Robert Redford Dessert {My Way}
This layered pudding Robert Redford dessert is a classically great dessert to have in your recipe base. It is always a crowd pleaser.
Raise your hand if your are not familiar with this layered pudding dessert?
It is one popular delicacy, let me tell you, which I can attest to since we ate it all the time growing up.
My mother was quite the layered-pudding-dessert-connoisseur. And she’ll love me for saying that (hi, mom!).
I had kind of forgotten about this beauty of a treat until Lindsay a reader and fellow blogger emailed me pictures of a version she had made (called Sadie’s Dessert) and let me know she had used the homemade pudding recipes with stellar success.
Apparently homemade pudding has a lovely, thick, creamy consistency which makes slicing this dessert quite dreamy compared to the boxed pudding that can remain a bit runny.
So I decided it was time to resurrect the good ol’ Robert Redford dessert for my family to enjoy. It goes by many a name but Robert Redford Dessert is how I know it even though I have no idea the why’s and wherefore’s of the name.
I made a few modifications of my own – keeping the pudding strictly chocolate (instead of mixing in or alternating layers of vanilla pudding) and using sweetened whipped cream instead of cool whip.
I’d say, judging by the family’s exclamations of joy, it went over just as well as if Robert Redford would have walked into our kitchen himself. Ok, actually, the dessert went over even better since my kids have no idea who the dickens Robert Redford is and would be much more impressed with a visit from the Kratt brothers (Wild Kratts on PBS anyone?) or R2D2.
Making the pudding ahead of time, as well as the other components, makes this dessert a breeze, and I’m telling you, it’s just a classically great dessert to have in your recipe base.
The chocolate curls, while not necessary, make an otherwise down-home pudding dessert seem a bit more gourmet. That is until one of your children, who shall remain nameless in my family, use one or four of them as missiles to shoot at their brothers. Definitely not gourmet. Welcome to my world.
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Robert Redford Dessert {My Way}
Ingredients
Crust:
- ½ cup (113 g) butter, cut into 8 pieces
- 1 cup (142 g) flour
- 1 cup finely chopped or blended chopped pecans or walnuts
Cream Cheese Layer:
- 1 ½ cups (171 g) powdered sugar
- 12 ounces (340 g) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream + 1/4 cup powdered sugar
Pudding Layer:
- 4 cups homemade chocolate pudding
Extra:
- Reserved whipped cream and chocolate curls for garnish
Instructions
- For the crust, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the flour in a medium bowl and cut in the butter with a pastry blender or fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the chopped nuts. Press the crust into a 9X13-inch aluminum or glass pan and bake for 8-10 minutes until set. Remove the pan to a wire rack and let it cool completely before proceeding.
- For the cream cheese layer, in a medium bowl, combine the heavy whipping cream and 1/4 cup powdered sugar and whip at high speed until stiff peaks form. In another large bowl, whip together the cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy. Fold in about 3/4 of the sweetened whipped cream and mix until blended, taking care to mix gently so as not to deflate the whipped cream. Set aside both the cream cheese mixture and the remaining sweetened whipped cream.
- To assemble, spread the whipped cream cheese mixture over the cooled crust. Top the cream cheese layer with the chocolate pudding, spreading all the way to the edges of the pan. Top with the remaining sweetened whipped cream. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Cut into slices and top with chocolate curls or shaved chocolate, if desired.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: inspired by the recipe my mom made all the while growing up combined with Sadie’s Dessert, sent to me by Lindsay (thanks!)
Hi,
My husband’s mom who is from Iowa used to make this all of the time, but called it Black and White smoothies. she used box pudding and cool whip, no nuts in the crust.
My son (30 years old) asked me to make this for him for his birthday. I am going to upgrade to your recipe and see what he thinks. I am calling it Black & White Smotthies 2.0. I will let you know how it turns out.
Thanks for the upgrade!
I’m a lifelong resident of Iowa and grew up eating this dessert. It was always made with butterscotch pudding and I assumed the name was because the pudding was the same color as Robert Redford’s hair. I scanned the comments and didn’t find that anywhere, but I didn’t read ALL of them. I’m sticking with my story!
Love your cookbook and also gave one as a gift. Winner!
This pie was really good, especially the next day. Highly recommend making it the day before!
When I made this last time I couldn’t decide which way to go with the crust so I did 1 1/2 crust. I also didn’t have enough pecans (poor planning on my part) so I used toffee bits – this was a wonderful mistake! Shortbread style crust with a little toffee taste with all the pudding goodness – yum! Making this again today for a barbecue!!! Great recipe.
hi Mel! Just made the crust and pudding, pudding is in the fridge. Do you recommend I use it prior to that 4 hour set time or can i put it all together sooner and let it all set up in the fridge. First timer! Thank you much! Excited to enjoy tonight all together, happy day to you and yours!
As long as the pudding is cooled…I think you could assemble it and let it set up in the fridge!
Thank you 🙂
Hi Mel,,
I love your blog! So sorry to hear about your time with cancer. You have healed back to your pretty self!
I just wanted to tell you my understanding of why this dessert is called Robert Redford Dessert. Back in the 70’s it was called “Better Than Sex Dessert!” The ladies back then (my mom’s generation) wanted to add this to the church cookbook they were creating to raise money…but how could they have THAT title in their Ladies Aid Cookbook?!! So they changed the title to “Next Best Thing to Robert Redford Dessert!” Everyone knew which dessert that was! Somehow as the years passed and got to you, the “Next Best Thing to” got dropped off! So there’s your history lesson for the day! I love this dessert — whatever it’s called!
Haha! Loved that little lesson. Thanks, Roxy!
Where I am from, this is made with another pudding layer (dark chocolate or vanilla) and called Sex in a Pan. It is great with an Oreo cookie crust too.
My mom made this wonderful recipe throughout my growing up years. We called it Cool Whip Delight. I just made it with the homemade pudding recipe and whipped cream and an already amazingly delicious dessert just went up 10 points on the delicious scale. My daughter kept looking over my shoulder wanting to sample each layer.
I’ve had this recipe since I was a new wife (I’m now 61) and was called Chocolate Layered Dessert, but over the years some of my friends and I renamed out Sin because it was so tasty. My recipe is the Cool Whip version with Instant Pudding mix.
I love this recipe and really want to make it for Thanksgiving, but we have some family members who can’t eat pecans or walnuts (total bummer!). I really feel like the pecans are really what makes the crust… Do you think chopped almonds would work?
I think the almonds would be yummy.