Better Than Sex Cake

Can cake be better than sex? Let's see....we're talking about a powdered sugar-pecan crust topped with fluffy cheesecake, fudgy chocolate pudding, whipped cream and cocoa. Yep. I'll take a slice of this dreamboat dessert over having to shave my legs any day of the week. 

Even with lightened ingredients, this lust-worthy lip-licker has the power to make you ditch your diet and scarf down three slices in one sitting. But for me, it wasn't love at first sight. I was a bit skeptical at first because it looked a little too "instant Jell-o pudding" for me. I prefer something I can sink my teeth into. Like a triple fudge brownie. And five layers meant five opportunities to mess something up. But it turned out to be an amazingly easy recipe that was equally as amazing to eat. 

The crust, a mix of chopped, toasted pecans, powdered sugar, flour and butter was a breeze to make thanks to my brand new food processor. How did I ever survive without this beast of a machine? Oh, that's right, by making microscopic batches of hummus in a teeny nut chopper and using forks for four-hour dough blending sessions. (Thank you, mom and dad! Best Christmas gift ever.)

  

  

  

Once the crust had baked and cooled, I whipped up the cream cheese layer, which in my opinion really made the dessert. Without it, the taste would be similar to an instant pudding pie. Still good, granted, but this creamy, rich layer takes the dessert from one-night-stand status to a totally committed relationship.

  

  

After the cheesecake layer chilled, I slathered on the pudding. I used chocolate fudge instead of milk chocolate and I highly recommend it. And I bet dark chocolate would be even better. Maybe next time. And there will be a next time.

  

  

A little more whipped cream, then into the fridge it went for another 30 minutes. But because it was already 1 a.m., that meant that I went to bed unsatisfied with a tummy void of layered goodness.

  

  

The next day, I sifted on a little cocoa, sliced this baby up, and...

 

  

Oh my goodness, it was just downright delicious. The crunchy, buttery crust paired perfectly with the rich cream cheese, cool chocolate pudding and fluffy whipped cream. Amazing.  Luke and I both couldn't get enough. We each ate two huge slices a day until it disappeared. And the best part about this better than sex cake? The recipe makes a lot. So it will, in fact, last longer than three minutes. Just sayin.

  

Better Than Sex Cake

(Cool, Creamy Chocolate Dessert)

Cooking Light, May 2008

Yield: 15 servings (serving size: 1 piece)

Cookbook Note: You can make this up to one day ahead, but spread the remaining whipped topping mixture over the chocolate pudding layer right before serving.

Ingredients

Crust:
1 1/4  cups  all-purpose flour (about 5 1/2 ounces)
1/4  cup  powdered sugar
6  tablespoons  chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/4  cup finely chopped pecans, toasted
Cooking spray

Filling:
1  cup  powdered sugar
1/2  cup  (4 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1/2  cup  (4 ounces) fat-free cream cheese, softened
1  (8-ounce) carton frozen reduced-calorie whipped topping, thawed and divided
3  cups  1% low-fat milk
2  (3.9-ounce) packages chocolate instant pudding mix
Unsweetened cocoa (optional)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 325°.

To prepare crust, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and 1/4 cup sugar in a food processor; pulse 2 times or until combined. Add butter; pulse 10 times or until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in pecans. Firmly press mixture into bottom of a 13 x 9–inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 325° for 20 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Cool completely.

To prepare filling, place 1 cup sugar and cream cheeses in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until fluffy. Fold in half of whipped topping. Spread cream cheese mixture on cooled crust. Cover loosely; refrigerate 1 hour.

Combine milk and pudding mix in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed for 2 minutes. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour or until pudding is set. Spread the pudding mixture over cream cheese layer. Spread remaining half of thawed whipped topping over pudding layer. Cover and chill for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with cocoa, if desired. Cut into 15 pieces.

Nutritional Information: Calories: 268 (34% from fat), Fat: 10.2g (sat 6.3g,mono 2.2g,poly 0.7g), Protein: 5.2g, Carbohydrate: 39.5g, Fiber: 1.1g, Cholesterol: 20mg, Iron: 0.9mg, Sodium: 183mg, Calcium: 92mg.