Shelly's Recipe

CHOCOLATE AND PEANUT BUTTER DESSERT (a/k/a Jimmy Carter Cake)

Category: Layered Desserts

2/3 cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped
1 cup flour
1 stick unsalted cold butter
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 (8 oz.) pkg cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup heavy cream*
1 tbsp sugar*
1 small pkg instant pudding, vanilla flavor
1 small pkg instant pudding, chocolate flavor
2 3/4 cup milk
Extra chopped peanuts for sprinkling on top, optional
Chocolate for grating, optional
Maraschino cherries, optional

Combine peanuts and flour and cut in butter; press out into a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes; set aside and cool completely. Put crust in fridge to chill further. This produces a very thin bottom crust. If you like your crust a bit more substantial, and especially if your pan is slightly larger, you will probably need to make a 1-1/2 to double bottom crust.

Cream the peanut butter, cream cheese and powdered sugar together. Carefully spread on top of the crust layer. Put in fridge to chill.

Whisk puddings together, add milk and whisk for about 2 minutes or until pudding begins to thicken. Carefully spread pudding on top of the peanut butter & cream cheese layer, taking care not to disturb the peanut butter layer. Put in fridge to chill.

Chill mixer bowl and beater in the freezer. Whip heavy cream on medium low speed until it begins to thicken. Add sugar, increase speed to medium high and whip until soft peaks form. Do not overbeat. Carefully spread the whipped cream over the pudding layer taking care not to disturb the pudding layer. (*A non-dairy topping such as Cool Whip can be substituted here – if so, omit the heavy cream and sugar and simply spread the topping out on top of the pudding layer.) Sprinkle with chopped nuts and grate chocolate over top. Dot with cherries. Refrigerate for 6 hours before serving.