Now I have loved this dessert for a long time but the cool whip, the canned pie filling and the graham cracker crust meant that this recipe got put to the side for many years.

I decided to farmgal it for valentines this year, I should have made a thin shortbread bottom layer, but that did not come to me till later, so the bottom is the standard graham crumb crust, 2 cups with the required 1/4 cup melted butter, mixed and pressed into the pan.

The topping is rich an yummy but not sweet at all like the other was, one package cream cheese, half a cup of sugar, blended till fluffy and smooth, then I moved that to a small bowl, added two cups of heavy whipping cream, beat till just fluffy, then add the cream-cheese mixture into cream into four equal spoons out, beat till combined and starting to thicken, do not over mix, drop over the bottom layer and then spread over to even out gently.

Now you could take my home canned cherries and thicken with corn starch and cool and put on for a fully cherry top, but I wanted it lighter and with less sugar, so I picked out the whole canned local Ontario cherries and did them single, perfect way to get that cherry bite into the dessert without adding more calories to an already rich dessert.

This was made in my smallest cake pan, but for a thicker piece, make in your 8 by 8 square cake pan. Chill, slice and serve.

it’s not as sweet, nor is it as mile high fluffy, but it’s very good and it hits the same flavour profile, given what its made of, it’s clearly a once an awhile only treat..