Chocolate Pudding Dirt Cake is a kid-favorite Halloween recipe topped with pudding, crushed Oreos (dirt), and gummy worms for a spooky treat.
This delicious and easy Cake Recipe is the perfect dessert for a Halloween party. For more spooky treats, try my Halloween Bark and Halloween Rice Krispies!
Sabrina’s Chocolate Pudding Dirt Cake Recipe
If you need a dessert recipe perfect for your next Halloween party, then look no further than this Oreo Dirt Cake! It is inspired by a classic no-bake Dirt Pudding, which is pudding cups topped with Oreo crumbs and candy worms. Basically you take the same concept but layer it over a delicious, easy chocolate sheet cake. It’s a fun idea for a chocolaty party-sized dessert that is perfect for the spooky season!
Recipe Card
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 9×13 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 and let it cool completely.
Chocolate Pudding:
- Whisk together pudding mix and milk until smooth.
- Let sit for 5 minutes.
- Spread the pudding 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.
- Spread the frosting over the pudding layer.
Toppings:
- Top with crushed Oreos and gummy worms, pressing in gently.
Nutrition
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Table of contents
How to Make
Time needed: 1 hour and 20 minutes
- 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.
- Pudding mixture
Whisk the chocolate pudding mix with the milk. Let the pudding mixture sit for 5 minutes to start to set and thicken.
- Set Pudding
Spoon the pudding mixture over a cooled cake. (You don’t want it hot or the pudding will melt). Spread out evenly with a rubber spatula, then let it set fully in the fridge.
- 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.
- Frost
Gently spread a thick layer of frosting over the entire cake, spreading to make it even. It’s okay if a little pudding mixes in the frosting.
- Decorate
Cover the frosting before it sets with crushed Oreo crumbs and gummy worms, pressing them in lightly so they stick..
How To Store
- 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 wrap the 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.
Variations
- Cream Cheese Frosting: Try making this cake recipe with chocolate 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.
- Vanilla Pudding: To change things up a little, try making vanilla pudding. You could change up the cake to a beach theme by using the vanilla pudding and golden Oreos to look like sand instead of dirt. Top it with Swedish fish and gummy sharks.
- Chocolate chips: For some extra chocolaty taste, 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 cake batter in a muffin tin then transfer the cupcakes to small cups and top with pudding, frosting and decorations as usual. You could also bake the cupcakes in special decorative wrappers that have tall sides to hold all the topping layers.
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The following pics were used in previous versions of this post:
I wanted to love this but the recipe is written confusing and the frosting was like soup and it just slid it and the pudding layer off of the cake! It’s more like a molten lava dirt cake at this point! Still good but messy as heck!
Bake in a single pan. Cool. Poke some holes for worms to “come out” of the cake. Put in worms. Cover cake with pudding and crumble oreos on top, adding more worms. This was a hit for the fam and making it again by request, even though it doesn’t fit my daughter’s birthday theme like it did my son’s. The recipe is written weird. No need for two pans/layers or making frosting– the Oreos and pudding are plenty if the cake is nice and moist!
I see the questions being asked but I don’t see an answer that addresses the fact that the recipe includes instructions for pudding AND frosting. So do I need to make both or just the pudding? I bought the ingredients for this before reading through the instructions. I wish I hadn’t, now I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do.
You make a sheet cake
You make the frosting
You make the pudding
I recommend that you read the Tips for making Chocolate Pudding Dirt Cake for further clarification.
Let us know how your recipe turned out!
Do I frost the cake and then add the pudding, then the Oreos?
Let the cake cool
“Frost” your cake with the pudding
Add the Oreos and other decor!
So you frost the cake then top it with pudding?
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!
This recipe makes zero sense as it’s written.
This whole recipe is confusing. How many pans, 1 or 2? And what layer goes on top of cake first, frosting or pudding? ?
I thought there was something wrong with me! I had to read it twice ?
Omgosh! I’ve read it 3 times and thought I was losing my mind.
I’ll just wing it! ?
This whole recipe is confusing. How many pans, 1 or 2? And what layer goes on top of cake first, frosting or pudding? ?