This Halloween Dirt Cake is a fun dessert that kids and adults will love. It starts with a moist chocolate cake, that is stuffed full of chocolate pudding, then topped with a quick chocolate frosting, and Oreo crumbs, and spooky cookies and treats! It’s the perfect creepy and cute Halloween dessert.
This Halloween Dirt Cake is so cute and fun, and perfect for Halloween! It’s such an easy dessert to make with a semi homemade, doctored up cake mix, stuffed full of instant chocolate pudding, and a 3 ingredient pudding mix frosting too.
It’s moist, rich and chocolately. So perfect for chocolate lovers. And it’s adorably decorated to look like a spooky Halloween graveyard, making it perfect for a kids Halloween party! You’ll also love these Halloween Doughnuts for your party.
How to make a Halloween Dirt Cake?
Start by making the cake, whisk everything together until smooth and scoop it into a 9×13 cake pan. Bake it up until the cake is done and a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool for about 30 minutes, then add the filling.
Poke the top of the cake all over with the bottom of a wooden spoon. Whisk together the chocolate pudding and milk to make the pudding, whisk it for 2 minutes. Then let it sit for about 5 minutes to thicken slightly. Scoop the pudding over the top of the cake, and spread it evenly, especially spreading it into the cake holes.
Whisk together the ingredients for the frosting until you have a light and fluffy frosting. Spread it evenly over the top of the cake.
Top the cake evenly with RIP cookies (Milanos decorated with gel icing), and Ghost Peeps, and candy pumpkins. Sprinkle Halloween sprinkles over the top.
Slice up the cake and enjoy!
Tips for making Halloween Dirt Cake:
- Any chocolate cake mix should work for the cake base, or you can even make your own easy chocolate cake.
- Instead of our homemade chocolate frosting you could also use store bought chocolate frosting, or any chocolate frosting recipe you love.
- Instead of making the cake a “graveyard” with Milano cookies, you could add some creepy crawly gummy worms, and fake spiders like our dirt cupcakes.
- I like to arrange the tombstone cookies and peeps around the cake somewhat evenly so each slice of the cake gets one or the other.
Can Halloween Dirt Cake be made in Advance?
This Halloween dirt cake can be made in advance and stored in the fridge. The chocolate cake can be made up to 1 day in advanced, and the cake can be decorated then or right before serving. Store the cake in the fridge covered with plastic wrap once it is frosted. Make sure to add the cookies, pumpkins, and ghosts on top right before serving so they don’t get too soft in the fridge.
Leftover cake can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
This chocolate Halloween Dirt Cake is so cute and delicious. It’s the perfect moist, chocolate cake that is decorated to look like a graveyard. It’s fun, and so perfect for Halloween!
More creepy dessert recipes:
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Halloween Dirt Cake
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cake:
- 16 oz box of chocolate cake mix (dry)
- 3 oz box of instant chocolate pudding (dry)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
For the Filling:
- 3 oz box of instant chocolate pudding
- 2 cups whole milk
For the Chocolate Frosting:
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup instant chocolate pudding
For the Topping:
- 16 Oreo cookies
- 10 Milano Cookies
- Black gel icing (for writing)
- 5 Ghost Peeps
- 15 Candy Pumpkins
- Halloween Srinkles (optional)
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
Instructions
For the Chocolate Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9x13 cake pan and set it aside.
- Add all the ingredients for the cake to a large bowl and whisk it together until it is fully combined.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan. (The batter will be thick, so use a rubber spatula to spread it out).
- Bake the cake for 28 to 32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool for 30 minutes.
- Poke the top of the cake all over with the handle of a wooden spoon, or a fork.
For the Filling:
- Whisk together the pudding mix and milk for 2 minutes in a medium sized bowl, then let it sit for a few minutes to thicken slightly.
- Spread the pudding over the top of the cake, particularly into the holes you poked over the top.
For the Frosting:
- In a large bowl (or a stand mixer with the whisk attachment) add all the ingredients for the frosting. Whisk them together until it is thick and fluffy.
- Spread the frosting evenly over the top of the cake.
For the Topping:
- Add the Oreo cookies to a food processor and pulse them into a fine crumb. (Or add them to a gallon sized ziplock bag and hammer them into a crumb). Sprinkle the crumbs over the top of the cake.
- Write RIP on the Milano cookies with the icing to make them "tombstones" and then press them into the frosting and cake so they stand up.
- Press the ghost Peeps into the frosting so they stand up. (If you don't stand up well you can stick a toothpick into the bottom of them to help secure them).
- Add candy pumpkins around the cake.
- Top the cake with sprinkles, if desired.
- Slice the cake up and serve, or store it in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve it.
Michelle Hall says
I love Dirt Cake this delicious treat reminds me of my childhood. Thank you for the share!!
Love, Michelle
Aimee says
Aww I love that <3