That Dessert

My late grandmother used to make a dessert she called Chocolate Torte. It goes by many names: Chocolate Sin, Chocolate Delight, but they all have in common a pecan shortbread crust, a cream cheese-C%l Whip layer, and a layer of chocolate pudding. I loved it!

Louisiana Man hates pecans, and Buttercup is SEVERELY allergic (and my parents live in a pecan grove - yikes!), so I haven't made that dessert in years!

There is another popular C%l Whip-pudding dessert that is layered with graham crackers. I decided to combine the two, and I want to share it with you. I have made 4 in the past....4 weeks? maybe 3 weeks?...ahem. We like it. We really like it. We refer to it, casually, as That Dessert.

And did I mention I doubled the layers? ;)

Brace yourselves!

1 box chocolate graham crackers
2 boxes 1/3 reduced cream cheese (it makes me feel a tiny bit better to uses reduced)
1 8 oz tub C%l Whip (by all means whip the cream yourself if you are inclined)
1 cup powdered sugar (this is a double layer remember!)
chocolate pudding made with 4 cups of milk (use your recipe or boxed, or mine)

Here is the chocolate pudding recipe we use. It is not the worst for you, nor is it meant to be diet-friendly. You have been warned.

This is doubled. I make it single for just pudding, or make it single with 1 3/4 c milk instead of 2 and pour it in a graham cracker pie crust.

1 1/2 c sugar
2/3 c cocoa powder
4 Tbs cornstarch
4 Tbs All-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
 4 c milk (I use 2% because my girls will not drink skim)
4 egg yolks (I cook the whites in the microwave, and feed them to the dog and cats)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 single serve of instant coffee (I used Folgers classic decaf)

Combine all pudding ingredients EXCEPT vanilla and instant coffee. Heat over medium heat. ***Medium! It will burn, and the whole thing will taste like burned milk, and you will spend the afternoon scraping burned pudding off the bottom of the pot - ask me how I know.***

 So it will take awhile, and you will be stirring with a whisk until you think your arm will fall off. You will begin to think you are no longer capable of stirring when you realize - lo and behold! - the pudding is thickening!! I do not let it boil - that is the quickest way to pudding burned on the bottom of the pot.

Stir in vanilla and instant coffee (add another packet if you want a stronger coffee flavor), and let it cool.

Then  combine the C%l Whip and powdered sugar and cream cheese.

Lay the graham crackers in a layer on the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Spread 1/2 C%l Whip-cream cheese mixture over crackers. It will not be easy. I drop spoonfuls all over then gently spread them out with an offset knife.



Layer 1/2 the COOLED pudding.

Another layer of Graham Crackers, C%l Whip-cream cheese, pudding and you are finished! Let chill. The graham crackers will soften and be very cake-y.


*I have an extra layer of C%l Whip because someone bought a 16-oz tub. I used the whole thing, and it was way too much! Really!

I hope you enjoy it, and please share any variations or tweaks!