Foodie Fanatics: Simply Delicious Strawberry Cake

It was my week to choose the Paula Deen recipe. I chose Chili Chicken Stew which was from her January/February 2009 issue. It can be found here. This is what it looks like:

But.....after running around on Sunday putting Christmas decorations away from my home and my parents, plus the temperature getting into the upper 70's, stew just did not sound good at all. So, I opted to make a dessert to eat while watching the Denver/Steeler game. Go Broncs!

I stuck to the Paula Deen chef and made her Simply Delicious Strawberry Cake. Yummy! It was made with a box white cake which made the recipe easy. The hardest part was pureeing the strawberries! I added a little more strawberry to the icing.

The recipe can be found on the Food Network site here. You won't be sorry!

Foodie Fanatics: "Cake" Ice-Cream Cones

This recipe for the Foodie Fanatics was chosen by Michele at Makin' Cakin' Weekends. We are still baking from Paula Deen. My daughter and I made these yesterday before dinner to have to munch on during the night. They are super easy to make. You can make with any flavor cake mix. I was originally going to do funfetti, but had a bad egg and made chocolate instead.

Everyone seemed to enjoy them. My four year old grandson kept asking were the ice cream was! He knew they were cake, but they were in the cones. Silly boy!

The recipe can be found here on the Food Network Site. I recommend making these especially for a kids party! The flavor possibilities are endless.

Sorry the pic is fuzzy, we were outside enjoying a fire in our 60 degree weather!

My grandson with the frosting on his nose!

Cooking With Alicia & Annie: 7-Up Watergate Cake

This is my 2nd entry for the month for Cooking With Alicia & Annie. I'm not sure where this recipe got its name. It is really easy to make. The recipe doesn't say if you are supposed to beat or just and mix. I beat the first 5 ingredients of the cake batter and mixed in the nuts and coconut. My son licked the bowl clean!

For the frosting, I mixed everything but the coconut. The coconut I sprinkled on top of the cake.

The cake is delicious! Especially after it's been in the fridge for a while.

Ingredients:

Cake:

1 pkg white cake mix

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 cup 7-UP, Sprite or Club Soda (I used Sprite Zero)

3 1/2 oz pistacio pudding, instant

1/2 cup finely chopped nuts

1/2 cup coconut

Topping:

8 oz. Cool Whip, thawed (I used sugar free)

3 1/2 oz pistachio pudding, instant

1/2 c. coconut
3/4 c. chopped nuts

Directions:

Mix all cake ingredients. Pour into greased bundt pan and bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Fold all topping ingredients until mixed. Spread over cooled cake and sprinkle with coconut and nuts.

Store in refrigerator.

Before putting in oven - love the green!

After coming out of the oven.

Not the prettiest cake, but yummy!

Refrigerator Cake

This cake was made by a neighbor, Doug Liley, when I lived in apartments outside San Antonio, TX. It took me forever to get the recipe from Doug. It is so delicious, especially in the summer since it is stored in the fridge. I made this for my mom's birthday, which was April 21st. My family came over for london broil.

Ingredients:

1 yellow cake mix and ingredients to make

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 cans crushed pineapple

1 container of Cool Whip

Directions:

Bake cake as directed in 13 x 9 pan. After comes out of oven and while still hot, poke holes and pour condensed milk over cake.

Let cake cool. Drain pineapple. Spread over top of cake. Spread Cool Whip over the pineapple. Store in refrigerator.

with condensed milk on top

with the crushed pineapple

Chocolate-Orange Punch Bowl Cake

This recipe is from one of the small Betty Crocker booklets you buy at the grocery in the check out line, April 2004 Super Moist Cake Mix Recipes. This can also be found on line. I made this dessert for Easter. It was a big hit. I had to put in two glass containers since I didn't have one big glass bowl. It's a light dessert. I would definitely make this one again.

Ingredients:

1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist devil's food cake mix
water, vegetable oil and eggs as called for on box
4 cups milk
4 tsp grated orange peel
2 boxes (4 serving size) vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix
1 cup chocolate flavored syrup
2 cans (15 oz size) mandarin orange segments, drained
1 container (8 oz) Cool Whip, thawed

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with shortening or cooking spray.

2. Beat cake mix, water, oil and eggs in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl constantly. Pour into pan.

3. Bake 34-39 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Run knife around the side of pan to loosen cake. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, beat pudding mix into milk and orange peel in large bowl with wire whisk about 2 minutes or until blended.

4. Cut or tear into 1-inch pieces. Arrange half of the pieces in 3 1/2 quart glass serving bowl, cutting pieces to fit shape of bowl. Drizzle 1/2 cup of the chocolate syrup over cake; spread with 2 cups of the pudding. Reserve 1/2 cup orange segments for garnish; arrange remaining orange segments over pudding. Add remaining cake pices. Top with remaining chocolate syrup, remaining pudding and the whipped topping. Cover and refrigerate.

5. Garnish with reserved orange segments. Store covered in refrigerator up to 8 hours.

Yield: 16 servings

Lots-of-Ways Banana Cake

I had a bunch of over ripe bananas on Sunday so I decided I needed to bake something (good excuse, huh?). I looked through Dorie's From My Home to Yours and found the Lots-of-Ways Banana Cake on pages 204-205. There is a lot of variations to this recipe which makes it unique.

I skipped the rum and used whole milk and coconut. I accidently put twice the amount of milk in the recipe but I added more bananas. It still turned out delicious. I was quite pleased. I topped it off with sugar free Cool Whip and coconut. Yummo.

Another easy, but delicious recipe from Dorie!

Devil's Food Pound Cake

My mom wants us all to come for dinner tomorrow night. Since I have been baking alot lately, she wants me to bring a dessert. I decided to bake the Duncan Hines Devil's Food cake mix I had in the cupboard. On the side was this recipe. I didn't have the regular chocolate pudding mix, so I used the chocolate mint pudding mix.

Jimmy and I can't wait to dig into it! I had a hard time keeping Jimmy out of the frosting. Of course, I used wwaaaayyyy more than 1/2 cup of frosting!

Cake:

1 package Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Devil's Food Cake Mix

1 package (4 servings size) cholate instant pudding and pie filling mix

4 large eggs

1 1/4 cups water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Glaze:

1/2 c. Dunacan Hines Creamy Home Style Frosting (favorite flavor)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 10 inch bundt pan or tube pan.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.

Beat on medium speed with electric mixer for 2 mintues. Pour into pan.

Bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 25 minutes. Invert onto heat resistant serving plate. Cool completely.

For Glaze, heat frosting in microwave on hight 10-15 seconds. Don not overheat. Drizzle over cake.

see the green chips from the pudding mix!

mini chocolate chips on top

Perfection Pound Cake - TWD

As I noticed many of you are doing, I decided to start baking the recipes that have been done already this year. So many to choose from!!! What am I to do???!!! Since I seem to want to bake a lot lately (except for last night after that ice cream!) I decided on the Perfection Pound Cake mainly because I had all the ingredients! I decided to make it marbled. The recipe was very easy, just LOTS of mixing!

The cake tasted delicious, just a tad dry, but I would definitely make it again. It didn't take as long as the book said to bake. I used the smaller pan and it took about 70 minutes tops.

That's my cat, K.C. (Kitty Cat, original, huh?) laying in front of the oven while the bread was baking. He must be hungry!






Mixing and mixing












After marbling before putting in oven







The final product!