Dirt Cake
Get messy with this adorable Dirt Cake- perfect for baby showers, Father’s Day, garden parties, and birthdays for kids who like to get down and dirty! This cake is filled with chocolate candy rocks and fresh strawberries. Have fun!
Today is a special day because I get to tell my friend Ashton from Something Swanky how happy I am for her new baby boy (coming soon)! I am the mom of 2 wonderful boys, so I have many stories to tell.
Most of them involve dirt, so I think of dirt pudding often.
So, of course, I’m sharing my favorite classic dessert with you all today- Dirt Cake!
I usually see this cake made with gummy worms or plastic flowers, but I wanted to go for a more natural look. You should be totally freaking people out about the fact that you are digging into a pile of dirt with a spoon.
I think I succeeded because my older son was completely mortified when he got off the bus one afternoon to find his little brother shoving fistfuls of dirt and rocks into his mouth. I let it go on for a little while because I’m Mom-of-the-Year material.
Aside from the chocolate candy rocks, I think the fresh strawberries popping out of the top really make this cake convincing.
So Ashton, what I’m trying to say is:
Congratulations! There will be lots of mud-stained clothes and grassy knees. There will be race car beds, tiny tool sets, and dinosaurs that roar louder than any toy should legally be allowed.
There will be tears of joy over watching your little guy make something out of LEGO and tears of frustration when you step on LEGO in the middle of the night.
He’ll come home with love notes from classmates and phone numbers from best friends. Hopefully, he’ll let you snuggle him to sleep and sing him songs for many, many years to come.
Before you know it, you’ll look into your son’s eyes, and you’ll realize that it’s your job to teach him how to treat his wife with love and respect and raise his own family someday. *sob*
Oh, and there will be dirt and rocks. Like, everywhere.
Dirt Cake
Ingredients
- 1 package Oreos
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- ½ Cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 Cup powdered sugar
- 2 small boxes, 3.4 oz size instant vanilla pudding
- 3 Cups milk
- 1 large tub, 16 oz size Cool Whip
- Chocolate candy rocks, optional
- Strawberries with hulls in tact, optional
Instructions
- Crush cookies until they resemble soil. Press about half into the bottom of a 9x13 dish. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your mixer beat the cream cheese, butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes until thick. Fold in Cool Whip.
- Gently fold pudding mixture into cream cheese mixture until combined.
- Spoon filling on top of the crushed Oreos.
- Press strawberries into the filing until just the green pokes out of the top (optional). Top with remaining Oreo crumbs and candy rocks (optional). Refrigerate until ready to serve.
This is a Virtual Baby Shower for Something Swanky. check out what everyone else brought!
Krispy Kreme Pie by Wine and Glue | How to Make Lemon Mini Cupcakes by Call Me PMC | Brown Sugar Butterscotch Bundt Cake by Layers of Happiness | Double Chocolate Cups by Diary of a Recipe Collector | Strawberries and Cream Skillet Cobbler by Taste and Tell | Paleo Blueberry Coconut Cupcakes by Food Faith Fitness | Blueberry Coconut Protein Pops by Capturing Joy | Strawberry Pretzel Salad Dip by Crazy for Crust | Creamy Lemon Angel Cake Roll by Yummy Healthy Easy | Blueberry Granola Gratin by Buns in My Oven | Strawberry & Cream Profiteroles by Lemons for Lulu | Dirt Cake by In Katrina’s Kitchen | Mini Pineapple Upside Down Trifles by Life, Love, and Sugar | S’mores Frappuccino Cupcakes by Inside BruCrew Life | Butterfinger Cupcakes by Six Sisters’ Stuff | Brookie Bars by It Bakes Me Happy | Carrot Cake Cupcakes by Beyond Frosting | Blueberry Pie Cheeseball by Mom On Timeout | No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake Mousse by Heather’s French Press | Blueberry Cream Cheese Cookies with a Lemon Glaze by The Recipe Critic | Lemon Berry Pastries by I Wash You Dry | Lemon Berry Fruit Kabobs by Crumbs and Chaos
37 Comments on “Dirt Cake”
Can’t wait to try Dirt Cake, seems delicious . Thanks for sharing this with us.
Love this Dirt Cake, this one seems so delicious , will love to make this one with us . Thanks for sharing this one
What a fun treat!
What a clever take on a dirt cake recipe! I’ve never seen the addition of candy rocks – and the strawberry poking out the top is brilliant! I love how you’ve turned this into the centerpiece snack of a baby boy shower. As a mom of three boys, I know it couldn’t be any more appropriate!;)
Such a fun recipe! I will definitely be making this for a fun family dessert!
What a fun idea for celebrating the childhood of boys! It’s also perfect for celebrating spring and summer gardeners. I’ve never enjoyed a dirt cake before, and I’d love to make one!
OMG this is ADORABLE. I’m going to make this with my kids!
yummy!!!Making it for my teenage daughter who loved getting dirty as a little girl. Would this recipe be able to be frozen and served the next day?
Did you scrape off the Oreo frosting before crushing the Oreos? Making this today for my hubby’s birthday!
This is so cute! I cracked up that you let your older son freak out for a minute. I have two boys and I would totally do that too! Lol this is definitely going on my cheat day list 😉 yum!!
Ha! Well *high five* for being a fun mom!
Love your dirt cake. The chocolate rocks just makes it look so real. Where did you get these rocks or how did you make them??? Please respond. My son loves this.
Thank you!!!!!
Hi Melinda! I’m glad you like it. I linked to where I bought them online at Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Chocolate-ounces-coated-chocolate-pebbles/dp/B00069IHO6/ref=as_sl_pc_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=inkatskit-20&linkCode=w00&linkId=KUM54QZJBIWMNXGD&creativeASIN=B00069IHO6
I love how cute this cake looks and I’m going to totally make it, however I’m questioning the use of a half cup of butter o_O I know this ain’t health food, but could I opt out on using that and still have it be relatively tasty?
I haven’t tested it any other way. However 1 stick of butter split between this whole cake isn’t too bad- we got many more than 12 servings out of it actually. Thanks for stopping by!
I love making the dirt cake but i use chocolate pudding so it all looks like dirt but its all awesome….
Yeah I agree! When did dirt-in-a-cup recipe have white fluff? But it’s literally everywhere these days! Haha I mean, not to put up a fuss, you can use whipped cream or peanut butter or whatever you want in your cake… it’s all good lol But it’s so weird to me that almost none of the recipes online seem to call for good old fashioned chocolate pudding… it’s basically edible sugar mud!!!
Anyway I’ve looked at several and this one takes the cake for sure 😉 my 7 yr old will absolutely ADORE this… also double win, it’s easy enough that his older sisters can make it themselves! I can basically take a nap (lol Jk)
So fun! I know some little munchkins that would get a kick out of this cake! The way you used the strawberries is genius! Congrats to Ashton!
This is such a fun cake!!!
yayyy for Ashton and her new baby boy!
and this dirt cake is so fun and sooo tasty!
Wow! It was absolutely beautiful and looks like a garden.
Kiss,
Clarinha
This is pretty much the BEST dirt cake that I’ve ever seen.
making for my teenage daughter who used to love dirt and bugs!
Could I freeze the cake a day ahead?
Love this recipe! Making it for my teenage daughter who loved getting dirty as a little girl. Would this recipe be able to be frozen and served the next day?
Making this this weekend for my daughter who used to love to play in the dirt. I have a question could I make a day ahead and freeze it, then thaw the next day?
Such sweet words – your post actually made me tear up a little thinking about my two boys! LOVE this cake, and I know my boys would, too!!
Katrina, this post is awesome. Not only is the cake super cute (and, um, burying the strawberries? GENIUS) but I love your advice for Ashton. Almost makes me want another baby to have a boy….nope. Feeling gone, lol. 🙂 Pinned!
This is just perfect for a boy’s themed party!
Noooo stop making me tear up here! Let’s talk about this dirt cake instead – it looks so totally convincing and I LOVE the strawberry tops peaking out!
BEST DIRT CAKE EVER. I’m obsessed with those rocks!
I love your version of the “dirt” cake. This looks delicious and it is so cute how you used the strawberries. Thanks for sharing.
I love this so much. I’ve made worms in dirt cupcakes, but this is way better. And yay for Ashton!
I’ve also seen a cute summer beach scene done with vanilla sandwich cookies instead of Oreos and any Whitish (vanilla, banana, etc) colored pudding.
I think it looks more like dirt if you use chocolate pudding. I make it at Halloween and turn it into a graveyard with candy bones and pumpkins.
Oh my gosh, Katrina, this cake is AMAZING! I can’t believe how great it looks! And so delicious too, holy smokes. I could shovel this whole thing in my mouth, easy! Thank you so much for your sweet post and this baby shower! My blogging friends are the best 🙂
I cannot tell you how many ties I have stepped on a lego in the middle of the night, and tripped over toy cars, and the dirt, oh my all the dirt, but now that my baby boy is 15, I miss that so much! what a beautiful tribute to the joy of boys, and seriously the BEST dirt cake ever. LOVE the chocolate rocks
Oh, I like your version of the dirt cake much better than the one with the worms. I love how you incorporated the strawberries. So clever!
Loooove your words of wisdom <3 My little man is still pretty young but it's so great being a boy mom – nothing like it. (Girls are great too though. ;))
And this dirt cake is perfection – the strawberries are such a great touch!