Smooth, silky, and delicious, this Pudding Cake is incredibly simple to throw together and sure to become an instant classic. Beautifully layered–graham cracker, vanilla pudding, graham cracker, chocolate pudding, and graham cracker crumbles–this sweet dessert will put a smile on everyone’s face, no matter their age.
So I’m celebrating Mother’s Day by completely stealing an old recipe from my mom. Pudding Cake was a classic in our house. It made an appearance at just about every summer holiday and cookout, and my sisters and I looked forward to it every time we saw it in the fridge. It’s almost annoyingly easy to put together and is a total crowd pleaser.
Naturally, I wanted to do a lot of extra work in putting this together. When I asked if I could post this recipe, I had plans to make my own pudding from scratch. But, this dessert was never about putting in tons of effort. It’s a quick, throw it together the night before or morning of, type of thing and a lot of its magic is in just how simple it is. So we’re going fully packaged mix here, just like my mom always did. Honey graham crackers are pulled straight from the box, the edges slightly trimmed to fit into the rounded edges of your baking dish and trimmed to fit any empty spots. Tip: I like to saw at the graham crackers with a knife as I trim them, this helps them cut a bit nicer rather than breaking into four or five tiny pieces that you have to fit together.
After that, you just grab a box of cook and serve pudding and follow the instructions on the back, which couldn’t be simpler. Pour milk into a pan, add the pudding mix, and stir until it begins to boil. You can make the two flavors at once if you’re a true overachiever and want to cut a few minutes off your cooking time (my mom always did it this way), but you need to work extra quick that way and have both hands stirring at once. I’m not so coordinated. I make my pudding one at a time–I like to think that leaves the vanilla some time to set while you cook the chocolate, rather than letting the chocolate thicken while you line the vanilla with graham crackers.
Once you have the layer of chocolate pudding in, crumble over some graham crackers and pop the dish into the refrigerator to set up and cool. That’s it! It’s so easy but so delicious–two smooth layers of pudding, chocolate and vanilla, with the added sweetness of honey graham cracker in between.
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Pudding Cake
This Pudding Cake is made with layers of vanilla pudding, chocolate pudding, and graham crackers for a dessert that's simple, silky, and smooth. It's perfect for any celebration or spring or summer evening when you want something cold and refreshing.
Yields: 12-20 servings
Line a 9" x 13" glass baking dish with a layer of graham cracker sheets. Use a knife to gently round the edges of the graham crackers that will fit into the rounded corners of the dish. This will help it fit a bit better so that the pudding doesn't slip under the graham crackers. Trim graham crackers as necessary to completely cover the bottom of the baking dish. I use about 8 graham cracker sheets per layer (6 full and the other two are trimmed to fit in smaller spaces). Set aside.
Following the instructions on the vanilla pudding: pour 360 mL (3 cups) of milk into a medium or large pan. Sprinkle over the pudding mix and stir over a medium heat until the pudding mix dissolves. Continue to stir as the pudding cooks. Bring it to a boil and let the mix bubble for about 30-60 seconds.
Remove the pudding from the heat and pour the vanilla pudding over the layer of graham crackers. You might need to hold the graham crackers down with a spatula to keep the pudding from sliding beneath them. Quickly cover the pudding with another layer of graham crackers, trimming the corner to fit the pan and smaller pieces to completely cover the pudding as needed. Gently press the graham crackers into the layer of pudding. Again, this should require about 8 graham cracker sheets.
Make the chocolate pudding: pour 360 mL (3 cups) of milk into a medium or large pan. Sprinkle over the pudding mix and stir over a medium heat until the pudding mix dissolves. Continue to stir as the pudding cooks. Bring it to a boil and let the mix bubble for about 30-60 seconds. Note, it might take a bit longer for the chocolate pudding mix to dissolve into the milk but it'll get there by the time it starts boiling.
Remove the pudding from the heat and pour the vanilla pudding over the layer of graham crackers. You might need to hold the graham crackers down with a spatula to keep the pudding from sliding into the layer of vanilla. Crumble over the remaining 1-2 sheets of graham crackers.
Refrigerate uncovered for 2-4 hours until set. Once the pudding has cooled down, you can cover with plastic wrap, but be careful not to do it while the pudding is still warm. Slice and serve. Keep any leftovers refrigerated.
Recipe Notes
*We've made this with nonfat milk as well as whole milk or 2%.
