Strawberry rhubarb chiffon cake from Betty Crocker

This tempting dessert recipe, brought to you by the baking geniuses at Betty Crocker, features the
immensely popular summertime duo of strawberry and rhubarb.

STRAWBERRY RHUBARB CHIFFON CAKE

• 1 3/4 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour 
• 2 teaspoons baking powder 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar 
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil 
• 6 egg yolks 
• 10 strawberries, pureed in blender or food processor (about 3/4 cup) 
• 22 drops red liquid food color 
• 6 egg whites 
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar 

Filling and Glaze 

• 1 cup frozen cut rhubarb, thawed, drained or chopped fresh rhubarb 
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel 
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar 
• 1 tablespoon water 
• 1 1/2 cups quartered strawberries 
• 1 cup whipping cream 
• 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar 

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and 1/2 cup of the granulated sugar until blended. Add oil, egg yolks, pureed strawberries and food color. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed about 2 minutes or until blended; set aside. 
2. Wash and dry beaters. In medium bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar with electric mixer on medium speed about 1 minute 30 seconds or until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 3/4 cup granulated sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form. Fold one-third of the egg white mixture into the egg yolk batter gently but thoroughly. Fold in remaining egg white mixture. Pour into ungreased 10-inch angel food (tube) cake pan. Tap pan on counter to remove air bubbles. 
3. Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately turn pan upside down onto heatproof bottle or funnel. Let hang about 2 hours or until cake is completely cool. 
4. Meanwhile, in 1-quart saucepan, heat rhubarb, lemon peel, 1/4 cup granulated sugar and the water to boiling over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until soft and cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat; set aside to cool, about 30 minutes. Stir in quartered strawberries. 
5. In medium bowl, beat 1/2 cup of the whipping cream and 1 tablespoon of the powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold in 1/2 cup of the cooled strawberry-rhubarb mixture. Reserve remaining mixture for top of cake. 
6. Place cake top side down on serving platter. Cut 1-inch layer off top of cake; set aside. Cut tunnel into cake 1 inch deep and 1 inch wide; discard tunnel scraps. Fill tunnel with strawberry-rhubarb cream mixture. Replace top of cake. 
7. To make glaze, stir together remaining 1/2 cup whipping cream and remaining powdered sugar (almost 1 1/2 cups) in medium bowl until smooth. Spoon glaze over top of cake, letting it run down side. Top with reserved strawberry-rhubarb mixture just before serving. 

EXPERT TIPS
Short on time? Make the strawberry rhubarb mixture (step 4) up to 2 days ahead of time. Store covered in refrigerator until ready to use. Rhubarb and strawberries are a refreshing pair for spring. To prepare fresh rhubarb, trim the ends and discard all traces of the leaves (rhubarb leaves are poisonous). Scrub the stalks and cut into pieces about 1 inch in length.

Thin Mint pattys ice cream cake recipe from Breyers

INGREDIENTS 

• 30 (1-in.) square prepared brownies 
• 1 container Breyers BLASTS!® Girl Scout Cookies® Thin Mints® 
• 2 bottles (7.25 oz. ea.) chocolate fudge ice cream topping that hardens 

INSTRUCTIONS 
Line 9-inch cake pan with plastic wrap with 6-inch overhang on all sides. Arrange brownies in pan and press into an even layer, about 1/2-inch think, completely covering bottom of pan. Spoon Breyers BLASTS!® Girl Scout Cookies® Thin Mints® into pan, pressing to form even layer. Smooth top with a spatula. Fold plastic wrap over Ice Cream. Freeze until firm, about 2 hours. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil, then arrange wire rack on baking sheet. Lift cake from pan. Unwrap, then arrange cake on rack, crust side down. Squeeze entire content of chocolate fudge topping bottles onto center of cake and working quickly spread to edge to cover top. Use drips on tray to even out and cover sides, if necessary. Freeze until ready to serve*. *For easier serving, remove from freezer 10 minutes before serving to soften.

The GIRL SCOUTS® name, mark and all associated trademarks and logotypes, including GIRL SCOUT COOKIES®, THIN MINTS® and the Trefoil Design are owned by Girl Scouts of the USA. Unilever is an official GSUSA licensed vendor.

Raspberry lemon poke cake recipe

(Photo credit: frugalupstate)

Ah, spring is in the air! Here in Ohio, it's 70+ degrees out and the forecast is calling for thunderstorms. For us, it doesn't get any more official than that! Warmer weather calls for lighter flavors, and this delicious dessert really delivers.

RASPBERRY LEMON POKE CAKE

• 1 cup boiling water water
• 1 small box raspberry gelatin
• 1 white cake mix 
• 1/4 cup water 
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil 
• 4 egg whites 
• 1/2 cup frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
• 1 tub prepared vanilla frosting
• 1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed
• fresh raspberries, for garnish
• lemon zest, for garnish

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9X13 cake pan with non-stick spray and set aside. Combine hot water and gelatin in a small bowl and stir until dissolved. Combine cake mix, water, oil, egg whites, 1/4 cup of the gelatin mixture and 1/4 cup of the lemonade in a large bowl. Pour into prepared pan and bake 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Combine remaining gelatin and lemonade. While the cake is still warm, poke repeatedly with a fork and drizzle with gelatin mixture. Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting. When ready to frost, fold together frosting and whipped topping and spread on cake. Garnish with fresh berries and zest, if desired. Keep cake covered and refrigerated until time to serve

DeDe Wilson's Brown Sugar Buttermilk Snack Cake with Blackberries and Caramel Walnut Drizzle Recipe

Blackberries are one of Autumn's most tantalizing fruits and they are packed full of vitamins (A, B, C & E), minerals (calcium & iron), fiber and juicy flavor. They dress up the simplest of desserts in the most delicious way. It is no wonder that DeDe Wilson-television host, author and contributing editor- chose these dark beauties for her Brown Sugar Buttermilk Snack Cake with Blackberries & Caramel Walnut Drizzle recipe. Sounds complicated, doesn't it? Well, it isn't. I think the hardest part of this recipe was waiting for the ingredients to warm up to room temperature!


Cake

• 1 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
• Heaping 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
• 1/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1 cup fresh Driscoll’s blackberries
  
  

For the Cake

• Position rack in middle of oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat an 8-inch square pan with nonstick spray.
  Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl to aerate and combine; set aside.
  Beat butter with flat paddle on medium-high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl once or twice. Beat in egg until well combined. Add the flour mixture in two additions, alternately with the buttermilk. Begin and end with the flour mixture and beat briefly until smooth. Scrape batter evenly into pan and smooth top with offset spatula. It will be a fairly shallow layer. Scatter blackberries evenly on top, reserving about 5 of them; do not press into batter. They will sink during baking.
  Bake for about 15 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick shows a few moist crumbs. The cake will just have begun to come away from the sides of the pan. Cool pan completely on rack. Cake is ready to decorate.

Icing

• 1/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 3/4 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup toasted walnut halves, chopped

For the Icing
Combine brown sugar, butter and cream in small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Simmer for 1 minute, whisking frequently.
Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla and confectioners’ sugar until smooth and fluid. It will firm up very quickly and if you whisk or cool it too long, it will become too firm and sugary. Use a spoon to immediately drizzle about half the icing all over top of cake, then quickly sprinkle walnuts and reserved berries evenly over top while icing is still wet. Drizzle with remaining icing, which will set up almost immediately. Cake is ready to serve. Store at room temperature well wrapped in plastic wrap up to 1 day.

Tip
You might be tempted to add extra Driscoll’s berries to the batter, but they add too much moisture and will throw off the balance of the cake. The amount called for along with the shallow cake layer, are well proportioned as is. Also, when making the icing, make sure you stop combining the ingredients the moment the mixture becomes smooth. If it becomes grainy and sandy you have stirred too long and must start again. 


This recipe is just one of many taste bud tempting treasures that can be found in DeDe's new book, Unforgettable Desserts. This book features 150 recipes and over 300 pages. The recipe collection includes cookies, cakes, pies, tarts, custards, mousses, frozen desserts, candies and confections. The recipes sound absolutely delicious and you don't have to be a professional pastry chef to create them.

Recipe and Photo used with permission.

Hungarian hazelnut cake recipe

Here's a little nugget of food trivia-hazelnuts are often called filberts. No matter what you call them, they are delectable!

HUNGARIAN HAZELNUT CAKE
Ingredients

12 ounces hazelnuts

2 teaspoons baking powder

6 egg yolks

5/8 cup white sugar

6 egg whites

1 pint heavy whipping cream

1/8 cup chopped hazelnuts, for garnish

 
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Generously grease and flour a 9 inch springform pan. Grind hazelnuts until very fine in texture and add baking powder. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until pale yellow in color. Stir in the hazelnut mixture until well combined. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the yolk mixture . When combined, add remaining whites and fold in until no streaks remain. Pour into prepared pan and bake 60 to 75 minutes, or until top of cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool on wire rack. When cool, slice the cake horizontally into 3 layers. Beat whipping cream until stiff then top each layer. Spread on top and sides of cake. Garnish with hazelnuts and serve.

Nutmeg cake recipe

Nutmeg that is a spice that typically doesn't get the recognition it so richly deserves. It is usually used in recipes with other spices such as cinnamon, ginger or cloves. Fortunately, this cake really lets the delicious flavor of nutmeg shine through all on its own.

NUTMEG CAKE 

3 eggs 

1/2 cup butter, softened 

1 1/2 cups sugar 

1 cup buttermilk 

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

2 teaspoons ground nutmeg 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

3 tablespoons cream 

1/4 cup butter 

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease two 9 inch round cake pans. In a small bowl beat eggs well. In large bowl, cream 1/2 cup of the butter or margarine and the white sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the beaten eggs and stir until well combined. Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground nutmeg, and salt. Add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk combined with the vanilla to the creamed mixture in three parts, beginning and ending the flour mixture. Spread batter into prepared pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Let cakes cool completely before assembling the final cake.

Caramel Icing: In a medium sauce pan heat the brown sugar, cream or milk, and butter until it boils. Boil for 2 minutes then remove from heat. Let cool. Stir in powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add more cream or powdered sugar as needed to achieve desired spreading consistency.