Carolyn J. Braden • 3 Minute Read
How to Make Unicorn Pudding I Easy Dessert Recipe
My unicorn pudding is something I thought up after being inspired by unicorns, of course. 2023 and early 2024 seemed to have me focused on mermaid things, and now it’s unicorns.
Me, Carolyn, with my fun unicorn pudding recipe creation
This unicorn pudding recipe comes together very quickly, can be altered to your tastes and you can also alter the theme as it also reminded me a bit of Superman ice cream. If you have someone in your life that likes colorful sweets, this is an easy dessert recipe to try. Read on to learn how to make unicorn pudding.
Up close look at the unicorn pudding
This recipe for unicorn pudding is an adaptation of my Strawberry Chocolate Trifle recipe. It’s a pudding dessert that my parents made when I was a kid and I took some time in 2023 to remember how to make it. See the video for that trifle dessert in the video below or via my YouTube channel @carolynjbraden:
When making this pudding, I thought if you removed the teal pudding and replaced it with yellow, you could call it “Superman” pudding, as it’d look similar to Superman ice cream. Maybe I need to make a version of that too. Then you could add Superman themed décor to it like these bright yellow, red and blue sprinkles from Amazon.
The beautiful layers of unicorn pudding
While creating this, I also remembered Smurf ice cream, which is a blueberry soft serve ice cream served at Kings Island in Cincinnati, Ohio and at some local ice creameries there. It’s delicious!
While my pudding doesn’t taste like blueberry, you could add blueberries to it to add that flavor. I loved blue colored candy and desserts as a kid, and I’m sure you may know a kid in your life that likes it too and would love my colorful pudding as a birthday treat or just anytime!
A great unicorn dessert alternative to cake
To complete my design after adding colorful sprinkles, I added pink, white and gold cake balls that I had left over from my niece and my mom’s milestone birthday cake. See that pink cake in this article on my website. If you like this dessert in the unicorn theme, you could also add some unicorn cake toppers like the following:
Unicorn horn and ears cake topper (Amazon.com)
Magic Unicorn and Rainbow cake topper set (Amazon.com)
Wilton Edible Unicorn Horn set (Walmart.com)
I love Sprinkle Pop sprinkle sets
What I love about this recipe other than the delicious taste and colors is that it is actually QUICK and EASY. So many desserts I’ve tried making have claimed to be quick and easy, but then they are not. This unicorn pudding requires no cooking and comes together fast. It serves a lot, making it a great choice for large gatherings of people. You may even want to create a second one, as it will go fast once people start eating it. It’s that good.
You can optionally add fruit to this recipe to add a bit of tang, as it’s really, really sweet. I like adding strawberries. Banana slices instead of strawberries and chocolate chips would turn this into a delicious banana pudding! Or you could try adding blueberries. Mango and kiwi would make it very tropical.
Click the button below for my free PDF printable recipe card!
Time to Put This Recipe Creation Together: < 20 minutes
Suggested kitchen tools: standing mixer or hand mixer, large mixing bowl, mixing bowl set (for mixing the colors), trifle bowl, spatulas, knife or strawberry slicing tool
Servings: 10-15
Quick Unicorn Pudding Recipe:
14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
9 oz. box of vanilla wafers
1-pint heavy whipping cream
3.5 oz. box of instant vanilla pudding
Gel food coloring (I used Americolor Electric Pink gel food coloring, Americolor Teal gel food coloring and Americolor Electric Blue gel food coloring. Get them in this set on Amazon or at your local cake supply/hobby stores. Other gel food color brands will work too. Fun fact: when spooning this out into bowls, the colors will mix a bit and you’ll see PURPLE pudding too…like a magical color changing unicorn!).
The sprinkle sets I used: Mermaid Glam by Sprinkle Pop (Amazon.com) and Unicorn Sprinkles Mix by Sprinkle Pop (Amazon.com)
Optional: pink and gold ball cake topper set (Amazon.com)
Optional: 16 oz. strawberries, stem removed and sliced (or any fruit)
Directions:
If using strawberries or any fruit, rinse and slice or dice them, making sure to remove the green stem first. Set aside.
Start with the heavy whipping cream
Place the heavy whipping cream into a large mixing bowl.
The whipping cream will thicken within 5 minutes of high speed whipping
Whip (using a stand mixer or a hand mixer) on high speed for 5 minutes, or until it is thick and peaks form.
Add in the instant pudding as is…in it’s dry form
Gently fold in the box of instant pudding (do not make it into pudding first….only add the mix to the whipping cream), gently stirring until combined.
Adding the sweetened condensed milk
Add the can of sweetened condensed milk.
Use the mixer to combine it with the whipping cream and pudding mixture on a low setting until it is smooth.
Mixing the pudding colors
Evenly divide the pudding into three separate bowls or containers and add a few drops of one food coloring to one and stir until it’s the color you want.
The three unicorn pudding colors were inspired by the sprinkle sets
Repeat until you have your three pudding in the colors.. My pudding colors intensified overnight, so a little goes a long way!
Place a layer of the first pudding mixture color into the bottom of the trifle bowl. I started with blue.
Top with a single layer of vanilla wafers, chocolate chips (and fruit if using).
The first layers of pudding
Spoon another layer of a different colored pudding mixture on top (I added pink next) and use a spatula to smooth it out flat.
Add another layer of vanilla wafers, strawberry slices (optional) and chocolate chips.
The layers of unicorn pudding
Spoon on the last color pudding (teal).
The complete unicorn pudding
Top with sprinkles and the cake topper if using.
I love the colors of this unicorn pudding!
Keep it covered in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve!
I added some strawberries after making my pudding. See the purple swirls in the trifle bowl?! It’s magically colored!
Quick tip: this is best when kept in the fridge overnight and eaten the next day. The pudding softens the vanilla wafers to be almost cake-like, the strawberry or fruit slices and chocolate chips give the pudding a delicious flavor. It also tastes great eaten right away too though.
The ball cake toppers adding a little something extra that I felt it needed
Tips and Tricks:
Make individual servings of this by spooning out smaller amounts of the layers into small glass containers like these on Amazon.com
You can alter this recipe with adding different fruits or cookies. Banana slices instead of strawberries and chocolate chips would turn this into a delicious banana pudding!
You can try dark chocolate chips or white chocolate chips for a new flavor twist too!
This would make a great crowd dessert for special events like weddings, birthdays, holiday events and more!
If you loved this article, we know you’ll love this one too: 18 Unbelievably Easy 3 Ingredient Dessert Recipes
Carolyn J. (C.J.) Braden is the owner of Carolyn’s Blooming Creations is a regular contributor and editor for CBC. She has been featured in numerous media publications such as InStyle Magazine, on HGTV, on Bustle.com, and more. She is the author of the books Georgia McMasters in Amethyst Lake Cemetery, How To Be Yourself: 3 Ways To Help You Being You, and the illustrator for the children’s book Bridging Connections. She is a former classroom teacher that now dedicates her life to educating others on how to live their most healthy, creative and happy life. Learn more about her visiting our About Us page.