Chocolate Lush
Chocolate, cream cheese, Cool Whip, and pecans are the perfect combination in this easy to make Chocolate Lush.
Last week I posted a recipe for Strawberry Cheesecake Lush; a variation of the original Chocolate Lush – neither of which I’d made or heard of before. I fell in love with the Strawberry Cheesecake version – and many of you did, too. It’s an easy, simple {no bake!} dessert, perfect for summer potlucks.
I’ve had so many requests for the original version – which boasts a quick and easy nut crust – that I decided to make it and share it with you today. It’s a tough job, but I’m willing to make the sacrifice. 😉
To make the nut crust, you’ll simply combine 1 cup of flour, 8 tablespoons of melted butter, and 1/2 cup of pecans. Press the mixture into a 9×13 pan and bake for 15 minutes. While it’s cooling, make your layers of chocolate and creamy yumminess!
I used my Hamilton Beach 6-Speed Stand Mixer for the cream cheese layer: quite honestly, you can’t go wrong with a mixture of cream cheese, powdered sugar, and Cool Whip.
I don’t know what it’s like in your house, but it seems like the minute I turn on my mixer is the precise moment Doodle “needs” something or wants to show me something. I love that I can walk in the other room and leave it running while I check to see what’s up {usually some new karate move or a make-shift pinpall machine he’s fashioned out of cardboard and bottlecaps}.
Anyhoo, the Hamilton Beach stand mixer boasts a powerful 300-watt motor, and six speeds with a special fold setting. It’s comparable to Kitchen-Aid, but for just a fraction of the price! It includes all of the same features, including a stainless steel bowl, flat beater, whisk, and dough hook. The mixing head spins as it rotates completely in the bowl, ensuring even consistency, and with non-slip feet, your mixer won’t be shaking around all over your counter top.
After spreading on the cream cheese layer, I whipped up the chocolate pudding layer: it’s just milk, pudding mix, and Cool Whip. Super easy and light! For this, I used my Hamilton Beach SoftScrape Hand Mixer – with this mixer, I’m able to mix quickly and without having to constantly stop to scrape the bowl {huge pet peeve}.
While I love, love, love stand mixers, a hand mixer is a super important small kitchen appliance to have. I love using my hand mixer when I just need to mix something up quickly – less fuss, hassle, and clean up! This mixer comes with soft scrape beaters – these specially coated stainless steel beaters won’t scratch your bowls or nonstick pots, and they mix your ingredients thoroughly to reduce manual scraping with a spatula.
The hand mixer also comes with a wire whisk, as well as regular beaters. I have to admit, one of my favorite things about this mixer is that it comes with its own little storage container for the beaters and whisk.
Top your dessert with mini-chocolate chips {or more chopped pecans} and you’re good to go!
I bribed Doodle with a square of this Chocolate Lush by serving as my plate holder, above. When it comes to desserts, he often eats just a few bites {why can’t that be me??}, but in this case, he ate the whole darn serving! So this was a definite winner of a dessert at my house.
- 1 cup flour
- 8 tablespoons butter, melted
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- 8 ounces softened cream cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 (16-ounce) container Cool Whip, divided
- 2 packages (3.4 ounce each) instant chocolate pudding mix
- 3 cups milk
- 1 cup mini-chocolate chips (or chopped pecans), for topping
- Melt butter in a medium microwave safe bowl. Stir in 1 cup flour and ½ cup chopped pecans. Press the mixture into a 9x13 pan and bake at 350 F for 15 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Allow to cool completely
- Next, beat together 1 cup of powdered sugar, the cream cheese, and 1 cup of Cool Whip. Spread over your cooled crust.
- For the next layer, mix together the pudding mix, milk, and another 1 cup of Cool Whip. Spread over the cream cheese layer.
- Spread the remaining Cool Whip on top and sprinkle on mini-chocolate chips or nuts.
- Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
Hamilton Beach provided me with a stand mixer and a hand mixer to facilitate my review. All opinions are my own.
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Woahhhh This looks amazing, Ashley! I would never be satisfied with just a few bites. Give me the pan, please! 🙂
One of my favorites! Thanks for sharing!
Yep, I’m pretty sure I need this in my life stat! pinned 🙂
YUM! I have never heard of a chocolate lush before but after seeing those photos – I really really want one!
My moms makes this when we go home to visit. She calls it 4 Layer dessert9 Usually spreads small broke up pecans on top and yes it is lush to eat.
Looks a smooth and easy dessert. Can’t EVER go wrong with chocolate!
This made me tear up a little. My mom made this for every family gathering because it was always demanded. It was the first dessert cut into, and the first one demolished. We call it Four Layer Dessert. She passed away almost 7 yrs ago and whenever I make it, I think back to all the memories I have of helping her as a kid. I think I’m going to make this this weekend for my family.
This looks amazing, i love this chocolate, cream cheese !!!
Bye
Manuella
Cream cheese and chocolate? Sold! Pinned and shared on FB Ashley!
Hello ! can you use a different crust ? I wear dentures and can not chew nuts or hard candy
I made it this weekend with a store bought graham cracker crust and everyone loved it.
In our part of town, we call it Better Than Sex Dessert 😉
My mom makes it all the time, it never lasts long!
I have been making this for 30 years,we call it chocolate delight
I’ve been making this recipe for over 30 years also! I got the recipe from my sister-in-law who had been making it for many years before that. It was always my oldest son’s birthday cake since his birthday is in July. He will still ask for it today even though he is over 30…lol. We called it “Icebox Cake”
I learned about a version of this dessert from my mother-in-law more than 30 years ago, and we call it “Cherry Delight”. It is made with a graham cracker crust, the cream cheese/powdered sugar/Cool Whip layer, and topped with a can (or two, if you wish
of cherry pie filling. We’ve also made it with other pie fillings or omitted them and used pudding and topped it with Cool Whip. We just change the name according to the ingredients: “________Delight”!
this was awesome. just the right amount of sweet, could have a little more coolwhip on hand to have enough for topping.
Looks delicious!
My grandmother use to make this same dessert and called it Four Layer Delight hers was made with the pudding, cool whip ect. I am glad I found this a few I have found did not have the same crust and yours and that is the find of crust she had.. Thanks for posting
I followed your recipe exactly and the pudding layer wont congeal… is 3 cups of milk too much? or am i supposed to make the pudding separately before blending in the cool whip?
Kari – just prepare as instructed. The pudding will firm slightly as it’s refrigerated.
Believe it or not, my high school cafeteria used to make this! Ahh, those were happy days!
Am I missing something with the Cool Whip measurements? 1 cup = 8 oz, so 1 cup in the cream cheese layer and 1 cup with the pudding is the full 16 oz container, leaving nothing for the 3rd layer that goes on top of the pudding?
1 cup = 8 fluid ounces. Cool Whip is not a liquid. Measure it out and you will have enough for the recipe.
i made this this afternoon and it’s been in the fridge for over three hours!! Chocolate layer still like soup! Followed the directions using 2 pkgs pudding and three cups milk… Ready to pour it down the drain and start over tomorrow! Do you fold in the cool whip AFTER THE PUDDING STARTS TO THICKEN AS YOU BEAT IT???
Wendy, when I make the instant pudding I use a wire whisk or a wooden spoon and STIR the milk in not beat rather briskly for 2 minutes then I fold in the cool whip. 🙂
My family makes a pumpkin version of this at holidaytime. Instead of using chocolate pudding, we use two packs of vanilla, and beat in a can of pumpkin and some spices. sometimes we will skip the cool whip on the top and use real whipped cream, too. It is amazing
There is not enough cool whip left to spread on top. What a pain, going back to the store and have to wait for it to thaw!!!!!
There is enough cool whip, don’t measure the cool whip as you would a liquid measuring cup being 8 ounces and you have a 16 oz tub of cool whip so your thinking you have only 2 cups and you end up using half the container! You don’t measure it the same way. I think I read on the 8 oz tub of cool whip you actually get 3 cups out of that container. So just measure the cool whip by the cup,literately filling your measuring cup with cool whip not by the equivalent to the ounces in the container and you will have enough and no need to go back to the store. I believe this is why people are saying theirs is turning out runny and won’t set!!
When I make this I cream together the cream cheese and powdered sugar and then fold in the cool whip ( it makes a difference ) . I do not put cool whip on the pudding layer. So I use half of the cool whip in the cream cheese mixture and half on top. Works every time and my family loves it too. Yum…
I love all the different names for this dessert. We have called the chocolate version “Sex in the Pan” for several years. We also like a pistachio version (with a little almond extract for a little boost) and have called it “Slop” (because my Mother jokingly told us we were having slop for dessert one night for dinner) for more that 35 years.
Made this recipe and it was delicious, would make again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Chris!
Your picture is lovely. I added a 1/3 of a jar of crunchy peanut butter to the cream cheese layer. OMGoodness, yes! As soon as I mixed up the pudding layer, I knew it wouldn’t set. Too runny, even after I folded in the Cool Whip. Maybe b/c it’s summer in FL? LOL. Before assembling, I took 2/3 of the pudding mixture from the recipe, stirred in another cup of cool whip, and popped the finished dessert in the freezer to set. I’m sure the layers are light enough to eat frozen, or slightly thawed.
Now, I want to just double the cream cheese layer, beating in a cup of peanut butter, and dump that into a store bought Oreo crust for a no bake peanut cheesecake! My hubby will love! He’s a huge peanut butter fan!
Thank you so much for the recipe and inspiration!