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Archive for the ‘Desserts’ Category

Angel Food Mini Cakes

Posted in Desserts, Easy Recipes, Fast Recipes, tagged , , , on July 30, 2010| 1 Comment »

Angel Food Mini Cakes

The other day I needed to make a dessert for a meeting. My stove was still serving as the world biggest paperweight with the inability to do anything but take up space in my kitchen.

So I started racking my brain for something good that would not require me to bake or cook on the stovetop. What I came up with was something really easy and pretty tasty.

Ingredients for Assembling Angel Food Mini Cakes

Freshly Whipped Cream with Vanilla. Please ignore the fact that I'm sloppy and spilled vanilla extract all over the bottle and dribbled on the counter. Thank you.

Pretty little cakes, just waiting for filling.

The wait is over, filling is in place.

Ready for transport...

Ready to be eaten!

Angel Food Mini Cakes

Angel Food mini cakes

1 box of Jello Mousse Mix

Whipping Cream

Powdered Sugar

Vanilla Extract

Raspberries

Mix mousse according to package directions. Set aside. Use heavy cream and whip until it starts to form peaks. Add in a dash of vanilla extract and a sprinkling of powdered sugar. If you are using a small carton of cream, use about a 1/2 tsp. of vanilla and 1/4 cup of sugar. If you want to use something like Cool Whip  and save yourself the work of this step, go ahead. You’ll miss out on the fresh whipped cream flavor, but if you can live with it, so can I.

Rinse raspberries and gently pat dry on a paper towel.

If you like to slave over a hot stove, by all means, make your own angel food cakes. But I have to tell you, I found these little gems at Costco, pre-made and ready to go and they were excellent! Moist and flavorful and probably better than I could make. So I have decided to embrace the pre-made cakes with abandon!

Fill the centers of each cake with a generous spoonful of the mousse mix. Top with a dollop of whipped cream and then nestle a juicy raspberry right into the centers. Serve on a pretty platter and prepare to be complemented on your excellent dessert!

Enjoy and Happy Entertaining!

Shanna (a.k.a. The Shortcut Taker)

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Delicious Sour Cream Chocolate Bundt Cake

Posted in Desserts, Easy Recipes, tagged , , on June 11, 2010| 8 Comments »

Be generous with the chocolate frosting. Let it drizzle down the sides and pool along the bottom.

Hubby’s Grandma Nell loves to cook and she shared this chocolate cake recipe with me years ago. I start drooling just thinking about making it because it is so moist and good. It turns out delicious every time and is really simple to make.

My BFF and her husband came to help us with a project a few weekends ago. I made this cake to serve for dessert and her husband, who is a fellow chocolate devotee, seemed to really enjoy it as well.

The ingredients.

The cake batter will be really thick, so don't be surprised when it turns out that way. All will be well in the end.

Once the cake is baked and cooled, put it on your platter or cake stand. I love this bundt pan made of silicone. It is a breeze to get the cake out.

The bare cake, begging for frosting.

As I mentioned before, be generous in your chocolate drizzle.

Finally, enjoy the fruits of your labor. Your taste buds will thank you!

Chocolate Bundt Cake

1 Triple Chocolate Betty Crocker Cake Mix (18 ounce box)

1 small box of instant chocolate pudding

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup oil

3 eggs

1/2 cup chocolate frosting

berries (optional)

whipping cream (optional)

mint leaves (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and pour into a greased and floured bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees of one hour or until edges start to pull away from the pan.

You can use a fun bundt pan shape to make this cake look like you went to a lot of work (when you really didn’t). I like to finish the cake with some pre-made chocolate frosting (yes, right out of the can) that has been warmed. Use about 1/2 cup and microwave for 10-15 seconds, just until it starts to melt. Pour over the top of the cake. You can dust it with powdered sugar or cocoa powder or top with festive sprinkles. You can also pour on caramel sauce and serve while the cake is warm. This is especially taste when served with a side of Dulce de Leche ice cream. Trust me. It will nearly make you faint with bliss.

I like to make the cake the day before, frost it then refrigerate and serve chilled. My favorite presentation is to serve it with a dollop of whipped cream and fresh raspberries. So good!

Enjoy and Happy Entertaining!

Shanna

(aka – The Chocoholic)

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Raspberry Cream Cake

Posted in Desserts, Easy Recipes, tagged , , , on May 21, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Raspberry Cream Cake

I made this deliciously easy cake the other day and Most Wonderful Hubby declared it was the “best cake you’ve ever made!”

That pleased me quite a bit, I have to tell you. Not only because compliments from MWH are like a happy tonic for me, but also because he is a tough cookie to please when it comes to sweets. His favorite cake in the world is carrot cake and he literally would eat it rather than any other dessert. So to hear that comment from him nearly sent me over the moon.

This cake is so simple and starts out with a basic cake mix.  Enjoy!

The Ingredients. I forgot to include Cream Cheese Frosting, which you will need.

Bake the cake according to package directions. Cool. Then frost layers with cream cheese frosting.

While cake is cooling, rinse raspberries, then sprinkle with sugar.

Once the berries have soaked up the sugar, pat dry, along with mint leaves.

Place raspberry filling on top of frosted first layer.

Place frosted second layer frosting side down on the filling. This way you have a frosting and filling sandwich.

Generously cover cake with whipped cream.

Completely cover cake in luscious mounds of whipped cream.

Yum!

Raspberry Cream Cake

1 box Duncan Hines French Vanilla Cake Mix (18 ounce)

3 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1 1/3 cup water

1 cup of fresh raspberries

1 tbsp.  granulated sugar

1 can of raspberry pie filling (21 oz)

1/3 cup powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 carton of heavy whipping cream (16 oz)

1/2 cup prepared cream cheese frosting

Mint leaves for garnish (optional)

Mix cake mix with eggs, oil and water and bake according to package directions. For this cake, I used two square pans and then cut the two layers in half.  I did this crazy thing because I needed two desserts for two separate small meetings and splitting the cake in half just saved me time. You can use two 9-inch round pans or three 8-inch rounds. Your choice.

Once the cake is baked, let it cool completely.

While it is cooling, wash the raspberries and drain.  In a small bowl, sprinkle 1 tbsp. sugar over the berries and let it soak in. Set aside.

Mix up your whipping cream. Beat it on high until it starts to get thick then add in powdered sugar and vanilla. Finish beating until peaks form and it is a good thick consistency. Stick this in the fridge until you are ready to frost the cake.

By now the sugar should have soaked into the berries. Remove them from the bowl and place on a couple of paper  towels to absorb any extra liquid or juice. If you are garnishing with mint, rinse it off and pat dry while you are doing the berries.

Place your first cake layer on your plate or platter. Using the cream cheese frosting, spread on both the top of this layer and the bottom of the second layer. I did a thin layer, but you can put it on as thick as you like.

Next, spread on about half the can of raspberry pie filling. If you are making a three layer cake, you will use all the filling. If you are making a two layer cake, you will have leftovers. I scooped my leftovers into a Ziploc and tossed in the freezer to use for something tasty in the future.

Place the next cake layer on the filling, frosting side down. The frosting acts like glue to hold the layers together. I learned that the hard way when I made three layers of this cake with just the filling and the layers started sliding every which direction when we attempted to cut it. It wasn’t pretty and I don’t recommend trying it just to see if it will happen. It will.

Now that the top layer is in place, get the whipping cream out of the fridge and liberally spread all over the cake. Feel free to be generous with the whipping cream.

Top off the cake by scattering fresh raspberries across the top. You can garnish with mint leaves if you so desire. I desired because it just looks so pretty!

Put the cake into the fridge until you are ready to serve and when you do, be prepared to enjoy the compliments!

Happy Entertaining!

Shanna

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Drop a Bombe for Dessert

Posted in Desserts, Easy Recipes, entertain, tagged , , , , on April 30, 2010| 2 Comments »

The Bombe

Have you ever wanted to create a dessert that was so beautiful, so amazing, so delicious that your guests dropped their jaws and fell all over themselves telling you what a fabulous thing you have done? Me too.  I’m sure I will find that dessert someday but in the meantime this Chocolate Bombe comes pretty close!

Although I normally would avoid any recipe with this many ingredients and steps, this dessert is worth every bit of the sweat and tears that goes into making it.  Let me warn you that it takes a little time and many mixing bowls, but give it a try. You’ll be so glad you did! If you have any chocolate addicts in your life, they will thank you, too!

Here are the steps followed by the recipe.

The Ingredients

Plastic wrap the inside of the bowl and leave plenty hanging out. Yep, that is a pink bowl MWH bought me and I love it!

First layer in the bowl. Gently press it down to the bottom.

Put in half the filling over the first cake layer.

Gently press down the layers. I promise I washed my hands first!

Cover it tightly with the plastic wrap and put in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight.

When you are ready to serve, uncover the top and invert on a platter. Then remove the remaining plastic wrap.

Pattern for the chocolate butterflies. Mine is a little freaky, so draw your own if you like.

Trace the chocolate over the pattern onto waxed or parchment paper.

Make as many butterflies as you like!

Chocolate Butterflies - look good enough to eat!

Frost with whipping cream, drizzle with chocolate frosting, top with butterflies and a berry. Ta-Da!

A peek inside the cake. Just look at all that yummy chocolate and strawberry sweet goodness.

Chocolate Bombe

1 Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge  cake mix (18-ounce box)

1 1/3 cups water

1 /2 cup oil

3 eggs

1 quart fresh strawberries, divided

2 envelopes unflavored Knox gelatin (1 ounce)

1/2 cup frozen strawberry juice concentrate, thawed

3 cups heavy whipping cream

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 tsp. oil

2 tbsp. prepared chocolate frosting

Grease and flour three 8-inch round cake pans. Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Divide evenly in the three pans and bake at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Reserve a few strawberries for garnish. Pureé enough of the remaining strawberries to measure 1 cup and set aside. In a small micro-wave safe bowl, sprinkle gelatin over juice concentrate; let stand for five minutes. Microwave on high power one minute. Stir until gelatin dissolves; set aside. In a small mixing bowl, beat 1 cup of the heavy cream until stiff.

In another mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla; mix well. Blend in strawberry pureé. Gradually add gelatin mixture and blend until smooth. Whisk in whipped cream; set aside.

Line a 12-cup capacity bowl with 2-3 long sheets of plastic wrap, allowing ends of plastic wrap to hang over the sides of the bowl by at least 6 inches.

Gently press one cake layer into the bottom of the bowl. Spoon about one-half of the filling over the cake layer then top with another layer of cake. Spread remaining filling over the second layer of the cake; top with the third layer of cake. Gently press down. Cover with loose ends of plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour (you can refrigerate over night as well).

Line a baking sheet with a piece of waxed paper or baking parchment. Place the butterfly pattern under the paper. Mix chocolate chips and oil in micro-wave safe bowl, microwave on high in 10-15 second intervals, stirring until chocolate is smooth and melted. Spoon into a pastry bag or a resealable plastic sandwich bag with the tip of a corner snipped. Trace the butterfly pattern with the chocolate. Move the pattern around the pan, tracing as many butterflies as you’d like to make. When finished, place in the freezer for at least an hour until chocolate has hardened.

When ready to serve, mix the confectioners sugar with the remaining cream until stiff. Uncover top of the bombe. Invert onto a serving platter; remove and discard plastic wrap. Frost with sweetened whipped cream.

Put prepared chocolate frosting in a microwave safe bowl and warm on high for about 15 seconds. Using a knife, drizzle chocolate over the cake in a swirling pattern. Top with chocolate butterflies and add a berry on top for garnish. Don’t let the butterflies set out of the freezer for too long before you add them to the cake as they softened quickly.

Stand back and be prepared for your guests to be dazzled by your creative culinary talents!

Happy Entertaining!

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