The 1980s saw the rise of a new era of American dessert culture. It was a time when the traditional confections of the past were being challenged by new ideas and flavors. Desserts were no longer only about candy and sugar, but about innovation and creativity. The 1980s brought us uniquely-flavored ice cream sandwiches, crazy milkshakes, and chocolate covered pretzels that would make your jaw drop–in a good and a bad way!
Here are some of the dessert dishes that were popular in the 1980s:
Dirt Cups
Dirt cups are a super easy recipe for making a chocolate pudding treat. They are perfect for parties or any other time you want a fun and kid-friendly dessert. It’s an easy 10-minute recipe, made from only 5 ingredients. Even better: it doesn’t require baking! All we need is pudding mix, milk, cool whip, oreos, and gummy worms.
When the milk is in a large bowl, sprinkle the pudding mix on top of the milk and stir it to combine. Let the pudding sit for five minutes, then gently fold the whipped mixture to combine it to the pudding mix and ensure that the top is airy and fluffy.
Pour the chocolate pudding into cups or glasses. Top each one with the crushed cookies. Then insert four small gummy worms in each of the cups. Now you have the quintessential dirt cup treat, mimicking a worm coming out of the dirt.
Classic Tiramisu
Tiramisu is a classic Italian dessert that is popular all over the world. It’s a coffee-flavored cake made with whipped cream and espresso soaked ladyfingers. The combination of the sweet coffee, creamy whipped cream, and rich mascarpone cheese has made tiramisu one of the most beloved desserts in history.
Although tiramisu is very popular nowadays, it didn’t earn a proper introduction into America’s restaurant world until the 1980s.
Retro Poke Cake
During the 70s & 80s, everyone at every potluck and family get-together brought a dish of this jell-o dessert. Poke cakes are famous for the patterns that you can see when you cut through them. The mix of the Jell-O gel adds a moisty texture and a fruity taste to the mix.
Back then, the most common jell-o poke cakes were a mix of white cake mix and some sort of flavor of jell-o. Nowadays, though, there is a wide variety of flavors of Jell-O Poke Cake. You can also make them with chocolate or natural berries.
Ice Cream Cake
Ice cream cakes are a dessert that are very popular among kids today. They make a perfect choice for any birthday party or special occasion because they’re easy to make and they taste delicious.
The popularity of ice cream cakes in the 80s and 90s was caused by a bombardment of TV ads from companies like Baskin-Robbins, Friendly’s, and Carvel.
Ice cream cake is just as it sounds: a cake made with ice cream and whipped topping, frosted with chocolate. The frosting is usually either strawberry or vanilla. This dessert is enough to satisfy any sweet tooth!
