Grandma's Chocolate Delight Recipe is a simple layered dessert with pudding, sweetened cream cheese and whipped cream on a shortbread crust. This cool, creamy treat will be one of your favorite desserts for family gatherings, holidays or any day!
This incredibly delicious chocolate pudding dessert is the perfect dessert for chocolate lovers!
With a layer of cheesecake filling topped with a rich chocolate pudding layer, whipped topping and chocolate shavings, this chocolate delight recipe definitely lives up to it's name!
Like Pineapple Dream Dessert and Grandma's Lemon Bars, this old fashioned dessert has been around for ages and goes by many names.
You might know this layered pudding dessert as Better than Sex Cake, Better than Sin Cake, Chocolate Lasagna or Chocolate Lush. Grandma simply called it Dessert Chocolate!
Chocolate delight makes enough to feed a crowd. It's perfect for a church potluck, family gathering, holiday dinners or any special occasion!
Ingredients
You only need a few simple ingredients for this chocolate delight recipe. What you don't already have at home should be easy to find online or at your local grocery store:
- Package instant chocolate pudding -- 3.9 oz box
- Package instant vanilla pudding -- 3.4 oz box
- Milk -- whole milk or 2 percent
- Flour -- all purpose flour
- Butter -- softened
- Cream cheese -- softened
- Powdered sugar
- Cool Whip -- or any whipped topping
- Chocolate shavings from chocolate bar
How to Make Chocolate Delight
Before you start on the chocolate delight, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Also, grease a 1 3x 9-inch inch pan with non stick spray or butter.
To make the crust, in a medium bowl, combine flour with softened butter until well combined. Use an electric mixer on low power, pulsing the mixer to break up the butter clumps without flinging flour everywhere.
Once the crust mixture is well combined, scoop it into the prepared baking pan. Press the crust into the bottom of the pan, keeping it an even layer, and making sure that the whole pan is covered.
Cooking Time
Bake the crust for 25 minutes at 350 degrees F. It should be golden brown and firm.
When the crust is finished baking, remove it from the oven and let it cool completely at room temperature.
Now it's time for the cream cheese layer. In a medium mixing bowl, beat softened cream cheese with an electric mixer until its smooth and creamy.
Then, add powdered sugar and Cool Whip, and mix until creamy and well combined.
Gently spoon the cream cheese mixture over the cooled crust in the baking pan, and spread with a spatula. This first layer should be even and cover the crust entirely.
Place the baking pan into the refrigerator so that the cream cheese layer can set.
When the cream cheese has set, it's time for the pudding chocolate layer. In a large bowl, add milk and the vanilla and chocolate instant pudding mixes. With a whisk, mix pudding mixes with milk until thick and well combined.
Spoon the chocolate mixture over the first layer, spreading gently. Make sure that the pudding layer covers the cream cheese entirely, and is an even layer.
Place baking pan into the refrigerator for the second layer to set. This should take around 30 minutes.
Now onto the last, third layer. Spoon Cool Whip over the pudding layer, and spread evenly. This is the top layer, so make it look nice and smooth!
I use about 2 cups of Cool Whip for this layer, but you can use a bit more if you like.
Sprinkle chocolate shavings on top of the Cool Whip. You can use store bought shavings, or grate your own with a cheese grater.
Refrigerate your layered chocolate dessert for 3 hours, or overnight. Then, enjoy!
How to Store
Store your chocolate delight dessert in the refrigerator, in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap. It'll last 3 to 4 days.
Variations and Substitutions
There are a couple ways to customize this delicious one pan dessert!
Instead of the flour and butter crust, make a graham cracker crust or cookie crust. You can also add chopped pecans to the crust, for a pecan shortbread crust.
Use whatever type of pudding you like for the puddling layer. I think mixing 1 instant chocolate pudding mix package with 1 vanilla mix gives the perfect amount of chocolate, but you can use both chocolate puddings, or both vanilla puddings.
Or, make a butterscotch delight with butterscotch pudding mix.
Top the Cool Whip with chocolate sauce or a melted chocolate drizzle. You can also add fresh or canned fruit to this decadent dessert!
Recipe
Grandma's Chocolate Delight Recipe
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup flour
- ½ cup butter 1 stick, softened
Cream Cheese Layer
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 ½ cups Cool Whip
Pudding Layer
- 3.9 oz package instant chocolate pudding
- 3.4 oz package instant vanilla pudding
- 3 cups milk whole or 2 percent
Top Layer
- 2 cups Cool Whip
- ¼ cup chocolate shavings from chocolate bar
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees f, and spray a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with non stick spray or grease with butter
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix the flour with softened butter until well combined. Press into baking sheet
- Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown and firm. Remove and let cool completely
Cream Cheese Layer
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar and Cool Whip, and mix until creamy and well combined
- Gently spoon the cream cheese mixture over cooled crust, and spread evenly with spatula. Place into refrigerator to set
Pudding Layer
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the chocolate pudding, vanilla pudding and milk until well combined and thick
- Gently spoon the pudding over the cream cheese layer and carefully spread evenly over layer. Place in refrigerator to set, about 30 minutes
Top Layer
- Spoon 2 or more cups of Cool Whip over pudding layer, and spread evenly over layer. Top with grated chocolate. Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight
Notes
Nutrition information is estimated. Please do your own calculation to fit special diets.
Nutrition
With its creamy layers and rich chocolate flavor, Grandma's delicious chocolate delight recipe is always a popular choice in my house!
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Beverly says
This is great! So easy to make and looks great too!
Edna says
Made this for some old friends! They remembered eating something exactly like it when they were kids! Oh the memories!
kim says
Oh my goodness! This is such a delicious dessert!
Brianna says
This is really amazing! Just like my mom used to make!
Abby says
WOW! Such a fabulous dessert! We loved it!
Callie says
Oh my goodness! This chocolate dessert was amazing!
Ebony says
Made this for the weekend. Hard to wait for it to set but everyone loved it.
Erik says
Amazing, so much chocolate deliciousness!
Sandra says
This dessert is totally irresistible! Such an amazing recipe! Thanks!