A Dirty Secret: Dirt cake recipe fun and delicious

Memorial Day is the traditional start of the picnic and backyard cookout season. It is a great time to experiment with fun recipes. Donna Bulf’s dirt cake is a fun dessert for any time, but would be especially fun at a summer holiday celebration.

Making the Dirt Cake recipe in flower pot, as shown above, is a fun way to fool friends and family at gatherings and potlucks.

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Bulf got her recipe for dirt cake from her daughter about 17 years ago, and it has become a favorite dessert for many of her outdoor gatherings.

“We started decorating it in a pot,” said Bulf. “It can be put in 9x13 pans or glass bowls. But if you want to shock somebody, put it in a pot!”

She recently served the cake at a Waterford Homemakers meeting and shocked the club when it was revealed that she was serving cake, and the flower pot was not the centerpiece after all.

“It fooled everybody,” said Bulf. “I think it looks better in a pot.”
Bulf likes to make a double batch, and keep one at home layered in a bowl to serve to her family.

“It’s a good dessert to have at night while watching TV because it’s not too heavy on the stomach,” said Bulf. “It’s a good cool dessert, especially for summer.”

Bulf mentioned that dirt cake is also a good dessert for anyone who has had dental surgery recently or for any other reason has trouble chewing. Because the dessert is made from cookie crumbs and a pudding mixture, it is very soft, she said.

Bulf served the cake in a flower pot purchased specifically for that purpose. She layered the cake in the pot, and topped it with crushed Oreos. She then decorated the pot with gummy worms and silk-stemmed flowers.

If you have a recipe you would like to share, contact Deanna at ideas@funmama.net.

Recipe: Dirt Cake

20 ounce package of Oreo cookies, reserving 10
2  8-ounce packages of cream cheese
2  8-ounce cartons of Cool Whip
1 small package instant vanilla pudding
3 cups milk
2 cups powdered sugar

Mix cream cheese and sugar. Add pudding and then milk. Beat until creamy. Fold in Cool Whip.
Lay cookies on flat surface and crumble with rolling pin or chop in food processor.
Alternate crumbled cookies and cream mixture in layers in a flowerpot. Start with cookies, and end with cream on top.
Put the 10 reserved Oreos in a blender and chop until fine. The cookie crumbs should look like potting soil.
Put the cookies crumbs on the top of the layers. Add gummy worms or gummy bugs to resemble dirt.
Chill 2 hours or overnight.
Place silk flowers in the pot before placing on the table to aid in the trick.