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!)
My mouth is watering looking at this! I haven’t had it for about 20 years. I will try it this weekend, even though I am on a diet 🙂
My recipe for this is just called ‘4 layer dessert’. How unexciting is that. I’m glad to see you’ve made this a true homemade dessert-I’ve been going to tackle that job, but now I can just follow your recipe! Great job, Mel.
My favorite version is with pistachio pudding and I love to make it in the spring. Usually for Easter.
Mel, I’m glad you tried it with your pudding recipe…isn’t it THE BEST!?!?! I think I need to make this again real soon, like today! 🙂
Yay! We loved pudding desserts at our house and we love the wild kratts too. My kids are watching as we speak.
Sherri – I love all the names this dessert has been through in your family! We have had leftovers of this but it doesn’t seem to get runny. The whipped cream/cream cheese layer is stabilized by the cream cheese and the very thin top layer of sweetened whipped cream seems to hold up well for a day or two. One of the keys is to make sure the cream is whipped to stiff peaks. Maybe we’ve just been lucky but the cream hasn’t seemed to get weepy upon sitting for a day in the refrigerator. Having said that, we usually don’t have leftovers of this, either. 🙂
This looks fabulous! Thank you for going the extra mile and making it all from scratch-I so appreciate that
Where has this dessert been all of my life?? I know I’d love this!
Very funny comments…my mom always made this with pistachio pudding and I thought she was weird, but now I see how common it apparently is.
This dessert has been a family favorite of ours for as long as I can remember. It’s been through a few names — Karen’s Delight (the name of the gal who gave my mom the recipe) to Ginger’s Delight (my mom’s name) to Dingman’s Delight (my maiden name — this metamorphosis came when my sister and I all got married and were making the dessert ourselves). Anyway, probably a dumb question but … won’t using real whipping cream make it kind of runny the next day (if you happen to have leftovers)??
Loved this dessert growing up – and still do. (My mom typically makes it when we all come home. =) ) I’ve never heard it called “Robert Redford Dessert,” but may have to start calling it that – as I am a Robert Redford fan – as much as I’m a fan of this pudding dessert. =)
Also – we LOVE the Wild Kratts! It’s not uncommon to hear one of my boys say, “It’s time for another Wild Kratts Creature Quiz!” Then they “quiz” each other and discuss who’s going to wear which Creature Power Suit. =) Anyway…
Oh my goodness, your world is totally my world too – right down to the Kratt’s , the R2D2 and anything in reach being used as a missle against the brothers (3 boys – 4, 6 and about as close as you can get to 9 without actually being it ;))! This looks delicious, definitely going on the must make list!
Yum! My mom’s friend made something similar to this when we were kids and we all loved it and always called it the “Sharon Redfern dessert” (since that was her name). Redfern – Redford, strangely similar. Ha! I’ll have to try it – I remember it being sooo delicious, especially that crust!
Are you reading my mind? I was thinking about this dessert yesterday!
This is so great with homemade pudding and whipped cream rather than boxed pudding and Cool Whip (both of which I hate). I made it for a Sunday dinner with my in-laws, even though my husband was insistent that his dad didn’t like chocolate and wouldn’t be happy. I said, “Well, it’s not his birthday, so I really don’t care.”
I tried really hard not to be smug to my husband when his dad practically licked his plate clean and went back for a second piece.
Also, I sometimes top it with some of those Heath bar chips. You know…if I’m feeling fancy.
I made this for Christmas dessert using your chocolate and whip cream/creme freche layer from your bittersweet chocolate pudding pie. It was DELICIOUS! I’ll have to try it this way as well.
I also made your andes mint cupcakes for a ward party. The reaction was ridiculous. They were flying off of my platter the second I walked in the room (it wasn’t even dessert time). It was the first dessert gone, and I heard people were fighting over them (in a good way :-). Thanks for making me a star baker.
Boy was I wrong before! Mine is also called pudding dessert (or close). Both Next Best Thing to Tom Selleck and Better Than Sex are cakes in my recipe box. Duh…
My grandma makes a version of this called lemon crunch– with lemon pudding and topped with chopped pecans. It can be found at every single family gathering. Without fail. You’ve inspired me to drop the boxed pudding and cool whip in favor of an experiment with lemon curd and real whipped cream. Yum…
I’m laughing at all the different names this dessert has. I’ve never even heard of Robert Redford dessert. Maybe because when I was little I thought he was gross and couldn’t see what the big deal was. I was much more enthralled with Kirk Cameron and Rob Lowe. Now when I watch old Redford movies I think I was high on Aqua Net back then! Anyway, we call it Mississippi Mud and it’s always a hit.
looks wonderful! Your homemade chocolate pudding has changed my life. I’ve been meaning to made a chocolate cream pie with it for awhile. I use dark or bittersweet chocolate and a bit of coconut extract in it, and sometimes make it with coconut milk if there are dairy allergies. So this dessert would be right up my alley. My 3 boys love Wild Kratts too. They’re favorite show, ages 4, 8 and 10. 🙂 I’d be interested to know the origins of the name of the dessert, since my Mom would love it for that name alone 🙂
In my circles it is Better than Sex. I’ve made it with lemon, but usually chocolate, and it’s always a hit. I’ve never cared for it, and now I know why. I make my own pudding and don’t like the instant. Thanks, I’ve never considered premaking my own pudding or yours.
We make this with coconut cream pudding and toasted coconut on top! Yummy!
We call this Yum-Yum Pudding at my house and always have it for Breakfast on Thanksgiving Day! Mmm.
YUMMY! I love Robert Redford he still is hot to this DAY! Cant wait to try this. I remember having it when I was younger! I have a BETTER than SEX cake that is to DIE for!
My mom calls it barbershop dessert . . . because of the four layers. 🙂
I’ve been making this dessert for years and its definitely a family favorite. It was the first recipe I ever asked somebody for, I think I was 9. My best friend’s mom made it and I fell in love. I also found it some years later in my Lion House Recipes book with the catchy name of Chocolate Pudding Dessert. My recipe calls for less milk in the pudding so I have never have a problem with it being runny. For those who want to use the box, use 3 cups of milk not 4, and your pudding won’t run. Actually the proportions on the Lion House recipe are a little different from yours (with more crust ingredients!) BTW, the Lion House Rice Pudding recipe is divine!
This is my family’s fav. and we call it “Chocolate Heaven”!
Love your blog!!! It is my favorite!
Thanks for your work; you sharing your gifts makes a difference in my family. Food matters.
And I loved the Kratt Brothers reference – they would be the guest of choice for my boys too!
We called it Triple Layer Dessert (even though I always counted four layers.) Still a family favorite.
This is Robert Redford dessert?? Never heard that name! My mom always called it Four Layer Dessert, and my sister’s in laws call it Better Than Sex, BUT I’ll have you know that I know of a dessert that’s a better Better Than Sex dessert.
My point is, thanks for sharing this recipe!
This looks really good! I don’t think I’ve ever had a layered pudding dessert, but I’m with you; the crust is where it’s at.
Love this dessert. We know it as Sex in a Pan!
It was Tom Selleck for us….Next Best Thing to Tom Selleck. Robert Redford is far superior I would imagine, although the same recipe!! Have you had Better Than Sex?
I found this recipe on a Cool Whip container around 1975. It was called Triple Tread and became one of my families’ favorite desserts. We loved it so much that we created several new versions. We kept the crunchy shortbread base and the cream cheese layer, but switched out the chocolate layer. One of our favorites is a mixture of Wild Strawberry Jello and fresh strawberries on top of the cream cheese layer. It’s better than strawberry shortcake!
wow, I’ve never heard of this but the pictures look so good! Can’t wait to try it-I’m a big fan of “church desserts” as my family calls them which are largely based off of pudding 🙂
We’re doing a no sugar January – all eight of us! – and it’s killing me that I can’t make this!!
This really reminds me of my Mom! She made pudding desserts all the time when I was growing up. I can’t wait to try it without the box mixes!
I’ve never had it, but it looks like it would be a favorite with my kids! I’ll have to make it and see what they think.
I grew up eating this, but we call it Mississippi Mud Pie. Always one of my favorites made by my grandmother! I think it’s time to make it!
We called it Robert Redford Come Again because it’s so good that if Robert Redford showed up at your door while you were eating it, you would tell him to come again so you could finish eating it 🙂 Love it!
So funny! This dish would always show up at family functions when I was growing up…and still does. We call it “Chocolate Delight”. You did a wonderful job cutting a square out. We start out cutting it, but then someone gets aggravated and then just takes a serving spoon to it.
Looks Yummy! My son loves Wild Kratts too, he also watches the clock and wants to know if its 3:30 yet so he can watch it. Heaven forbid if we are not home at 3:30 or it is the weekend and it is not on.
Yes, we grew up with this, too. We liked it because we could still make it when we were on “diets” with sugar free pudding, etc. Of course, your version is most definitely WAY BETTER than our diet versions 🙂 I am no food historian, but I think it was originally called “Better than Robert Redford” when all the “Better Than” desserts were popular (70’s?), and he was the heartthrob of the day. I’ll be honest, I have seen pretty much all his movies (my sister and I had a Robert Redford movie marathon when I was like 20, with the goal to see all of his movies. Don’t ask why, we are weird.) And I will agree that he was pretty crush-worthy back in the day. And your dessert looks pretty crush-worthy, too!
I first had it in the ’70s and it was called “Better than Robert Redford Dessert”. Robert Redford was quite handsome back then (and still is) and I think the thought was that there were few things more appealing than him. I’ve also heard this called “Better than S@X Dessert” but we won’t go there!
I had totally forgotten about this dessert too! Thanks for the bring back! My son would fall over dead if one of the Kratt brothers walked in our door. We LIVE for 5 pm around here (which is when it airs in our area). It even taught him how to tell time, so he could watch the clock and not miss a minute of it!
I’ve always made this with either boxed pistachio pudding, which is amazing… or cooked and cooled lemon pudding. When I make it for parties or BBQ’s, it never fails — I take it out of the fridge to serve and there’s already portions carved out from sneaky guests who go at it with a spoon while it’s waiting to be put out. LOL I have yet to remove the foil with a flourish, to display an untouched dessert. ha ha
The next best thing to Robert Redford is what we call it. I’m not a cake fan so this is what I would request for my birthday growing up. I loooove this desert!
Oh my Gosh! This dessert has been a family favorite for years. When my dad was still alive he loved it and now my hubby and eldest son love it too. I am thrilled that your recipe is less out of a container and can not wait to make it!!! Seriously, I don’t think you can tell how excited I am. I too am curious about the name. We’ve always just called it Chocolate Torte.
Umm…my hand is raised! Where has this dessert been all of my life? I love that you re-mixed this recipe with home-made components, Mel! I am curious to know why this dessert is named after Robert Redford! 🙂
Yum…definitely one of my all-time favorite recipes, too. And I have only had it with the boxed pudding and cool whip. I can only imagine how decadent it tastes with homemade. I am definitely a crust doubler, too! Especially since this shortbread crust is soooo good and it a key to this dessert!