Category Archives: dessert

Midori Cake

Spring is here! The lilacs are in bloom! That means it is time for Midori cake. Back when I was in college, my old college friend (who no longer talks to me because she thinks I am evil since I am a registered Republican) would bring back from spring break a midori cake her mother baked and clippings from her mother’s lilac bush. It was so lovely to eat the midori cake and see and smell the beautiful lilac flowers. Every spring I think back to that time and hunger for midori cake. Here’s the recipe:

1 (18.25 ounce) box yellow cake mix
1 package (4 serving size) instant pistachio pudding
4 eggs
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup Midori Melon Liqueur
1/2 teaspoon coconut flavoring
Frosting (see recipe)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In bowl, combine all ingredients except frosting; beat 4 minutes. Pour into well-greased Bundt pan. Bake 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in pan about 15 minutes. Remove from pan, prepare frosting and frost cake while still warm. Cool completely.

Makes 12 to 16 servings.

Frosting
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup Midori liqueur
1/4 cup cream cheese
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon coconut flavoring

In bowl, mix and beat all ingredients together at high speed until smooth and spreadable. Frost cake while still warm.

Lemon Crisp Cookies

1 package (18.25) lemon cake mix
1 cup crisp Rice Krispies cereal
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl combine the cake mix, Rice Krispies and grated lemon peel.
Add the butter and egg and mix well. The dough will be crumbly.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie
sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until set. Allow cookies
to cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes. Use a spatula to remove cookies
from cookie sheets and place on wire racks to cool completely.
Yield: 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

These Lemon Crisp cookies are great! Very lemony and refreshing with a nice crunch. Perfect for summer or when you are dreaming of summer. My only deviation from the recipe is that I used lemon cake mix that contained pudding. Oh, and I threw in a couple drops of water because the dough was really, really dry. The cookies were very soft when they came out of the oven and at first I wondered if I should bake them longer but the edges were getting brown so I took them out. Once they cooled they became nice and crisp.

THE MAN-MAGNET CAKE

I’m not sure how this works… maybe if you eat a lot of it men will be attracted to you?

Ingredients for cake:

1 package yellow cake mix
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water

Ingredients for cake filling:
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 cup finely chopped pecans
2 tablespoons of brown sugar

Ingredients for vanilla glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons warmed milk (do not boil)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl combine all cake ingredients and beat at high speed for 2 minutes. Pour about two-thirds of the batter into a greased and floured 10-inch tube or bundt pan. Combine filling ingredients and sprinkle liberally over cake ingredients in pan.

Spread remaining batter over filling mixture and bake for approximately 50 minutes, until cake springs back when touched. Cool in pan for half an hour, then turn pan upside down and gently remove. Prepare vanilla glaze when ready to use by sifting powdered sugar into a bowl, then adding vanilla and heated milk. If glaze is not liquid enough to drizzle, a little more milk (up to 1 teaspoon) may be added. Drizzle vanilla glaze on top of cake, letting it drip down the sides. Stand back, and watch the men come running.

Spiced Harvest Cake

Haven’t tried this one out yet but my mom emailed it to me and it sounds yummy!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter (3/4 stick) room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup plain yogurt
1 medium apple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch chunks
1 ripe pear, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch chunks

Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder, cardamom, cinnamon and salt and set aside. In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and yogurt in two batches, mixing at low speed just until combined. Stir in apple and pear chunks. Pour into greased 10-inch cake pan and smooth the batter using a knife or offset spatula. Bake until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool for five minutes in the pan, then invert onto a cooling rack.

Serves 12

Alton Brown’s Indian Rice Pudding

Here is a recipe for the most yummy rice pudding I ever ate!

1 cup cooked long grain or basmati rice
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup coconut milk
2 ounces sugar, approximately 1/4 cup
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 1/2 ounces golden raisins, approximately 1/3 cup
1 1/2 ounces chopped unsalted pistachios, approximately 1/3 cup

In a large nonstick saute pan over medium heat, combine the cooked rice and milk. Heat until the mixture begins to boil. Decrease the heat to low and cook at a simmer until the mixture begins to thicken, stirring frequently, approximately 5 minutes.

Increase the heat to medium, add the heavy cream, coconut milk, sugar, and cardamom and continue to cook until the mixture just begins to thicken again, approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Use a whisk to help prevent the cardamom from clumping. Once the mixture just begins to thicken, remove from the heat and stir in the raisins and pistachios. Transfer the mixture to individual serving dishes or a glass bowl and place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

The Funny Fruit Bread

My mother has made this bread a few times and it always comes out delicious. It’s very easy to make. She found the recipe in a cookbook entitled, Creative Cookery, Compiled by the Jewish Women’s League of Pottstown, PA. The date of the cookbook is 1976.

1/2 lb. prunes (pitted)
3/4 c. boiling water
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 c. sugar
1 egg
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp. melted shortening

Soak prunes for 1 hour in water to cover them. Cut them up. Add water and baking soda. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add sugar, egg, flour, salt and melted shortening. Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes in a greased loaf pan.

This recipe is by Merle Perch

Note: My mom has also used dates and figs with this recipe. We found the fig version the tastiest.

Mother’s Pumpkin Pie

My grandmother clipped this recipe from a newspaper many many many years ago. Recently my mother found it and I have transcribed it word for word.

(Makes 2 deep 9-inch pies or three 8-inch pies)

Make your flakiest crust and line two pie pans with it. Let it refrigerate while you make the filling.

Empty 1 quart pumpkin pulp in to a big bowl. Into it stir 1 quart rich milk (half whole milk and half evaporated milk is a fine combination). Also stir in 1 cup sugar mixed with 1 tablespoon flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Some folk also add about 1/4 cup applejack or brandy. My mother used 1 teaspoon vanilla. Thoroughly mix in yolks of 5 small eggs and then taste the mixture. It should be definitely too sweet. If not add more sugar. Pumpkin absorbs sugar. When too sweet before baking, it will be just right afterward. Beat the whites of the eggs until they almost peak. Sir in well. Pull out the middle rack of 350 degree F oven and place crust-lined pans on it. Then pour and ladle filling into them, filling as deeply as possible. The filling shrinks when cooled. Carefully push rack back in place.

Bake pies about 60 minutes until outside edge portion is set. Remove racks to cool. Like custard pies, they have enough heat in them when the outside edge is firm to finish baking the center as they cool. While still warm, dredge top with well-mixed combination of 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and about 1/4 teaspoon (or to your own taste) cloves.

Properly pumpkin pie shouldn’t be cut until it has cooled and “set” a bit.

My grandmother added ¾ cup shredded coconut to the mix. She also noted on the clipping that rhubarb squash and butternut squash work equally well with this recipe.

Fleischmann’s Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Absolutely DELICIOUS!

(makes about 2 Dozen Cookies)

1 1/2 cups of all-purpose Gold Medal flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) Fleischmann’s margarine
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Egg Beaters or 2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1 cup white chocolate chips

1. Combine flour and baking powder. Set aside.

2. In a mixing bowl, beat Fleischmann’s margarine and sugars until fluffy. Mix in Egg Beaters and vanilla extract until well blended. Add flour mixture and stir until just combined. Stir in oats, cranberries, and white chocolate chips.

3. For each cookie, drop a rounded tablespoon of dough onto a cookie sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each. Bake at 350 degrees F for 12 to 14 minutes or until edges of cookies turn golden brown and centers are still soft.

Nanny’s Pumpkin Pie

Click here for the original recipe

1 quart Pumpkin (4 cups)
1 quart milk- ½ evaporated
1 cup sugar (or more)
1 T flour
1/4 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1 t vanilla
5 beaten egg yolks
¾ cups shredded coconut
5 egg whites
2 pie shells

Mix first 8 ingredients, be sure to blend well. Then add coconut and fold in egg whites which have been beaten to soft peaks. Pour or ladle into shells, add topping, bake, etc.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

After cooked and stil hot, sprinkle with:
½ cup 10X sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves.

Chocolate Kringles

These are easy to make and absolutely delicious! My family usually makes them around Christmas time.

1 package of Devils Food Cake Mix 1lb 2 ½ oz)
2 eggs (slightly beaten)
1 T Water
½ c Shortening
Confectioner’s sugar

Mix first four 4 ingredients with spoon until blended. Shape into walnut size balls. Roll in confectioner’s sugar.
Space 1 ½ “ apart in greased pan.
Bake 375 degrees, 8-10 minutes.