Better than Robert Redford Part 2

Alrighty, today it’s part two of our Robert Redford dessert.

So when we met last, we had made the crust and puddings. Today we start off by making the cream cheese layer. Beat one brick of cream cheese (8 ounces) along with 1 cup of icing sugar. Whip up until smooth. Fold in about 2 cups of Cool Whip (that’s half of a 500ml container).

Spread this cream cheese mixture over the baked and cooled crust.

Now give the vanilla pudding a stir and spread that over the cream cheese layer.

After that, stir the chocolate pudding and spread that over the vanilla pudding layer.

If you plan on eating this right away you can do the final layer and topping now, if not, you can wait until you are ready to eat it. I made this over three days so I waited.

When you are ready, spread a nice thick layer of Cool Whip over the top. The remaining container from the cream cheese filling wasn’t quite enough so I actually used almost half of another 500ml container.

Finally use a vegetable peeler and peel a block of semi sweet chocolate. I used Bakers squares. Cut and serve. This was delicious. People had seconds and even thirds! Divine. 

Better than Robert Redford Cake

I bet you are intrigued by the title. Before we get to that, Happy October. September flew by as has all these months and weeks, haha.

This week we’re trying a new recipe. My mom found it in her recipe box. She first made this about 20 years ago and it is a recipe of my grandmother. We are making Better than Robert Redford cake. This cake involves pudding, chocolate, and whipped cream. It also has five layers of goodness.

I’m making this cake a little differently. It does take a little while as there are a few steps so I started yesterday and will show you what I have so far and then share with you the rest and the finished product next week. I want to have the cake ready for Friday so two days in advance is pretty good for timing.

So here we go…

For the crust part of the cake you will need…

1 cup of flour

1 cup of crumbled graham wafer crumbs or chopped walnuts (your choice; we have a nut allergy)

½ cup of melted butter

Mix all these things together and then press in a buttered 13x9 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

                                                         

Allow to cool and cover before refrigerating.

I also did the pudding in advance. It is instant pudding that you have to use but I always worry about things setting.

So you’re not going to quite follow the box instructions.

Make the puddings in two plastic sealable containers.

                                                      

For the vanilla, use two of the big 153 gram boxes and add two cups of milk. Whisk for two minutes then put in the fridge.

                                   

                                             

The chocolate pudding comes in a 170 gram box so use two of those and add the same amount of milk and whisk and put that in the fridge as well.

                                              

That’s part one. Come back next week to see the finished product. 

Strawberry Cheescake

In keeping with the mini cheese cake theme, we are sharing with you a light and fluffy strawberry cheese cake. This is seriously yummy; it’s like that lemon one, addictive and something that you’ll want to eat for breakfast!

We doubled the recipe because we fed more people and I also wanted to have some leftovers. You can make this in two pie plates or in a larger dish like a Pyrex glass dish. We used a 9x13 Pyrex dish.

This cake takes a bit more work/time to make so you want to make sure you start it earlier on in the day if you are making it for dessert.

Start by pouring 2 packages (85g each) of strawberry Jell-O to a glass bowl. Then add 2 cups of cold water and 2 cups of boiling hot water to the bowl and mix well. Put it in the fridge but be sure to watch it as you only want it half way set not fully set.

Now for the crust. This crust again is similar to your typical cheese cake crust. We crushed Graham wafers to make 4 cups of crumbs then added 1 cup of icing sugar along with 1 cup of melted butter.

Press into the dish and bake for 5-8 minutes at 350 degrees. We baked it for the longer time. Cool until you’re ready to make the filling.  

While the Jell-O is setting, whip up 500 ml of whipping cream until stiff. Set aside.

When the Jell-O looks half set, mix 2 packages (250g each) of cream cheese together and then add 2 cups of icing sugar and 2 tsp. of vanilla. Mix until the lumps are gone.

Now slowly add the half set Jell-O to the cream cheese mix.

Once the Jell-O is mixed into the cream cheese mix, then fold in the whipped cream until fully incorporated.

Pour over the crust and put in the fridge for at least 3 hours.

Now enjoy!