, and enjoy!

MORE CHOCOLATE CAKE

TIPS FOR MAKING CHOCOLATE PUDDING DIRT CAKE

  • Prep time: To prep the recipe set your oven temperature to 350 degrees and spray two 9×13 inch pans with nonstick spray. Next, get the crushed Oreos ready. Make the Oreo crumbs in a food processor and leave them to the side until you’re ready to decorate the cake. This is also a good time to brew coffee so that it’s ready to go.
  • Chocolate Sheet Cake: Combine the granulated sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in your stand mixer. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can use a large mixing bowl and electric mixer. Whisk together the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla in a separate bowl, then add it to your dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Slowly pour in the hot coffee. Stir it in by hand, that way the coffee doesn’t splash up and burn you.
  • Bake: Pour half the batter into each of the prepared pans and bake them for 30-35 minutes.
  • Frosting: While the cake is cooling make the chocolate frosting. Melt the butter in a saucepan and mix in cocoa powder. Once they’re combined remove them from the heat and let the mixture cool. Add the chocolate to your stand mixer and whip it together. Alternate between adding the powdered sugar and milk in ⅓ cup amounts. Then add in the vanilla. Pour in extra milk if the frosting is too thick. Spread the frosting over both halves of the cake and layer them on top of each other so you have a rich chocolate filling.
  • Pudding mixture: Whisk the chocolate pudding mix with the milk. Let the pudding mixture sit for 5 minutes. Layer pudding mixture over the cooled cake. Spread the pudding out evenly with a rubber spatula, then let it set in the fridge.
  • Decorate: Before serving top the Oreo Dirt Cake off with crushed Oreos and gummy worms.

Chocolate Pudding Dirt Cake with pudding, crushed oreos, and gummy worms on top in baking dish

VARIATIONS ON CHOCOLATE PUDDING DIRT CAKE

  • Cream Cheese Frosting: Try making your Oreo Dirt Cake recipe with chocolate cream cheese frosting. To make the cream cheese frosting start by whipping together 8 ounces of softened cream cheese and 8 tablespoons of butter. Next, mix in 3 cups powdered sugar, ½ cup cocoa powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon vanilla with the cream cheese mixture. Spread the frosting over the cake as usual and then top it with the pudding for a cream cheese pudding combo.
  • Vanilla Pudding: To change things up a little, try making vanilla pudding instead of instant chocolate pudding. Prep the vanilla pudding mixture the same way, and then just pour the instant pudding over the cake. It won’t look like dirt, but the taste is delicious. To change the theme to match the vanilla pudding try using vanilla Oreos to look like sand instead of dirt. You can top it with Swedish fish and gummy sharks.
  • Chocolate chips: For some extra chocolatey taste in your Dirt Cake recipe, try mixing chocolate chips into the cake batter. Semi-sweet, milk, dark, or white chocolate chips will all make a nice addition.
  • Dirt Cake Cups: Bake the Dirt Cake batter in a muffin tin to make Dirt Cake Cups. Only fill each cup up about halfway so that there’s room for pudding on top.

Chocolate Pudding Dirt Cake with pudding, crushed oreos, and gummy worms on top in baking dish with slice lifting

MORE DELICIOUS CAKE RECIPES

HOW TO STORE CHOCOLATE PUDDING DIRT CAKE

  • Serve: Because of the pudding in the cake, you don’t want to leave it at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
  • Store: You can also wrap the Dirt Cake recipe in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for 1 week.
  • Freeze: Kept sealed, the cake will be good in the freezer for 4-6 months. Let it thaw in the fridge before serving.

Chocolate Pudding Dirt Cake with pudding, crushed oreos, and gummy worms on top in baking dish

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Dinner, then Dessert

Chocolate Pudding Dirt Cake

Chocolate Pudding Dirt Cake is a kid favorite Halloween dessert topped with pudding, crushed Oreos (dirt), and gummy worms for a spooky treat.
Yield 24 Servings
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Chocolate Pudding Dirt Cake with pudding, crushed oreos, and gummy worms on top in baking dish with slice missing
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Ingredients
 

Chocolate Cake:

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 3/4 cups flour
  • 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup hot coffee , you can substitute boiling water

Chocolate Pudding

  • 6 ounces chocolate pudding mix
  • 2 cups whole milk

Chocolate Frosting:

  • 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
  • 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 6 cups powdered sugar
  • 2/3 cups milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Toppings:

  • 26 Oreo Cookies , crushed into crumbs
  • 10 ounces gummy worms

Instructions

Chocolate Sheet Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 baking pan with baking spray.
  • In a stand mixer on low speed mix together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  • In a small bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla then add it to the stand mixer on low then medium speed until just combined, and finally add in the hot coffee carefully and stir it in by hand until just combined (do not turn on the mixer, it may splash on you).
  • Pour half of the batter into each of the pans and bake for 30-35 minutes then remove, let cool completely and frost with the chocolate frosting.

Chocolate Pudding:

  • Whisk together pudding mix and milk until smooth.
  • Let sit for 5 minutes.
  • Pour over completely cooled cake.
  • Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Chocolate Frosting:

  • Melt the butter in a large saucepan and whisk in the cocoa powder then remove from the heat and let cool.
  • Add the cooled chocolate mixer to your stand mixer and whip on medium speed adding the powdered sugar and milk, alternating them ⅓ at a time, and finally add the vanilla in last.
  • If the frosting is too thick, add a bit more milk.

Toppings:

  • Top with crushed Oreos and gummy worms.

Nutrition

Calories: 526kcal | Carbohydrates: 84g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 357mg | Potassium: 253mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 63g | Vitamin A: 439IU | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 3mg
Keyword: Chocolate Pudding Dirt Cake

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Chocolate Pudding Dirt Cake Collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the upcoming cookbook: Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients which is being published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

    1. The Chocolate Cake is topped off with a chocolate pudding mixture, then it’s all topped off with cookie crumbs and gummy worms to look like worms in dirt. Enjoy!

      Reply

  3. This whole recipe is confusing. How many pans, 1 or 2? And what layer goes on top of cake first, frosting or pudding? ?

    Reply

  4. This whole recipe is confusing. How many pans, 1 or 2? And what layer goes on top of cake first, frosting or pudding? ?

    Reply