Chocolate Cream Pie “Garden Cups”

Spring has sprung?  Um, I’m not so sure about that!  We’ve had snow falling the past few days here in Boston, but we were so lucky this winter that there is not a single thing to complain about!  And warm weather is on its way back so until then, I’m just going to focus all my attention on these chocolate cream pie “garden cups.”  My favorite homemade chocolate pudding, layered with fresh whipped cream and crushed Oreo cookies in little mason jars – hello!  And seriously, how cute are the little strawberry carrots?

Decadent and adorable – I can’t even handle it!

I remember when I was little and I thought pudding came from a box – can you imagine little Buttercream Blondie skipping around the house with the box of pudding?  It happened quite often – I really loved dessert!  I used to love to help make it and my mom always used these fancy glasses and would leave just enough room at the top for some whipped cream.  Reddi Whip all the way!

Fast forward to today and we are ditching the box for my favorite homemade chocolate pudding.  This recipe is so easy to make, has 2 kinds of chocolate, and is about a million times better than the boxed stuff!  If I had only known then…

But it gets even better!

This chocolate cream pie “garden cup” recipe came about when my friends at Farberware asked me to create a dessert for Earth Day that both kids and adults could enjoy.  It had to be a dessert that could be made on the stove top – no turning on the oven for Earth Day, and I wanted it to be something kids could really “dig” into!  See where I’m going with this?

Off the bat, I think homemade chocolate pudding is a win no matter what age you are and if you’re a little intimidated about making it from scratch, have no fear!  It really is quite simple and the whole trick is to whisk it continuously the entire time.  Seriously, keep whisking, you’re earning that pudding!  Once you take a spoon from the pot, you’ll wonder why you didn’t break up with the box a long time ago.

Once the pudding is completely cooled, you’ll layer it with homemade whipped cream and crushed Oreo cookies to create the “dirt” for our little garden cups!  But the most adorable part of this whole production is definitely the chocolate covered strawberry “carrots!”  To make the carrots, you want to get strawberries with really pretty, leafy green stems so they look good planted!  Then you just dip them in orange candy melts from the craft store and ta-da, we have a little garden!

This is such a great one for kids, but I gotta say, I think it’s just as great for adults 🙂  I love assembling them in little mason jars, but you can also do one big trifle if you prefer.  Get the spoons ready!  And if you’re hosting a fancy dinner party, serve them in wine glasses and ditch the “carrots” in favor of some grated chocolate, cocoa nibs or garnish with a chocolate cookie.  Any way you serve this one is a win!

Thanks so much for reading and make sure to head over to Farberware to grab the recipe!  Happy baking!

What are some of your favorite desserts from childhood?  Are there any you still make, or would like to learn how to make from scratch?  Tell me everything!

Disclosure: I am in a working relationship with Farberware and this recipe was developed for Farberware Cookware.  Thank you for your continued support.