I had forgotten all about this recipe until I was searching for a Banana Cake recipe and came across an old favorite. This cake is so pretty served in an antique punch bowl or a pretty glass bowl that is about the same size as your standard punch bowl. You can substitute French Vanilla pudding if you do not like banana and still get the same great results. Tomorrow, will post the chocolate version….let me know if you make this and your thoughts. It really is so pretty to serve and tastes so fresh and light.
1 pack (18.25 oz) plain yellow cake mix
1 1/3 cups water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
2 packages (3.4 oz) banana instant pudding *or french vanilla
4 cups whole milk
2 cans (21 oz ea) cherry pie filling
1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple, drained
4 ripe bananas, sliced 1/2 in thick *Once again, if you do not like bananas, substitute any fruit that goes well with cherries or pineapple, such as kiwi or blueberries
1 container (12 oz) frozen whipped topping, such as Cool Whip (yes, I am going to let you get away with Cool Whip, but just this once)
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
Spray a 13×9 cake pan with Pam.
Place cake mix, oil and eggs in mixing bowl. Blend with mixer on low speed for 1 min. Stop the mixer and scrape sides and continue beating for about 2 min, increasing the speed to medium. The batter should look thick and well blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it out with the spatula. Place the pan in the oven. Bake the cake until it is golden brown and springs back with your finger in the center, approx 30 min.
Meanwhile place the pudding mix and milk in large bowl and blend according to directions. Set aside.
Remove the cooled cake from the pan and crumble in into 1 inch pieces with your hands. Place half of the crumbles in theh bottom of the large glass punch bowl or salad bowl.
Top with 1 can cherry pie filling, half of the crushed pineapple and half of the pudding. Add half of the banana slices (or other fruit) and half of the whipped topping, then half of the pecans. Repeat the layers, beginning with the remaining cake crumbles and ending with the pecans. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in fridge for about 4 hrs before serving.
Serve up portions of the cake with a large spoon.
Category: Fruit
Caramel-Apple Cheesecake Bars with Streusel Topping
You must think that all I ever cook or eat are desserts. You are almost correct. Every day, I try to eat something from the other food groups, but this “dessert food group” just calls my name. This dessert is amazing! Very easy, and a great dish to make for company. You just cannot go wrong when you make anything out of a Paula Deen magazine and this one is from one of her Special Collectors issues!
Makes 2 doz bars
2 cups flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup buter (keep this cold and do not let it soften, it makes it easier to work with)
2 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup plus 2 tables sugar, divided
2 large eggs
1 teas vanilla
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
1/2 teas cinnamon
1/4 teas ground nutmeg
*Streusal Topping (recipe follows)
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
(If you have not invested in a Vidalia Onion chopper from Bed Bath & Beyond, do so, it saves you hours of chopping onions, potatoes, apples. It is so easy to clean and store and I cannot believe I lived 58 yrs without one.)
Preheat oven to 350. Line a 13×9 baking pan with heavy duty aluminum foil.
In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into prepared pan. Bake for 15 min or until lightly browned.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in 1/2 cup sugar, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Pour over warm crust.
In a small bowl, stir together chopped aples, remaining 2 table sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture. *Sprinkle evenly with Streuseltopping. Bake for 30-35 min or until filling is set. Drizzle with caramel.
*Streusel Topping
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 stick butter
In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, flour and butter. Using pastry blender, cut the butter um in the flour and brown sugar until it remembles crumbs.
Frozen Fruit Ring
If you are looking through magazines this week, trying to decide about your Easter menu, let me give you one more to ponder. I have served this at numerous luncheons and holiday meals and it is always one that people love to go back to the fridge and get another bowl, after dishes are done and they are wanting just to nibble on something. You can prepare it a few days before serving and that is one less food you have to worry about cooking on the special day.
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1 tables sugar
1 (16 oz) can whole cranberry sauce (or I use canned cherry pie filling)
1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup Cool Whip
In a medium mixing bowl, whip together cream cheese and sugar. Stir in cranberry sauce or canned cherries, pineapple and pecans. Fold in whipped topping.
Pour into a 8 cup mold lined with plastic wrap. Freeze 24 hours. Unmold onto serving platter and remove plastic wrap. Let set 5 min prior to serving. Yield 10-12 servings.
Spiced Apple-Date Bundt Cake
I know I have posted an apple cake on here before, but this one was over the top. Took it to church this morning, as it was my turn to bring “breakfast” for our group. Decided to try a different cake and I have to say, I like this one even better than my fresh apple cake I posed last year. This one seems to be even more moist, a little more flavorful, with lots of spices. Got lots of “yums” from the ladies…..
Even though I forgot to buy dates at the store, this cake was delicioius even without the dates, so cannot wait to try it again, with the dates.
3 cups flour
1 tables ground cinnamon
1 teas baking soda
1 teas salt
1/2 teas ground allspice
1/2 teas ground cloves
1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3 eggs
3 cups grated apple
1 cup chopped dates
2 teas vanilla
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a bundt pan with baking spray; set aside
Sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, allspice and cloves. Set aside. In a medium bowl, and using an electric mixer at high speed, combine oil, brown sugar, and eggs. Beat until pale yellow in color, about 5 mins.
Gradually add the flour mixture to theh oil mixture. Fold in grated apple, dates and vanilla. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for about 1 hr to 1 hour, 15 min (mine only took 1 hr.) until toothpick comes out clean when poked into the center. Cool in pan for 10 min. Remove cake from pan onto serving plate. You can either serve it without frosting. I choose to poke holes with a wooden stick and poured frosting, which is below into the holes and then over the top letting it run over the sides of the cake.
Frosting:
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar, 3 tables heavy cream, 1/4 stick butter (4 tables), 1 teas vanilla and 1/2 cup powdered sugar.
Place all ingredients except the vanilla and powdered sugar into a saucepan. Slowly bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir constantly. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and powdered sugar. Stir well until powdered sugar is dissolved and no lumps remain. Let frosting run into the holes you have poked in the cake and then pour the remaining over the entire cake, letting it run over the sides. This frosting hardens pretty fast, so you have to pour over pretty quickly, while cake is still warm…..Enjoy!
Strawberry Tiramisu
Just received this recipe from Allrecipes.com and it sounds wonderful. The strawberries look so delicious right now so this is a perfect month to try this. If you are like me and aren’t just in love with the taste of coffee, elimanate the espresso and use the same amount of milk and just substitute 2 teas almond extract in place of the liquer. You will then have an almond-flavored tiramisu with the strawberries.
Ingredients
1 pint fresh strawberries
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 cup mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons coffee-flavored liqueur
18 ladyfingers
1/3 cup chilled espresso
1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
Directions
1.Cut off the tops of the strawberries and slice the berries. Reserve 2 large whole berries for garnish.
2.In a blender, place 2 cups of strawberries and 2 tablespoons confectioners sugar; blend to puree and set aside.
3.In a medium bowl, combine mascarpone cheese, 1/4 cup cream, 1/4 cup sugar, and liqueur; beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes until thickened.
4.Place 6 ladyfingers on a serving plate and brush each with approximately 1 teaspoon cold espresso coffee. Spread or pipe out 1/2 of the cheese mixture over the ladyfingers, and layer with half of the sliced strawberries.
5.Repeat with the next 6 ladyfingers, espresso, remaining cheese mixture, and sliced strawberries; top with remaining 6 ladyfingers.
6.In a small mixing bowl, combine 1/4 cup heavy cream with 2 tablespoons sugar; beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until just whipped, approximately 1 minute. Spread cream evenly over top layer of ladyfingers.
7.Dust cocoa over whipped cream, and garnish with 2 reserved strawberries. Pour strawberry puree onto two serving plates. Cut tiramisu in half, and place onto puree.
Apple Cobbler
Crust: 1 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup milk, 1/3 cup shortening, 1 teas baking powder and 1/4 teas salt.
Combine the flour, shortening, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry blender, mix until shortening is all cut in and the flour resembles crumbs. Add the milk and mix.
Roll out onto floured wax paper to about 1/2″ thick. Set aside
Melt 1 stick butter in a 8x12x2 in baking pan.
Mix 2 1/2 cups apples or peaches if you prefer, 1 teas nutmeg and 1 teas cinnamon.
Place the fruit over the dough, spreading till it covers the dough within about 1″ from the edge. Roll up beginning with the long side, jelly roll side. Cut into 3/4″ slices and place each slice in the baking pan which you have melted the butter. Bring 2 cups water with 2 cups sugar to a boil. Pour boiling mixture over rolls and bake at 350 for almost an hour, or until golden brown and bubbly.
Upside-Down Date Pudding
A great holiday dessert and warm and gooey…
1 cup dates (I buy the already chopped dates)
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar, divided
3 tables butter, divided
1 large egg
1 1/2 cup flour
1 teas baking soda
1/2 teas baking powder
1/2 teas salt
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 1/2 cups boiling water
Sweetened whipped cream
Combine dates and 1 cup boiling water in a small bowl, set aside
Comvine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 tables butter and egg in a large mixing bowl; beat at medium speed with mixer until blended
Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; stir well. Add to sugar mixture, beating well. Mixture will be crumbly. Stir in nuts and cooled date mixture.
Spoon batter into a lightly greased 13×9″ pan. Combine remaining 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, 1 1/2 cups boiling water and remaining 1 tables butter, stirring mixture well. Pour brown sugar mixture evenly over batter. Bake at 375 for 35 to 40 min. Serve warm with whipping cream or ice cream.
Yields 12 servings.
This makes a great dish during the holidays for company, as you can make it ahead of time and microwave it for a min or two or place in a warm oven for a few mins before serving…….The brown sugar and butter give it an almost caramel flavor.
Apple Nachos
Do you not love this weather? This is my favorite kind of day. Randy is cleaning out drawers and closets and I am in the kitchen baking. I have made a fresh apple cake with Praline Frosting (yes it is already on the blog) and it is just the best. I always have to save some of the frosting for Cora who likes to eat it as pralines. Actually, I have used this same frosting recipe for pralines because it is a never fail, even on these damp sticky days, when it is supposidly not the best weather for making candy. But……this always turns out and when it is hot you pour it over the warm cake that you have poked holes in…….wait….where am I…I am suppose to be talking about Apple Nachos, this weather just makes me baking crazy. These little treats are easy, yummy and the kids can help make them and you can sit down to watch a movie and not be putting away a million calories. They are just so good and such an easy and quick treat.
36 caramels
1 tables water
30 large marshmallows
1/3 cup butter, cubed
4 medium tart apples, peeled and cut into 1/4″ slices
1/3 cup chopped dry roasted peanuts
1/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
3 tables Halloween sprinkles
In a micro-wave bowl, melt caramels with the water; stir until smooth.
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt marshmallows and butter. Arrange apple slices on a large platter. Drizzle with caramel; top with marshmallow mixture . Sprinkle with peanuts, chocolate chips and sprinkles. Serve immediately.
Skillet Fried Apple Pies
Oh my, just took this off the Paula Dean site and it does look fantastic. Am going to have to make this tomorrow. If you beat me to it, let me know how good it is!
Ingredients:
Oil, for frying
2 cans large buttermilk biscuits
1 (21-ounce) can apple pie filling
1/4 cup sugar, plus more for dusting
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon plus more for dusting
Flour, for rolling
Whipped cream, for garnish, optional
Confectioners’ sugar, for garnish, optional
Directions
Pour the oil into a large cast iron skillet about 1/2-inch up the sides and heat to about 350 degrees F.
Remove biscuits from cans, flour them and roll each 1 out to a 5-inch round. Place 1 heaping tablespoon of fruit filling on a round leaving a 1/2-inch edge all around. Place another rolled out round on top of the filling, pressing around the edges to seal. You should dip your fingers in water and wipe around the edge of the bottom biscuit to enable it to stick to the top biscuit. Dip end of dinner fork in flour and press continuously around edge to insure a proper seal. Repeat with remaining biscuits. Makes 8 or 10 pies depending on the amount in your biscuit can. Place 3 or 4 of the pies in the preheated cast iron skillet. Fry for about 2 minutes per side or until golden brown. Transfer to paper towels to drain and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar while still hot. Serve with whipped cream and confectioners’ sugar, if desired.
Fruit Compote
My sister-in-law gave me this recipe after I went crazy over the one she served at Christmas brunch a few years ago. It is just delicious and everyone always wants the recipe.
6 coconut macaroons crumbled into a 9×13 pyrex which you have sprayed with Pam.
Layer each of the following: drain each can before layering: peaches, pears, apricots, pineapple chunks, bing cherries.
Crumble 6 more coconut macaroons and add 1/4 cup melted butter and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Mix and pour over top of fruit. Top with 1/2 cup sliced almonds. Bake at 350 for about 35 to 40 minutes.
Chocolate Castles 