Strawberry Dump Cake is an inspired dessert. I had a package of fresh strawberries that flashed warning signals at me every time I opened the refrigerator. This morning I saw the package of strawberry cake mix in the pantry and Strawberry Dump Cake was born. You don't have to wait for inspiration because Dump Cakes are great any time. A dump cake means that dry cake mix is “dumped” over fruit that has been “dumped” in a pan and then the whole shebang is covered with melted butter. Not quite a cobbler or a crisp but not a full fledged cake either, it is a big timesaver. Therefore, a legitimate dessert :-) If the cook is on a tight schedule, usually the eaters are too. And they are looking for something fruity that tastes good. Dump cake wins again. The strawberries and ... [Read More]
Cakes
Cream Cheese Frosting – lower sugar version
Cream Cheese Frosting (Lower sugar version) is a light, soft frosting. It spreads well, but is not suitable for decorating. It will hold things like chopped nuts or other embellishments -- food or paper – but won’t hold shape. It’s not strong on flavor, has a very smooth texture, not sweet – it’s the perfect foil for a great cake! It enhances but doesn’t outshine unique flavors and textures, like Pumpkin Bars, Pineapple Spiced Carrot Cake or Hummingbird Cake. What other recipe gets top billing for being the perfect second banana to the star??Make one batch to frost a 9x13 pan of cake or cakelike bars. To frost layer cakes, you will need to double the batch. A touch of salt can enhance the flavor. You can also add up to a cup more powdered sugar, if you need (which will, of course, up the ... [Read More]
Hummingbird Cake
I’ve heard of Hummingbird Cake forever and wondered what it was. I pictured something light and fluffy, fruity and sweet to taste. You know – hummingbird like! So I jumped at the chance to make one when my friend Donna shared a Hummingbird Cake recipe. Be sure to use overripe bananas since they are sweeter. Mashing them releases more of the ripe banana flavor. Mash bananas with a fork in a small bowl or in the two cup measure. It will take about 4 bananas to make two cups. Don’t drain the pineapple. You can substitute chopped walnuts for the pecans (or use coconut instead if there is nut allergy to worry about). A 9x13 pan will work, but I’d recommend using the layer pans. I used a 9x13 pan as it is the only one available at the moment and it took about 45 minutes for the center to ... [Read More]
Lemon Blossoms
This is one of the rare recipes I didn’t tweak the first time I made it. After all, who is going to mess with Paula Dean?? Not this little chickadee! I followed the recipe exactly. She said it yielded 60 blossoms but I came up with exactly 48. The yield may depend on the size of your tart/mini muffin pans. I used a teaspoon to fill each cup half full so when the cake rise they don’t come over the top of the cup. The batter is quite thick. Be sure to generously spray the muffin tins. Or you could find yourself washing stuck on muffins out of them so you can do the next batch – just sayin’. Of course if you own pans that will let you make four dozen at once, just disregard – or better not. Everything comes out better with generosity. One batch was cool when I dipped it into ... [Read More]
Spiced Pineapple Carrot Cake
This is THE best carrot cake ever. Carrots are popular at our house. I had to work fast after my grocery buying trip to have enough to make carrot cake. And it was so worth it! Carrot cake is good. Spiced carrot pineapple coconut cake with nuts and raisins is celestial! This looks like a long recipe, but it really goes together quickly. Do take the time to measure the dry ingredients and mix them together before adding to the other ingredients. The mixing time with the wet ingredients is so short that it’s possible the flavors wouldn’t mix or you could end up with too much soda in a bite. Use flaked coconut as it really adds to the finished texture and flavor. Be sure to peel carrots before grating. Or, do like I did, grab a bag of baby carrots already peeled and put them ... [Read More]
Buttercream Cake Icing and writing Joy
Buttercream Icing was the basis for a cake decorating lesson. Actually, it was my final exam in the cake decorating class I’ve been taking. We were to bake two layers, stack and frost them before class. We could make flowers ahead of time and let them dry. In class we had to write a word on the cake and do the border, then complete the cake. I knew right away I wanted Tiffany blue as the base with white decorations. We hadn’t had instructions on how to make the flowers I wanted to use, but I read the book and watched a couple of videos. And created them anyway! The meringue powder in the recipe helps the frosting form a firm crust that allows decorations to hold their shape. Still the larger flowers, the teacher said, would need about three days to dry enough to completely hold ... [Read More]
