Chocolate Delight is filled with layers of creamy cheesecake, rich chocolate pudding, and fluffy whipped topping sitting on a buttery crust. The recipe name is fitting for so many reasons!
Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9x13 pan with nonstick spray.
In a large mixing bowl, pinch the flour, pecans, and butter together with your hands until a crust forms. Press the mixture into the prepared pan in an even layer.
1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup pecans, ½ cup unsalted butter
Bake for 20 minutes until the crust has set. Allow the crust to cool completely.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and almond extract together until light and fluffy. Gently fold in 1 tub of Cool Whip. Spread the cream cheese mixture onto the pecan crust.
8 ounces cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon almond extract, 16 ounces (2 8-oz) tub Cool Whip
Mix the milk and chocolate pudding in a large mixing bowl. Pour the mixture over the cream cheese layer and spread evenly.
Place your chocolate delight into the refrigerator for 20 minutes to allow the layers to set up.
Spread the remaining tub of Cool Whip over the top of the chocolate layer and sprinkle your chocolate shavings over the Cool Whip layer.
1 cup chocolate shavings
Place the chocolate delight back into the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, but it’s best to leave it overnight.
Notes
Storage :
To Store: Chocolate delight should be covered and stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
To Freeze: You can freeze chocolate delight dessert for up to 1 month and thaw in the fridge overnight before serving. Cover with plastic wrap first and then add a layer of foil before placing it in the freezer.
Make Ahead: Chocolate delight can be made a day ahead and kept cold in the fridge so that it has more time to set up.
Tips :
To make this dessert gluten-free, you will need to switch the all-purpose flour for a 1 to 1 gf option or use gf pretzels ground up. Most pudding mixes are gluten-free, but you will need to read the ingredients to be sure they are gluten-free.
To keep the layers separate, place the dish in the freezer for 30 minutes or in the refrigerator for one hour before adding the next layer so that each layer has the chance to set up some first. This will keep them from blending as much and give you a cleaner look when it is cut.
You can make a graham cracker crust by combining graham cracker crumbs with melted butter and a bit of sugar for a slightly sweet base. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom of a baking dish, bake for 10 minutes at 350ºF, cool, then follow the recipe as written.
Chill the chocolate layered pudding dessert for at least 6 hours before serving. This allows the layers to set, so you get nice, clean layers when the 4 layer chocolate dessert is cut. I like to make this dessert the day before I plan to serve it.
Decorate your chocolate pudding delight with chocolate shavings, mini chocolate chips, Oreo cookie crumbs, crushed shortbread cookies, chopped nuts, or chocolate sauce drizzled on top.