Last updated on May 31st, 2018 at 08:41 am
Sex in a Pan – crazy name for a dessert, but it’s one of the best desserts you’ll ever have, it’s mostly a pudding dessert with a crunchy pecan bottom crust.
Almost 5 years ago I shared this amazing dessert with you and you guys loved it! It’s one of my most popular recipes on Jo Cooks and there’s a reason for that. It’s incredible, it’s decadent and luscious. So here we are again and I thought it’s the perfect time to share this with you again with some updated pictures and a video. With Valentine’s day only a couple days away, I think this dessert will be spot on for that special day with a name like sex in a pan.
The name itself is hilarious for a dessert, and hundreds of you have commented on here telling me all the other names that this pudding dessert goes by. I think it’s called sex in a pan because it’s six layers and from six layers in a pan it got it’s sex in a pan.
I remember a long time ago, before I was married, we’re talking almost 20 years ago, when I used to live on my own, one weekend my friend came over and made this dessert for me. I had no idea what it was, but she promised me I was going to love it so we made it. We did not come up with the name, that is the name that it was known to her and her mom had been making it for her for as long as she could remember. I think this dessert has really been around for decades but it still popular, not because of its name but because it really is incredible.
That first day we made this dessert I fell in love with it, I had never had anything like it before. It was so easy to make and so good. The bottom layer is the crust made with pecans, flour and butter, the next layer is a layer of cream cheese sweetened with powdered sugar and made fluffier with whipped cream. Then you have a layer of chocolate pudding, then another layer of vanilla pudding and top it off with whipping cream and then lastly you sprinkle it with chocolate. Does that not sound good?
And don’t worry about it looking perfect with perfect layers, this dessert is not about that. It will look sloppy with all the pudding and whipped cream layers. Nobody will care about how it looks like once they take a bite. It really is love at first bite.
I just had to share this wonderful dessert with you again because every single time I make it people fall in love with it and so many of them tell me it’s the best dessert they’ve ever had. Trust me, that’s the best compliment you can get for such a simple dessert. Have you guys had this before? Isn’t it to die for?
Got a Sweet Tooth? How about these insanely delicious desserts?
- Better Than Sex Cake
- Tres Leches Cake
- Easy Tiramisu
- Apple Pie Cake
- No Bake Banana Pudding Dessert
- Luscious Lemon Pudding
If you guys love this recipe, and most importantly make it yourselves, please let us know. Take a picture and tag it #jocooks on Instagram so we can see it. I always love to see what you guys come up with!
- 1 cup pecans chopped
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup icing sugar use 1/2 cup for less sweetness
- 1 cup cool whip or whipped cream
- 5.1 oz instant vanilla pudding
- 2 cups milk
- 5.1 oz instant chocolate pudding
- 2 cups milk
- 2 cups cool whip or whipped cream
- shaved chocolate optional
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
- Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a mixer mix all the crust ingredients together and press the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake it for about 20 minutes.
Prepare the vanilla pudding as per the instructions on the package. As noted I used 2 cups of milk instead of the 3 cups on the package instructions to get a firmer pudding.
Prepare the chocolate pudding as per the instructions on the package. As noted I used 2 cups of milk instead of the 3 cups on the package instructions to get a firmer pudding.
- In a mixer add the cream cheese, powdered sugar and the cup of whipped cream. Mix until light and fluffy.
Let the crust cool. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the crust evenly. Spread the vanilla pudding over the cream cheese layer, then the chocolate pudding. Spread the whipped cream as the last layer then top with shaved chocolate if preferred.
Refrigerate for a couple hours until it sets before serving.
Recipe Video
I used 2 cups of milk for my pudding, because I wanted a firmer pudding for the layers here, but feel free to use 3 cups of milk just as the instructions say.
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
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Originally Shared March 2012:
This is an amazing dessert! I always get great compliments when I make it. I make it whenever lots of people will be present for a gathering, like church events, and potlucks. This is my favorite go to dessert. I sent some with my husband to work and everyone loved it. It was gone within 10 minutes! Do yourself a favor & try it out! I use half the powdered sugar & I also use Cup 4 Cup to make it gluten free. No one even notices the difference, it’s just a delicious dessert!
So let me give you my full experience with Sex in a Pan. The company I work for was having a dessert competition and I wanted something that had great reviews, looked delicious, was not so hard to make and would hold up well overnight and through an hour commute. To me this was a winner.. I was making it for the first time ever and heave never had a dessert like this before so I was totally taking a chance. I made one for my Hubby and one for the competition so he wouldn’t feel left out. Well after I made both of them me and my Hubby got to preview the dessert. Well we were both not sure how we felt about it.. We did not know if we loved it or hated it because we are simpletons when it comes to desserts. This was like a pecan pie, cheesecake, chocolate cream pie and creme brule had a baby. Our taste buds were totally confused!! We did not know if we liked it at all, I was having doubts about this desserts and did not think I was going to win the contest… Well guess what! I won first place and the company I work for gave me a paid day off as my prize!! I will have to tell you something I did notice.. This dessert is BETTER the next day for sure. When you first make it the crust is crunchy and has not mellowed out. The next day it had this delicious taste and texture much different then it is the first day. I think the cheesecake layer does something fabulous to the crust. Anyhow, the day after I decided that I LOVED the dessert LOL!! I just wanted to say thank you for giving me this wonderful recipe and allowing me to win this dessert competition!! Let me tell you I was up against so many desserts and wonderful cooks here at my office!! This dessert is truly a winner (The day after it has been made) 🙂 !!!
Yes I completely agree, the crust gets a beautiful rich and soft texture after it’s been hanging out for a bit. What a wonderful story, thank you so much for sharing!
Make mine with peanut crust and put peanut butter in pudding.
I just want to say this brings back memories over 37 years… My mom used to call this “next best thing to Bury Reynolds”… Funny story…I made this in home economics… when there was such a thing…lol….thanks for memory. Now I have to try again..I truly miss it.
I love this dessert! I have been making this for over 35 years. My family loves it and I sure do. The best!
Love this recipe. Super easy to make. Just make sure you complete it cool the base. Then start your puddings and cream cheese mixer. You’ll need 3 separate bowls ( of course). I made a nut free one for my granddaughter using Bear Paws on the bottom. Big hit! Just a suggestion.
Oh wow..this looks so tempting..cant wait to try this..
I made this receipe, i doubled the puddings, and tripled the cool whip,i froze it for two days so i would have more time on the day of family picnic, it was delicious, but next time i would make the cream cheese layer thicker as well, and i would find a different vanilla pudding, just don’t care much for the jello pudding.Was certainly a big hit with the kids.
Awesome dessert will make it over and over and over again 😁 I got a lot of compliments from people and who want the receipt!!!!!!😁😁😁
I have made this pie for over 20 years as and take out and at family gatherings. Everyone had always raved about how great it is.. I did used your suggestion and only use 2 cups of milk liked the pie better. Thanks for the tip. We call my pie sin pie. Lol. Thanks again for your recipe and I give it a 10+ on ease, taste and ingredient price, also take a short time to make.
I use the cook and serve pudding by jello much better than instant pudding! Big difference! My favorite Dessert!
I saw this recipe on Face Book and tried it. That person called it “Better than Robert Redford Dessert”. Thought that was funny. The only thing different was the two instant puddings were mixed together as one layer. I think the two different layers make it more interesting. It is a wonderful dessert. I have a great granddaughter who is very allergic to eggs and many times has to pass on dessert or her Mother makes her a special eggless cake. This was great because she got to eat dessert with all the other children at our family gathering.
Can I make cooked pudding.. refridgerate and then once thickend slightly use it in this recipe?? We have issues with the colors in the instand vanilla and it just doesn’t taste as well as the cooked. Please respond soon since I do want to make this in the next week or so. Or anyone that has tried using cooked in a recipe that calls for instant.
Sure you can!
Wondering if I can substitue pretzels for pecans chopped. It’s the closest thing I can think of for texture.
Can you make this a couple days before Ana it still be good when serves?
I would leave this 1-2 days in the fridge before serving.
My family has been making this for years and the recipe was given to us by a family friend. We have always called it, “Mississippi Mud Pie”. We love it! It’s delicious!
My family loves this dessert. I make it once a week during the summer.
This looks amazingly delicious
We changed the name to Sin in a Tin. Just sounds a little better. 😂😂😂😂😂