Sweets · American
Chocolate Lush (Layered Pudding Dessert)
Cookie crust, sweet cream cheese, chocolate pudding and a cloud on top. No oven, just patience.
- Hands-on
- 35 min
- Hands-off
- 4 h 5 min
- Total
- 4 h 40 min
- Makes
- 24 squares
- Serves
- 24
About 35 minutes to crush, mix and layer (including 5 minutes for the pudding to thicken), then 4 hours in the fridge. Thaw the frozen whipped topping in the fridge beforehand; that time isn't included.
Pan 33 x 23 cm dish (US: 13 x 9 in dish)
- easy
- vegetarian
- make-ahead
- no-cook
- potluck
- chocolate
- party-food
- kid-friendly
Verified against at least two trusted test kitchens or food-safety guides · Last checked · What this means
Scaling? Made for one 33 x 23 cm (13 x 9 in) dish. For half, use a 20 cm (8 in) square dish and halve everything; the chilling time stays the same. Some items (like eggs) don’t halve neatly: beat them, then measure out half.
Ingredients
You need: food processor, or a zip-top bag and a rolling pin · 33 x 23 cm (13 x 9 in) dish · 2 medium bowls · whisk · spatula or the back of a spoon
Contains: milk · wheat · soy
Method
Crush the cookies
Blitz the 35 cookies in a food processor until they are fine crumbs. No processor? Seal them in a zip-top bag and roll over them with a rolling pin.
Press in the crust
Tip the crumbs into a bowl and mix in the 85 g (6 tbsp) melted butter. Press the mixture firmly over the bottom of the 33 x 23 cm (13 x 9 in) dish and put it in the fridge while you make the next layer.
Make the cream cheese layer
Whisk the 226 g (8 oz) soft cream cheese, 50 g (1/4 cup) sugar and 30 ml (2 tbsp) cold milk until smooth. Stir in about 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) of the whipped topping. Drop it over the crust in spoonfuls, then spread it out evenly.
Make the pudding layer
Whisk both boxes of pudding mix with the 780 ml (3 1/4 cups) cold milk for 2 minutes. Pour it over the cream cheese layer and let it stand for 5 minutes.
Top and chill
Once the pudding has thickened, spread the rest of the whipped topping over it. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.
Otto tried this firstOtto can't wait and cuts a square after 20 minutes. The layers slide into a chocolate puddle. He covers the dish and gives it the full 4 hours; it cuts cleanly when it's really cold.Cut and serve
Cut into 24 squares and serve cold, straight from the fridge.
Swaps
Don’t swap
- cook-and-serve pudding for instant pudding: this recipe sets the pudding with cold milk and no cooking
Make ahead, store & reheat
- Make ahead
- You can make it the day before and keep it covered in the fridge. If you add a crushed-cookie garnish, scatter it on just before serving so it stays crunchy.
- Storage
- Keep it covered in the fridge and eat it within a few days. It's a milk and cream cheese dessert, so don't leave it out of the fridge for more than 2 hours.
If something goes wrong
- Lumpy cream cheese layer Why: The cream cheese was too cold.
Let it soften first. In a hurry, unwrap it onto a microwave-safe plate and microwave on High for about 15 seconds, until just soft. - Layers slump when you cut it Why: It wasn't cold enough.
Chill the full 4 hours. It cuts best when very cold.
Good to know
- For a crunchy finish, scatter a few coarsely crushed cookies over the top just before serving.
Safety
- This dessert has to stay cold. Put leftovers back in the fridge within 2 hours (1 hour if it's above 32°C / 90°F).
- Packaged cookies, pudding mixes and whipped toppings vary: check every label for allergens such as wheat, soy and milk, and for gelatin if you cook vegetarian.
- If you use the microwave to melt butter or soften cream cheese, an adult should handle the hot bowl.