I'll be honest: dirt cake has never really been my thing. Most versions involve pudding filled with fake flavoring, gobs of non-dairy whipped topping and Day-Glo gummy worms a dream come true for kids or a big crowd of drunk dudes (more on that later), but I need a little more. Like two layers of homemade pudding, one lightly salted peanut butter, the other dark chocolate, that together taste like the grown up version of a Reese's peanut butter cup, sandwiched between two layers of crumbled cookie. And because it's Halloween, and this is still a dirt cake, it's topped with a fun mini graveyard, made with Nutter Butter cookies and whipped cream ghosts.
I am not officially the dirt cake expert in my house. That honor goes to my husband, Rob, who makes a giant dirt cake every summer for the annual crawfish boil he hosts with friends. Its ingredients are one store-bought chocolate sheet cake, several tubs of Kozy Shack pudding, a package of crushed Oreos and Cool Whip. He serves it in a giant plastic flower pot with flowers sticking out of the top and it is always a hit with the partygoers drunk on beer and crawfish tails.
I am the only naysayer. Every year I try to nudge him into swapping out one of the packaged ingredients for a homemade replacement ("How about whipped cream instead of Cool Whip? Please? I'll whip it for you!") and he keeps refusing, saying that everyone loves his dirt cake, so why would he change it? He's right. His dirt cake is his dirt cake and he doesn't need to change it.
This dirt cake, however, is my dirt cake, so I get to make it exactly how I like. And that means adapting one of my favorite peanut butter and chocolate layered pudding recipes, increasing the salt in the peanut layer and replacing the milk chocolate with imported dark chocolate for a richer flavor with more depth. Although making not one but two puddings from scratch is a good deal more difficult than opening a container of Kozy Shack, that doesn't mean the process is actually difficult. Cornstarch-thickened pudding cooks up quickly, and once the pudding layers are poured over the bottom layer of chocolate cookie chunks, it's waiting for them to chill in the refrigerator that is the killer.
If you plan on making the dirt cake for an occasion other than Halloween, you can skip the decorating just sprinkle cookie crumbs over the top and serve it with whipped cream but for a themed party, the Nutter Butter gravestones and whipped cream ghosts are a must. No matter how dressed up, it's still dirt cake after all. It's supposed to be fun!
Peanut Butter & Chocolate Graveyard Dirt Cake
Pudding recipes adapted from Bon Appetit
Makes 8-10 servings
Toppings
20 chocolate cream sandwich cookies (such as Oreos), divided
8 Nutter Butter cookies, divided
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, chilled
2 teaspoons powdered sugar
Black or brown icing
Peanut butter pudding
1/2 cup sugar
5 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup creamy natural peanut butter (made with just peanuts and salt)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dark chocolate pudding
6 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons natural (not Dutch) unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
4 ounces good-quality dark chocolate, finely chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Place half of the chocolate cookies in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times until broken up roughly. Spread evenly onto the bottom of an 8" x 8" x 2" pan. Place the other half of the chocolate cookies in the food processor and process until the cookies are fine crumbs. Set aside. Brush out the food processor bowl with a towel and process 4 of the Nutter Butter cookies into fine crumbs. Set aside. (If you don't have a food processor, you can crush the cookies in a resealable bag with a rolling pin or other heavy kitchen implement.)
Make the peanut butter pudding:
Whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a large, heavy saucepan. Slowly whisk in the milk, followed by the cream. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, whisking frequently to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Boil, whisking constantly, until the mixture is thick, about 30 seconds. Whisk in peanut butter and boil, whisking frequently, until thick again, about 1 minute. Remove from the stove and whisk in the vanilla. Pour over chocolate cookie crumbs in the pan and smooth surface with an offset spatula. Refrigerate uncovered while making the chocolate pudding.
Make the dark chocolate pudding:
Whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder and salt in a large, heavy saucepan, making sure to break up any cocoa powder lumps. Slowly whisk in the milk, followed by the cream. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, whisking frequently to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Boil, whisking constantly, until the mixture is thick, about 30 seconds. Whisk in chopped chocolate and boil, whisking frequently, until chocolate has melted and pudding is thick again, about 1 minute. Remove from the stove and whisk in the vanilla. Let cool for 5 minutes. Pour over peanut butter pudding and smooth surface with an offset spatula. Refrigerate uncovered for 2 hours.
To decorate: Decorate the 4 remaining Nutter Butter Cookies with icing to look like gravestones. Sprinkle the chocolate cookie crumbs evenly over the surface of the chocolate pudding. Press the "gravestones" vertically into the pudding and make a pile of Nutter Butter cookie crumbs at the base of each. Whip remaining 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar until firm peaks form. Pipe or spoon piles of whipped cream next to gravestones and decorate with icing to look like ghosts. Serve with additional whipped cream, if desired.
Additional Notes:
The puddings can be made one day ahead. After chilling uncovered for 2 hours, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to decorate. Store the processed cookie crumbs in separate airtight containers.
For a sweeter, more kid-friendly dessert, replace the dark chocolate with good-quality milk chocolate.
Related: Halloween Recipe: Two-Bite Nutella Chocolate Cookies
(Images: Anjali Prasertong)
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