Easy Cherry Surprise Dessert

Today was Father's Day and I made a dessert that my dad has always loved. It only uses a few ingredients and is very simple to make. My family has always made this dessert in a 13"x9" pan, but it might also work well in a trifle bowl. The recipe calls for a smaller pan, and I found that one can of cherry pie filling was not enough to coat the bottom of a 13"x9" pan, so I used two cans of cherries. I couldn't find a loaf size Angel Food Cake, so I used half of a 10" round cake. I would like to try a home-made Angel Food Cake some time, but today's was store bought. I used the 3-ounce pudding pack, but the larger 5-ounce pack would have been OK too since this pan is bigger. I also bought a bigger 16-ounce container of Cool Whip (I always find that 8 ounces is just barely enough in these types of recipes), and used a little over half of it. I had a big bag of slivered almonds from Costco, and toasted them at 325º for 8-10 minutes. So as not to waste anything, my sister used the rest of the Angel Food Cake and Cool Whip to make a smaller 9"x9" pan of this for her family.

The only downfall to this dessert is the angel food cake does get a little soggy, so I would recommend eating it the day it's made or the next day for the best taste!

Easy Cherry Surprise Dessert                                                                   

Make this dessert either very early the morning you plan to serve it (if it is to be served after dinner) or prepare the night before (except for the topping).

1 can Cherry Pie Filling

Loaf size Angel Food cake (or half of a 10” round Angel Food cake)

3-ounce package of Instant Vanilla Pudding, made to package directions

1 cup sour cream

1 cup toasted slivered almonds

8-ounce Cool Whip

Use an 11½” x 7½” x 1½” or a 9” x 9” pan .

Pour one can of Cherry Pie Filling into pan.  On top of pie filling crumble a loaf size Angel Food cake.

Mix package of Instant Vanilla Pudding according to box directions.  Add sour cream to the pudding.

Pour pudding/sour cream mixture over angel food crumb.

Refrigerate.

Before serving, top with Cool Whip and toasted slivered almonds.

NOTE: Instead of Cool Whip, you can whip ½ pint of whipping cream – either sweeten with 1/8 cup confectionary sugar while whipping, or just whip the plain whipping cream.  Top with roasted slivered almonds.

If using a 9” x 13” pan, use two cans of cherry pie filling.

2 cans of cherry pie filling in a 9"x13" pan

Angel Food Cake

Crumbled Angel Food Cake

Vanilla pudding/sour cream mixture

Cool Whip

Toasted slivered almonds - it's ready to serve!

Photos by JoJo