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–+ servings
Square image of slice of Halloween Dirt Cake topped with pumpkins ahd ghost.
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Halloween Dirt Cake

Made with a doctored cake mix this Halloween Dirt Cake is poked and filled with pudding and topped with whipped cream frosting and crushed Oreos and decorated to Halloween perfection!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Chill:2 hours
Total Time2 hours 50 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12
Calories: 680kcal
Author: Tornadough Alli

Ingredients

Cake:

  • 16 ounce box chocolate cake mix
  • 3 ounce package of chocolate fudge instant pudding dry
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ¾ cup vegetable oil
  • ½ cup milk
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Filling:

  • 3 ounce box instant chocolate pudding mix
  • 2 cups whole milk

Frosting:

  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • ⅓ cup instant chocolate pudding mix

Topping:

  • 16 Oreos crushed
  • 9 Milano cookies
  • 3 Ghost Peeps
  • 12 candy pumpkins
  • Sprinkles optional
  • Black gel icing for writing

Instructions

Cake:

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9x13-inch cake pan, set aside.
  • Mix together all the cake ingredients until fully combined.
  • Transfer cake mix to the prepared pan. The batter will be thick and you will need to use a rubber spatula to spread it out.
  • Bake for 28-32 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  • Let cool for 30 minutes and poke holes all over to top with the handle of a wooden spoon.

Filling:

  • Whisk together the pudding mix and milk for 2 minutes, then allow to thicken slightly.
  • Spread the pudding over the top of the cake and into the holes, set aside.

Frosting:

  • In a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk together the frosting ingredients until thick and fluffy.
  • Spread the frosting over the top of the cake, set aside.

Topping:

  • Add the Oreos to a food processor and pulse until you get fine crumbs. Sprinkle the Oreo crumbs over the top of the cake.
  • Write R.I.P. on the Milano cookies to make tombstones and then press them into the frosting so they stand up.
  • Press the ghost Peeps into the frosting so they stand up. If they have a hard time doing so, you can use toothpicks to help secure them.
  • Add the candy pumpkins near the ghosts and tombstones.
  • Add sprinkles, if desired.

Notes

  1. Use any of your favorite chocolate cake mix for this.
  2. We use two different puddings chocolate fudge and regular chocolate, but you can use just one if you'd like.
  3. Make sure you get INSTANT pudding and not cook and serve.
  4. This can be decorated any way that you like, see some of my tips above.
  5. You can make this a day in advance with the pudding before decorating if you'd like to get a jump start.
  6. Make sure you let your cake chill at least 2 hours after spreading on the frosting.

Nutrition

Calories: 680kcal | Carbohydrates: 69g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 124mg | Sodium: 773mg | Potassium: 330mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 42g | Vitamin A: 832IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 166mg | Iron: 4mg