Category: Desserts

Cakes · Desserts · Fruit

Fruit Cocktail Cake (aka Fruit of the Month Club)

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I have finally figured out how to get my hubby to eat fruit. All it takes is a stick of butter, 2 cups sugar, pecans and whipping cream. He has never really liked fruit except cherry pie or homemade peach ice cream, but I hid fruit in this cake and he is just healthy as a horse after eating all the fruit that is hidden in it. After he had eaten a piece of cherry pie Randy  use to proudly sit back in his chair, leaning away from the table and announce that he had just had his fruit for the month.

Picking up a old Paula Deen Magazine yesterday, I came across this recipe which I haven’t seen since the 70’s. I use to make it because it was easy and a way to get the kids to eat a little fruit. It really is a great cake and topped with ice cream even makes it better. Of course, what doesn’t taste better with ice cream or whipping cream? I could probably eat liver if it had enough whipping cream on it. But on to the recipe:

Makes 12-15 Servings

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup veggie oil

2 large eggs

2 cups flour

2 teas baking soda

1/2 teas salt

1 (15.25 oz) can fruit cocktail, undrained

1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Coconut Frosting (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray a 13×9 in baking dish. In a large bowl, beat sugar, oil and eggs at medium speed with mixer until fluffy.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add to sugar mixture, beating well. Batter will be thick. Stir in fruit cocktail and pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle evenly with coconut and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until middle checks out done. Pour the coconut frosting over cake while cake is hot. Cool completely. Cut into squares to serve.

Frosting:

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/2 cup whipping cream or evaporated milk (not condensed)

1/2 cup sweetened coconut

1 teas vanilla

2/3 cup chopped pecans

In medium saucepan, combine sugar, butter and milk. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in vanilla, coconut and nuts. Spread over cake evenly. Cool cake to serve. securedownload-4

Desserts · Fruit · Salads

Very Berry Summer Pudding

Chocolate Castles2 Comments

Makes 6-8 Servings

This beautiful showstopper is taken from a new Southern Living Magazine. Serve with whipped cream.

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

2 cups fresh cherries, pitted and halved

2 cups fresh raspberries

2 cups fresh blackberries

1 cup fresh blueberries

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup orange liqueur

3 (3 oz) packages of soft ladyfingers

Stir together first 6 ingredients in a large heavy stainless steel saucepan; let stand 30 min, stirring occasionally.

Add 1/2 cup water and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 8-10 min or just until berries begin to break down and release their juices.

Remove from heat and stir in orange liqueur; cool 20 min.

Line a 2 qt souffle dish with plastic wrap. Spoon 1 cup berry mixture into prepared dish, spreading to cover the bottom. Arrange  1/3 of ladyfingers in a single layer on berry mixture, pressing together and trimming as needed to fit snugly and cover berry mixture. Repeat layers twice, dividing remaining berry mixture evenly between layers.

Cover loosely with plastic wrap and place a small plate  (approximately the same diameter as the inside of the dish) directly on top. Place 2 or 3 heavy cans on plate and chill 12 hours. Unmold pudding onto a serving plate and have whipped cream ready to top each serving.

Cakes · Daily Thoughts · Desserts · Fruit

Paula Deen Strikes Again…Raspberry Swirl Pound Cake

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One of my favorite days is when I come home and there in my mailbox is my new Paula Deen Magazine. I can hardly wait to unlock the door, grab a glass of tea and go sit on the porch and open my new treasure. This cake looks amazing and although I have not had time to bake it, it looks so pretty and as we all know, if it is good enough for Paula, it’s good enough to post. So here it is; Raspberry Swirl Pound Cake

3 1/4 cups sugar, divided (that much sugar already lets you know this will be great)

1 cup fresh raspberries

3 tablespoons peach nectar

1 1/2 cups softened butter

1 cup sour cream

1 teas lemon zest

1 teas vanilla

5 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

3 1/4 cups flour

1/2 teas baking soda

1/4 teas salt

Peach-Almond Glaze (recipe follows)

2 tables sliced almonds

Sweetened whipped cream

Fresh raspberries

In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup sugar, raspberries and peach nectar. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring often and crushing berries as they cook, for 10 min or until mixture has thickened. Strain berry mixture through a wire mesh sieve into a small bowl, pressing pulp with the back of a spoon. Discard solids. Cover and chill for at least 6 hours or refrigerate up to 3 days.

Preheat oven to 325. Spray a 12-15 cup bundt ( I can never say or write the word, “bundt” without thinking about My Big Fat Greek Wedding, makes me grin every time i think about that scene) pan with nonstick baking spray with flour.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sour cream at medium speed with a mixer until combined. Gradually add remaining 3 cups sugar, beating until fluffy. Add lemon zest and vanilla and mix in batter. Add eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating until combined.
Spoon 3 cups batter into prepared pan. Using the back of a spoon, make a shallow trench in the middle of batter while turning the pan in a full circle. Spoon 3 tables of raspberry mixture into trench. Spoon 1 1/2 cups batter into the pan, spreading carefully to cover raspberry mixture. Repeat trench procedure and top with remaining raspberry mixture and batter. Run a knife through the batter 8 times to swirl the filling slightly. Gently tap pan on counter (or on anyone’s head standing in the kitchen driving you crazy) to release any trapped air bubbles.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 min or until a wooden pick inserted in cake comes out clean. Tent cake with aluminum foil halfway through baking to prevent excessive browning, if necessary. Let cake cool in pan for 10 min. Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack. Drizzle with peach-almond glaze and then sprinkle with sliced almonds. Serve with sweetened whipping cream and raspberries.

Peach-Almond Glaze

3 tables peach nectar

1 tables light corn syrup

1/8 teas almond extract (I can tell you right now, I will make that 1/4 instead of 1/8)

2 cups powdered sugar

In a medium bowl, whisk together peach nectar, corn syrup and extract. Whisk in powdered sugar until smooth.

Note* If your cake doesn’t sit flat on the platter because the non-fluted side is slightly domed, trim it with a long serrated knife.

Cookies · Daily Thoughts · Desserts

Cookies With Class

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What a weekend. Am baking 400 cookies for a church event next weekend so needed a recipe that was quick and easy. After going on-line to see what I could find, I came across the old fashioned Jello Cookie and the Cake Mix Cookie. Years ago, I had had a cake mix cookie which I didn’t think tasted very good, too salty. I decided that if I substituted unsalted butter for the oil or margarine that the recipe called for, it would help not be as salty, so that’s what I did. These cookies are great, easy and so quick to make. They certainly hold their shape and would make a great cookie if you are mailing cookies to a college student, servicemen or having a group you have having to bake for. Be sure to use the unsalted butter as it makes all the difference in the world. The first recipe just uses cake mix and the second one uses cake mix along with jello. Both make a great sugar type cookie and is cheaper than buying bought rolled cookie dough and I think a lot better homemade taste. It also opens up a world of different flavors besides just peanut butter or chocolate chip cookies. See what you think and remember…baking is a great way to make a new memory

1 box cake mix (15 oz size) any flavor. (I used strawberry and orange and lemon)

1 stick of very soft unsalted butter

1 egg

MIx the 3 ingredients together until they are throughly mixed. Using a small cookie scoop or a teaspoon, place balls of batter onto cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. (If you don’t use parchment paper, just be sure to not grease cookie sheet.)
Bake in a preheated 350 oven for about 10-12 minutes. Bottoms will be a little golden around the edges but just till firm to the touch. Be sure you don’t over bake. These are really good made into a sandwich cookie by spreading about a teaspoon of you favorite frosting between two cookies, flat sides facing in.

Jello Cookies

1 (15 oz) white cake mix (actually any flavor, but if you are wanting to keep colors of jello you are using to stay true colors, use the white, otherwise the yellow or other flavors might change the color)

1 small (3 oz) package jello, regular, not sugar free

2/3 cup oil (what I did was use half melted unsalted butter and half oil) You could use all melted unsalted butter if desired.

1 egg

Mix all ingredients and bake in preheated  350 degree oven for about 10 minutes.

A great combination is using chocolate cake mix with raspberry or cherry flavored jello.

I use a yellow cake mix with cherry lemonade jello. Those were really good and so pretty.

Cakes · Desserts

Lemon Curd Cupcakes

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Summer just brings out the lemon flavor cravings in so many and what better way to have that lemon craving than with a lemon cupcake. A recipe was sent to me that had homemade lemon curd dolloped (that word always reminds me of Daisy Sour Cream, if you have seen their commercials you will get that) into a homemade lemon cake batter. Because so many of you have told me that you want fast, easy and quick recipes I came up with one that tastes almost identical to the homemade version, so you can be on your way to the porch with a glass of tea and a lemon cupcake much quicker.

1 Duncan Hines Lemon Cake Mix

1 jar of Lemon Curd (It is on the isle by the pie fillings in the grocery store)

Frosting

1 box of powdered sugar (3 1/2 cups)

1 stick of butter, at room temp

1 (8 oz) softened cream cheese

1/3 cup whipping cream (or you can use just regular milk if desired)

1 teas vanilla

Mix the DH cake mix according to directions on box. To get a softer texture, substitute milk for the water. Pour 1/3 cup batter into paper lined muffin pans. Spoon 1 tables lemon curd on batter. Using a cereal spoon (just a regular teaspoon you eat with, not a soup spoon) place about 2 spoonfuls of batter on top of lemon curd. (Just being sure that the lemon curd is completely covered). Bake as directed on box of cake mix for cupcakes. Do not over bake. Take out of pan to cool. This should make about 24 cupcakes.

When completely cool, top with frosting:

Mix all frosting ingredients together, adding the whipping cream or milk,  a tablespoon at a time. You might need a little more or little less, but use as much as necessary to get frosting to where it is spreadable. Sprinkle with yellow colored sugar. Simply divine.

Cakes · Desserts · Fruit

Lemon Blueberry Trifle

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photoYesterday I said that I was going to serve the Blackberry cake for dessert tonight, but I have to say that it was not what I thought it would be. It is like a banana loaf cake or spice cake loaf and that was so different than what I had pictured in my head. So this morning I got a lemon layer cake out of the freezer (see how useful those extra cake layers are when you need something at the last minute?), made some instant lemon pudding and wa la, decided to make individual trifles for dinner guests tonight.

4 pretty glasses with stems

1 can blueberry pie filling

1 small package lemon instant pudding

1 lemon cake layer (Or if you don’t have this, you could use crumbled up shortbread cookies)

1 cup of heavy whipping cream.

Make your instant pudding according to directions. Set aside.  Using a round biscuit cutter, cut the cake with the cutter that will allow you to place the cut cake inside the glass you are using. Divide the pudding between the 4 glasses. Place one of the cut cakes on top of the pudding. Put about 2 tables of the blueberry pie filling on top. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours. Mix the cup of  whipping cream with 2/3 cup powdered sugar or granulated sugar. The reason to use powdered sugar in place of granulated sugar is that the powdered sugar has corn starch in it which helps keep the cream “whipped” a little longer and you don’t have to be sure that all the granulated sugar is dissolved.  (I know some of you are better than I am at watching calories and will use Cool Whip and that is “cool”)

Before serving the trifle, top with about 2 tables whipped cream. Will post a picture of the trifle without the whipping cream as I don’t want to put it on until right before serving.

Daily Thoughts · Desserts

Paula Deen Bread Pudding

Chocolate Castles2 Comments

I did it!!!!! I got out of my comfort zone and made bread pudding. I don’t know why it has taken me so long to do this, but the time was just right. The french loaf was just staring at me at the grocery store and not being able to pass by the hot fresh bread, it somehow ended up in my basket. At home, it dawned on me that this one be the perfect time to make an old fashioned bread pudding and who else would I think about having just the best recipe for this….Dear Sweet Paula. Well, here it is folks and even Randy, who is not a “bread pudding” guy because he says he doesn’t like warm desserts, ate 3 helpings yesterday. It was so simple and the sauce is amazing. I did change a couple of things, adding cinnamon to the pudding and a little whipping cream to the sauce. I know Paula would be proud.

2 cups sugar

5 large beaten eggs

2 cups milk

2 teas vanilla

3 cups cubed French bread, (allow to stale overnight in a bowl, I didn’t do this and it was still so yummyImage)

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 teas cinnamon

1/4 cup (1/2 stick of cold butter)

1 cup chopped pecans

Sauce:

1 cup granulated sugar

1 stick butter

1 egg, beaten

2 teas vanilla

2 tables whipping cream

1/4 cup brandy

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 13×9″ pan. Mix together the sugar, eggs and milk in a bowl; add vanilla. Place bread cubes in greased 13×9 and pour egg mixture over cubed bread and let sit for 10 min. (I used about 4 cups of the cubed bread, as 3 cups didn’t quite cover the bottom of the pan)

While mixture is sitting and resting, in another bowl, cut in cold butter with the brown sugar, cinnamon until it resembles crumbs. Stir in pecans. Sprinkle evenly over bread mixture and then place in oven for about 35-40 min or until top is slightly browned and mixture is set. Remove from oven and let sit for about 15 min. Serve with sauce.

Sauce:

Mix together the sugar, butter, egg, vanilla and whipping cream in a saucepan. Stirring continually, bring mixture to where it is just beginning to boil, but take off heat before it does boil. Add the brandy and stir until combined. Drizzle sauce over squares of pudding on individual plates.

Daily Thoughts · Desserts · Fruit

Strawberry Pie

Chocolate Castles3 Comments

The sunshine that is so gorgeous this time of year just makes me think of strawberry pie. Tonight several young moms are coming over here for dessert after they go for a massage. This is the MOPS ladies (mothers of preschoolers) that sit at my table on Wednesday mornings and I have just grown to love them and appreciate their efforts to grow as Christian wives and moms. They were wanting a night out so I told them to come over here for dessert after they go for massages. What better way to end their night out than with a wonderful strawberry pie and hazelnut brownie cups, with coffee or tea. These pies make wonderful endings to your Easter dinner. Top them with fresh whipped cream and you will be the hit of the day.

2 pie crusts, baked and cooled

2 quarts of fresh strawberries (washed, trimmed and sliced, saving some for top to place on top)

2 cups sugar

2 1/2 cups water

4 1/2 tables corn starch

6 tables strawberry jello (not sugar free, it won’t work)

Place the water, sugar and cornstarch in a heavy saucepan. Stir continually being sure to break up the cornstarch so they don’t lump together. When mixture begins to boil and becomes thick and clear, take off the heat and stir in the strawberry jello and stir until well blended.

Fill each baked and cooled pie shell with strawberries, dividing between the two pie shells. Pour half of the jello mixture onto each pie, being sure each strawberry is covered with some of the jello mixture. Place in fridge to cool and top with whipping cream, right before serving.photo

 

Desserts · Fruit

Houston’s Key Lime Pie

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We hit a home run. Yesterday, I had said on FB that we wanted Houston’s Key Lime pie, which is our top favorite pies in the world and because it was Valentines and I just knew I would earn more points if I was showing my “thriftiness” by trying to make one at home instead of going and buying 2 slices which would cost about $17, I came home and googled “Houston’s Key Lime Pie” and ding dong, there on the page was a recipe that I tried last night and we sat there just in Key Lime Pie heaven…apparently, there is a chef that goes around and calls himself the CopyCat Chef by trying to duplicate different famous recipes from restaurants that people want, but cannot get…so he had one for Houston’s Key Lime Pie…I did tweak it just a little, because I totally believe their crust has cinnamon in it, plus ground up pecans or walnuts, so I did change the crust he had listed…so will give you my version of the crust, because I feel like it is closer to the real thing than what he had…so here it is!

Make your regular graham cracker crust but add 1 teas cinnamon and substitute light brown sugar for the granulated sugar. Because I was at Trader Joe’s I ended up buying their cinnamon graham crackers which are really good and then just had to add the brown sugar and crushed pecans. I made my crust in a food processor which made the crumbs really finely crushed…I also put the pecans in it at the same time plus the brown sugar.  Add the amount of butter the recipe calls for. Put crumbs mixture into a 9″ pie plate and be sure that you have pushed some up the sides of the pie plate also..bake at 350 for about 8-10 min. Cool completely.

For Filling, I used 2 cans Eagle Brand Milk, 2/3 cup lime juice and 6 egg yolks. Put all ingredients into a food processor and pulse until light and all ingredients are blended well. I think using the food processor and whipping the mixture well, made it so much more light and fluffy than a normal key lime pie you get at restaurants. Pour into pie shell and bake for 15-18 min until the middle feels almost firm to the touch.

Cool completely and frost with the real thing, whipped cream that you have sweetened, but no vanilla. It will tastes just like Houston’s Key Lime Pie.

Chocolate · Cookies · Desserts

More Chocolate for Valentines-Chocolate Strawberry Thumbprints

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In my new Food Network Mag for March, it had a whole section called the United States of Chocolate and lists lots of places where you can go for chocolate meals, candy factories across the states or spas where you can have chocolate facials…..so this is now on my bucket lists, to go to every “chocolate Event” before my cholesterol gets to high for me to eat chocolate…before this happens, I will be baking with chocolate at any given opportunity. These are from the Martha Stewart Cookie Cookbook and are simply put….DIVINE!

3/4 cup flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teas salt

2 oz semisweet chocolate

1 stick unsalted butter, room temp (I wonder, if I used salted butter, could I eliminate the 1/4 teas salt) I think I will be daring and try it sometime, but not for Valentines, how awful for me to serve Romeo chocolate cookies tonight and he would look at me and say, “you don’t expect me to eat these, do you, they have no salt”?

1/4 cup plus 6 1/2 teas sugar

1 large egg yolk

1/2 teas vanilla

4 oz room temp cream cheese

2 tables powdered sugar

4 oz strawberries, (about 6 medium, stemmed and finely chopped)

Sift flour, cocoa and salt into a bowl. Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring until smooth; set aside. ( I nuke the chocolate in 15 sec intervals)

Put butter and 1/4 cup granulated sugar into the bowl of a mixer and mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy (I think you can guess what you can use as your model on this one)

Mix in yolk, vanilla and chocolate. Reduce speed to low. Mix in flour mixture until just combined. Refrigerate covered for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350. Put 6 teas granulated sugar into a small bowl. Form dough into 3/4″ balls, roll in sugar to coat. Space 1″ apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Press center of each ball with your thumb. Bake 10 min. Press centers again with end of a wooden spoon, making 3/4″ indentations. Bake until sightly cracked and set, about 5 more minutes more.

Cool completely on racks. (Unfilled cookies can be stored in airtight containers for up to 3 days at room temp or frozen up to 1 month)

Stir cream cheese and powdered sugar in a bowl. Toss berries with remaining 1/2 teas granulated sugar in another bowl.

Spoon cream cheese mixture into centers of cookies; top with berries, dividing evenly.

Place on a red valentine doily and Happy Valentines Day to all of YOU!!!!