The Gluten-Free Homemaker

This recipe came from my sister-in-law and it has been a favorite of ours.  Here are a few reasons it’s one of my favorites:

• It tastes great
• It’s moist
• It’s pretty easy to make
• It feeds a lot of people
• It can be made ahead of time
• It doesn’t matter if your cake turns out great, it’s going to be broken in pieces anyway!

I have to tell a story about my sister-in-law.  I don’t think she’d mind because she laughs about it.  The first time she made this dessert for a family gathering, everyone loved it, so the next time she said she was making it we were all looking forward to it.  As you’ll see in a moment, the dessert has three basic layers: cake, pudding, cool whip.  Well, the second time she was going from memory and putting the dessert together quickly and she forgot one small piece—the cake!  That’s right.  She brought a dish layered with pudding and cool whip.  It wasn’t bad, but it sure wasn’t the same!  When you make it, try to remember the cake.

This is not a dairy free recipe, but it could be made that way.  I found some dairy free cook and serve pudding at the health food store that could be used with a milk substitute.  You would then have to come up with a dairy free whipped topping.  The chocolate cake recipe I have linked to is already dairy free.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake Dessert

• 1 recipe chocolate cake (any chocolate cake will do)
• 1 small box chocolate pudding
• 1 small box vanilla pudding
• 1 large container whipped topping (Cool Whip)
• 1 – 2 Heath candy bars, chilled

Bake the cake and cool.  Make the pudding according to package directions, combining the chocolate and vanilla. 
Break half the cake in pieces and put it in the bottom of a large rectangular dish.  You could also make this in a trifle bowl. 

Put half the pudding on top by dropping spoonfuls of it, then spreading it around with the back of the spoon.



Spread about half the Cool Whip on top of the pudding.  You might not need to use half the container, but use enough to cover everything well.

Repeat layers.  Chop the candy bars and sprinkle on top the last layer of Cool Whip.

The dish I use ends up being packed full.  Half way through I always think it won’t fit, but I sort of press the pudding down on the cake and amazingly it all fits.  The Heath bars on top help to keep the Cool Whip from sticking to plastic wrap or foil that I use to cover the dish.  Refrigerate until ready to eat.

To serve, you can just dig into it with a spoon, or cut it and use a spatula to take it out in squares.  The second method makes a nicer presentation.  Either way you end up with nice moist chocolate cake.

This is a great summer time dessert because it is served cold (you do have to heat your oven to bake the cake though).  However, I have served it throughout the year at parties and gatherings.  It's always a hit!

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For more great recipes (though not necessarily gluten-free) visit Tasty Tuesdays.

Labels: cake, dessert recipes