Better-than Better-than-sex Cake

-FOR VANILLA PUDDING LAYER-
3 Egg yolks
1/2 c Sugar
1/4 c Flour
2 c Milk
2 ts Pure vanilla extract
2 tb Unsalted butter

-FOR CREAM CHEESE LAYER-
1 pk Cream cheese, very soft
-(8 oz)
1/2 c Sugar
1 ts Pure vanilla extract
1 ts Lemon juice
1 c Cream

WHIPPED CREAM LAYER
1 1/2 c Cream
3 tb Powdered sugar
1 tb Vanilla extract

PINEAPPLE CARAMEL LAYER
1 cn Crushed pineapple, drained
-(8 oz)
1 cn Caramel sauce or chocolate
-sauce (opt)

CHOCOLATE GLAZE
2 oz Semisweet chocolate (2 sq)
2 tb Unsalted butter or margarine
1 1/2 ts Vanilla extract

1. Butter a 9×13″ baking pan. Set oven rack in center of oven and
preheat oven to 350’F.

2. Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add flour and, at low speed on
mixer, blend until mixture is pebbly and can be pressed together.
Press mixture on bottom of buttered pan and bake for 20 minutes or
until golden. Cool completely. (If using a food processor, process
until ingredients are a coarse mixture.)

3. For pudding, beat egg yolks and set aside near stove. Whisk the
sugar, flour and milk in a medium saucepan until free of lumps. Set
over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula,
just to a boil. Remove from heat and whisk a little of the hot, thick
pudding into the beaten egg yolks then pour the yolk mixture back
into the pudding, whisking really well. Continue to cook 1-2 minutes,
stirring constantly, until thick.

4. Pour pudding into bowl and add vanilla and butter, stirring until
butter melts. If pudding has lumps, pour through a large, fine-mesh
strainer. Chill, with plastic wrap pressed directly on surface of
pudding, until ready to use.

5. Beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and lemon juice just to blend. In
separate bowl, whip 1 cup cream to medium-stiff peaks. Fold a scoop of
whipped cream into beaten cheese then fold remaining cream into
cheese. Set aside.

6. Whip 1 1/2 cups cream, sugar and vanilla to stiff peaks.

7. Spread crust with cream cheese mixture, top with pineapple, then
caramel or chocolate sauce. Spread pudding over pineapple; spread
whipped cream evenly over pudding. Chill well.

8. To make glaze, melt chocolate and butter over low heat, stirring
until smooth and completely melted. Remove from heat, stir in
vanilla. Drizzle in zigzags across cake’s surface. Makes 12 servings.