Samoa Chocolate Pudding is rich and delicious! Coconut bark, caramel, chocolate pudding, and cream (and more toasted coconut!) make for a delicious dessert.
Hold on to your hats, because this elegant and unique recipe will blow your mind!
A combination of so many wonderful flavors: coconut, chocolate, cream cheese, and caramel, it’s a real sight to behold.
Classic Samoa Flavors
If you’re familiar with traditional Girl Scout Samoas (or Caramel deLites), these flavors will sound familiar.
Coconut, chocolate, and caramel combine in this layered dessert that’s further enhanced by a toasted coconut crust and a no-bake cheesecake layer.
If you’re wondering if this dessert is delicious, yes it is. Is it sweet? Yes, yes it is.
Don’t expect to try it with the caloric equivalent of coleslaw. This dessert is designed to be intense and filling. And it doesn’t apologize for that.
Samoa Chocolate Pudding Layers
While this final dessert certainly gives off some serious vibes, it comes together faster than you might think.
First layer: buttery toasted graham crackers and a coconut crust that bakes for about 10 minutes until completely crusty.
Second layer: caramel sauce. It’s perfectly fine to buy it from the store or make it at home. You’ll need about 1 cup (or a 10-ounce jar).
Third layer: chocolate pudding. Again, you can opt for the homemade option or mix it up from the box. This recipe calls for 4 cups of pudding. I use this homemade recipe, and tweak it a bit by increasing the cocoa powder to 1/4 cup and using semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Fourth layer: A simple no-bake cheesecake layer made with cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and heavy cream.
The final layer
And don’t forget the most important final layer.
More toasted coconut.
More caramel sauce.
And a good drizzle of hot chocolate sauce. Because? Because it’s absolutely the right thing to do.
Epic Dessert
Once assembled, this layered Samoas Chocolate Pudding should be chilled until the layers of pudding and cream cheese have set slightly.
To serve, you can scoop this dessert out with a ceramic spoon. Or cut it into squares and place it on a nice plate.
Small portions are fine. Remember: it’s rich. It’s decadent. It’s sweet. It’s incredibly delicious. It’s epic.
Makeup Fudge
This dessert can be made several hours (or even a day) ahead. Just keep in mind that the crust and toasted coconut layer will soften over time.
If you want or need to assemble and refrigerate the dessert overnight, top it with coconut, caramel, chocolate sauce, or chocolate sauce right before serving.
This recipe is for everyone who has been following my blog for years and has been asking for more coconut (or toasted coconut) recipes. This one’s for you! It also ticks all the boxes for chocolate lovers and cheesecake lovers.
Basically, there’s a lot to love about this dessert.
Samoa Chocolate Pudding {Coconut + Caramel}
Yield: 15 servings
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 2 hr 50 min
Ingredients
Coconut Bark:
- 1 ½ cups (150 g) graham cracker crumbs (about 10-11 rectangular crackers)
- ½ cup (43 g) toasted shredded coconut (I use sweetened coconut)
- 6 tablespoons (85 g) melted butter (I use salted butter)
- Caramel + Pudding Layers:
- 1 cup caramel sauce (about 10 oz jar)
- 4 cups chocolate pudding (homemade or from a box, see note)
Cream Cheese Layer:
- 1 8 oz (227 g) package cream cheese, softened at room temperature
- ½ cup (57 g) powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups heavy cream
Topping:
- Toasted shredded coconut (I use sweetened coconut)
- – Caramel sauce, for garnish
- – Chocolate or hot chocolate sauce for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, coconut, and melted butter until well combined. Press an even layer into the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until golden and fragrant. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
- Divide the caramel sauce evenly over the cooled crust.
- Spoon the pudding into large spoonfuls over the caramel sauce and spread to form an even layer around the edges of the baking sheet. If the pudding is too soft, refrigerate for 30 to 45 minutes before adding the cream cheese layer.
- For the cream cheese layer, in a medium bowl using a handheld electric mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar until well combined and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the vanilla. Gradually add the heavy cream while mixing and beat until the mixture thickens and holds soft peaks, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Spoon the cream cheese mixture into tablespoons over the pudding layer and spread in an even layer around the edges of the baking dish. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours to firm up.
- Just before serving, sprinkle with toasted coconut. Drizzle with caramel sauce and hot chocolate sauce. (This can be done about an hour ahead; the coconut will start to soften if added too early.)
Note:
Chocolate Pudding: I use my homemade pudding recipe for this recipe with the following changes: I increase the cocoa to 1/4 cup and use semisweet chocolate chips.
Coconut: I use sweetened shredded coconut and toast it by spreading the coconut in an even layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and baking in a 350°F oven for 8 to 12 minutes, checking and stirring frequently. This method of toasting nuts in the microwave also works well for toasting coconut.
Hot Chocolate Sauce: If the hot chocolate sauce you are using needs to be heated before you can pour it, heat it just a little so that it can be drizzled, but not so hot that the cream cheese layer melts.
