Indulge Your Inner Child
I still remember the first time I tried dirt cake as a kid. I was at a friend’s pool party. As they served what I thought would be regular birthday cake, all I could think was “What is this amazing goodness and why have I never had it?” With layers of crushed Oreo’s, chocolate pudding and a sweet cool whip and cream cheese mixture, dirt cake is an irresistible treat.
It’s been years since I’ve had dirt cake. So, when I stumbled upon a picture of dirt cake on Pinterest, I knew I had to make one. And with Easter right around the corner, I had the perfect opportunity to create a festive version of this classic dessert.
Seriously though, how cute is this easy Easter dirt cake? G’s 2nd birthday is right around Easter (Two years old! How did that happen?) and I may have to let her help make one of these for her birthday party. She’s been an enthusiastic kitchen helper lately. She snuck a few Oreo’s while watching me create this one!
Easy, No-Bake Goodness
It’s probably pretty evident by now that I am all for simple, no-bake treats. With just a few simple steps, and no cooking, this Easter dirt cake was even easier to make than I anticipated. A little mixing, whisking and layering creates the base of the cake. For the finishing touches, mix food coloring with frosting and coconut, and pop on some marshmallow and candy treats! So, so easy.
Make it Gluten-Free
Making a gluten-free Easter dirt cake is so simple. Just swap the Oreo’s for gluten-free sandwich cookies. All of our local grocery stores carry Glutino Chocolate Vanilla Creme Sandwich Cookies
Peeps or Burrowing Bunny
There are two adorable options for bunnies when making this cake. For the easiest option, just stick a couple of Peeps Bunnies
To make a burrowing bunny, all you need is a marshmallow, some white frosting (optional), and a set of Wilton Bunny Feet Icing Decorations
Steps to make a burrowing bunny: Cut the marshmallow in half and place one half, cut side down, on cake. Use a small bit of white frosting to attach feet to marshmallow. You can just prop them up if you don’t have frosting. Tear a small piece of marshmallow off the remaining half, roll into a ball and attach to the other marshmallow half as a tail. It’s that easy!
- 18 oz Oreo's (Family size package)
- 5.9 oz package Jell-o Instant Chocolate Pudding Mix
- 3 to 4 cups cold milk (see note)
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 8 oz cream cheese (softened)
- 8 oz Cool Whip
- 1 can white frosting (or make your own from scratch)
- 1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened)
- 2 Peeps Bunnies or Bunny Feet Candy Decorations and 1 marshmallow
- Food coloring (red, yellow and green)
- Crush Oreo's in food processor or blender. Or, place small batches in large zip top bag and roll over with a rolling pin until crushed.
- Spread a thin layer of Oreo's over the bottom of a 9x13 dish.
- Combine pudding mix with 3 cups cold milk and whisk for 2 minutes. Add additional milk as needed if pudding is too thick. Spread over layer of Oreo's
- Using an electric beater, combine condensed milk, softened cream cheese, and Cool Whip. Spread over pudding layer.
- Cover with remaining Oreo crumbs.
- Place about ½ cup frosting in a sandwich size zip-top bag and add several drops red and yellow food coloring. Close and knead bag to mix well. Refrigerate until firm.
- Snip a small corner off of the frosting bag and pipe "carrots" onto dirt cake in rows. I recommend practicing on parchment paper or tin foil first.
- Follow same steps to create green frosting and pipe a small amount onto each carrot.
- Place coconut in a large zip top bag, add several drops green food coloring, seal and shake well until coconut is green. Sprinkle around the edges of the dish.
- Place Peeps onto toothpicks and insert into cake or create a burrowing bunny by placing half a marshmallow, cut side down, with two candy bunny feet. Add a small bit of marshmallow from remaining half for the tail.
- Insert popsicle sticks around perimeter of dish.
- Serve and enjoy!
To make this recipe gluten-free, swap the Oreo's for a gluten-free sandwich cookie, such as Glutino Sandwich Cookies.
For more no-bake recipes, click here!
Planning to make this? I’d love to see the finished result! Post a picture on Instagram or Facebook and tag @mypennywiselife.
What a cute cake for Easter! Pinning! 🙂
Thanks for pinning!
This is one of the cutest cakes ever and No Bake! WOW. I don’t have a little one old enough yet to enjoy but I will be printing and saving this for next year. Thank you for joining TADA!
Thanks! I hope you have fun with it next year!
Rachel,
Your dirt cake is absolutely adorable and I bet tasty. I prefer the burrowing bunny because it is different. Thanks for sharing with TADA! See you Thursday,
Happy Creating,
Karen Marie
The burrowing bunny is my favorite too!
QUestion on the oreos did you take out the icing in them
No, I threw them into my food processor straight from the package!
can milk or sweetened condensed milk?
Sweetened condensed! 🙂
Hi. We are also dairy free. Any ideas how to replace The sweet condensed milk?
That’s a tough one. I’ve seen some vegan recipes for sweetened condensed milk on the internet, but I haven’t tested them with this recipe.