Blueberry Lemon Trifle!

  

This is one of those desserts that looks like you really went all out and fussed over it, but  really it's very simple and if you use a store bought angel food cake, you don't even have to turn the oven on!  I love the combination of lemon and blueberries, so this really appealed to me.  It's just perfect for Spring and any springtime entertaining you will be doing!   Also, for those watching your weight and trying to cut fat and calories, you can make this in a lighter version.  

 Here is what you will need:

1 angel food cake, cut in 1" cubes (can bake your own or buy one already made)

1  (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened (can use light cream cheese)

1 (14 oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk (can use fat free version)

1 (3 oz.) box of instant lemon flavored pudding mix (can use sugar free)

1 cup milk (2% works fine)

3 Tbs. lemon juice or the juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp. vanilla

1 can blueberry pie filling

16 oz. frozen whipped topping (can use light)

fresh blueberries and strawberries for garnish

Whip the cream cheese and the sweetened condensed milk with an electric mixer in a large bowl.  Add the milk, lemon pudding mix, vanilla and lemon juice and whip until it starts to thicken and is smooth.  Fold in half of the whipped topping and blend.  Place this in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to set up. 

Place 1/2 of the angel food cake cubes in a tall glass trifle dish.  If you don't have a trifle dish, use a large glass bowl.  This looks prettiest if you can see the layers.  Next layer half of the pudding mixture over the cake.   Spread 1/2 of the blueberry pie filling over the pudding layer around the edges of the dish, more toward the sides than the middle.  This makes the layers show up when looking at it through the glass.

 Repeat the cake, lemon pudding, and blueberry pie filling layers again.  Finish the top with the remainder of the whipped cream.  Garnish with the fresh blueberries and strawberries however you wish.   I just sprinkle the middle with blueberries and made some strawberry fans to place around them.  Chill for a couple of hours before serving for the best results.   If you like more fresh berries, you can also sprinkle additional blueberries and sliced strawberries in the layers.



2 - Minute Tropical Pie!

This is a fun little dessert that is so quick and easy a child could make it!  As a matter of fact, it's a perfect recipe to turn over to the children.  With a little help in chopping a few of the ingredients, and a little adult supervision, the kids can prepare the dessert for dinner!  They will be so proud of their creation!  

I adapted this recipe from an original recipe published by Mr. Food!  I always loved watching Mr. Food and his quick and easy recipes.  I have a lot of his cookbooks and his way of delivering a recipe on TV was always soothing to me.  I think his appeal was that he made anyone believe they could prepare his dishes.  He wasn't afraid of some convenience items and he limited the amount of ingredients in a recipe.  Mr. Food knew that some folks needed something simpler and he delivered it.   It' s a good lesson to take a note from and one I sometimes forget.  RIP Mr. Food, I miss you, but your wonderful recipes live on!

It's called 2 - minute pie, because it literally takes about 2 minutes to prepare.  Now that is not exact and depends on how fast you move in the kitchen, so please don't time yourself and write me comments that it actually took 2 minutes and 47 seconds or some other such nonsense...lol.   I know most of you think I am kidding, but you would not believe some of the comments I get...lol.  

Any who, here is what you will need:

1 prepared graham cracker pie crust or shortbread pie crust

1 (20 oz.) can of crushed pineapple, undrained

1 (3.5 oz.) box of instant vanilla pudding

1 (3.5 oz.) box of instant lemon pudding (can use another vanilla or white chocolate is good also if you like a less tart flavor)

8 oz. sour cream

1 cup flaked coconut, divided

1/2 cup nuts, chopped  pecans or walnuts  (optional)

1/2 cup maraschino cherries, drained and chopped (optional)

whole maraschino cherries for garnish

whipped cream for garnish

Mix the crushed pineapple  with is juices and pudding mixes together until the puddings have dissolved and then add the sour cream in and stir until smooth. Be sure you buy the INSTANT PUDDING, not the cook and serve, it will not work in this.   Stir in 1/2 cup of the coconut, nuts and chopped cherries. 

Pour into prepared crust.

Top with the other 1/2 cup of coconut and a few whole maraschino cherries.  Chill for at least 2 - 3 hours before serving!  





Fresh Strawberry Cake Roll!

This strawberry cake roll looks very elegant and impressive and it's great to serve to company.  They don't need to know how easy it is.  It's also lower in fat than a lot of desserts because the base is angel food cake.  Here is what you will need for this: 

1 Angel Food Cake Mix

1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar, divided

2 pints fresh strawberries

3 Tbs. granulated sugar

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

3 Tbs. milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a jelly roll pan  (15  1/2" x 10  1/2")  with waxed paper and spray it with nonstick spray.  Prepare cake mix as directed on the package and spread evenly in the pan.   Bake 35 to 40 minutes.

Sprinkle a clean kitchen towel well with confectioners sugar.  Invert the cake onto the towel and peel off the wax paper.  Cut any crisp edges from the cake.  From the narrow end, roll the cake and the towel together.  Place the roll seam side down an a rack to cool.

While the cake cools, cap and slice 1 pint of  strawberries in thin slices.  Sprinkle them with the 3 Tbs. granulated sugar.  Stir them and let them sit until the sugar is dissolved.

In  bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese with the milk until smooth.  Blend in the vanilla and 1 cup confectioners sugar.  

 

Unroll the cake and spread with the cream cheese mixture.  Cover the cream cheese mixture with the sliced strawberries.  Reroll the cake and sprinkle generously with the remainder of the confectioners sugar.  Place seam side down on a pretty platter or plate and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. 

Slice and serve with the remainder of the strawberries.  You can slice them and macerate them in sugar and just a little water to make a syrup, like you would for strawberry shortcake,  or just serve the fresh berries alongside.   It also looks pretty to garnish the platter with a few berries.





Strawberry Fruit Pizza!

Not long ago I worked in long term care for a couple of years.  Each month we would have a big birthday party celebration to honor all of the residents who had birthdays that month.  My mother and my Aunt Mary, were so kind to bake and donate all sorts of sweets...cakes, cookies, cupcakes and this fruit pizza, to serve at these parties.  Needless to say, the residents looked forward to these days and didn't fuss over their lunches too much on that day, because they were saving room for their sweet treats.  Anyone who has ever worked with the elderly knows if they won't eat anything else, you can usually get them to eat something sweet.   The staff looked forward to it about as much as they did also.  I have had several staff members say to me lately that they are dying for a piece of my mama's fruit pizza.  So I am posting this recipe for them! 

Here is what you'll need:

1 roll refrigerated sugar cookies
1 8oz cream cheese (softened)
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 cup refrigerated whipped topping
1 tsp vanilla flavoring
1 (15 oz.) can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 (3 oz.) pkg. instant vanilla pudding
3-4 bananas
approximately 4 cups large strawberries, sliced
1 pkg. strawberry glaze

Leave the roll of cookies out of the refrigerator to soften a bit.  Spray a pizza pan with baking spray, then pat the roll of cookie dough on the pan to the edges.  Bake as directed on the package minus just a few minutes of cooking time...just until the cookies are starting to brown.  Remove from oven and cool completely. 

With an electric mixer beat the cream cheese and confectioners sugar together, beat in the whipped topping, then add the vanilla and mix.  Spread this mixture over the cookie crust to the edges.

Next mix the pineapple (don't drain) with the instant pudding until well blended then spread over the cream cheese layer.  Slice the bananas and place in a single layer over the pineapple.  If you are making this ahead of time, you might want to squirt some lemon juice over the bananas to keep them from turning dark.  If you are serving  within a few hours, this isn't really necessary though.

Slice strawberries in half and arrange over the bananas with the large ones in the center and fanning out to the smaller ones on the outer edges.   Cut the end off of the strawberry glaze just enough to drizzles it over the whole thing starting in the middle and working your way out to the edges.  If you have a squeeze bottle, you can put the glaze in it and use it to squirt it on the pizza. Works beautifully!

Voila...strawberry fruit pizza! 

Fresh Peach Crisp!

I love fresh peaches and I am debating whether I like a peach cobbler or a peach crisp better!  I can't decide, because they are both so good.  There is one thing this "Fresh Peach Crisp" has on the peach cobbler, it's so easy to make!  This is one of the easiest homemade desserts ever!  Here is what you will need for this crisp:

8 medium peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place sliced peaches in an 8 inch baking pan or a 2 quart casserole dish that has been sprayed with nonstick spray.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, sugar and cinnamon together.  Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or two knives until it is a crumbly texture.  Sprinkle over the peaches.

  Place in the oven and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until top is nice and brown.

Serve with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream!  Could it be any easier?





Blackberry Dumplings!

These "Blackberry Dumplings" are an old recipe my grandmother and aunts used to make when my mother was growing up.  It's a recipe that used what they had available on the farm...plenty of cream, butter and whatever fruit was in season at the time.   The wild blackberries grew plentiful back then on Kentucky farms and they are absolutely the best blackberries.  They are smaller, but so much sweeter than the big blackberries sold in stores today that are fairly tasteless.   The one negative to wild blackberries is picking them and getting chigger bites and maybe running across the occasional snake or two...that might be two negatives...lol.  

You can also use frozen blackberries in this recipe, but fresh is better.  There is  no substituting for the cream and butter in this recipe and if you do, please don't tell me.   It makes me queasy!   We make these almost identical to the strawberry dumplings, but more sugar is required.  Don't try to skimp on the sugar, because blackberries are much harder to sweeten than strawberries, especially in- season strawberries. 

 Here is what you will need:

2  1/2 cups biscuit mix (like Bisquick)

3/4 cup cold water

4 cups fresh blackberries

8 Tbs. butter, divided

2 cups sugar, divided

2 cups heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 Mix the biscuit mix and water and roll into a ball. Place on a floured surface. We used biscuit mix not only because it's easier for today's cooks, but it works really well for this.

Divide the ball into 8 equal pieces.

  Roll each piece into a circle.  Place 1/ 2 cup blackberries, 1 Tbs. butter and 3 Tbs. sugar on top of the berries.

Wet the dough around the edges just a little and pinch each 'dumpling' up into a  little purse.  Place seam side up in a greased 9"x13" baking dish. 

Pour the 2 cups of cream over  and around the dumplings.  Sprinkle each with 1 more tablespoon of sugar.  Place in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour uncovered.  Half way through the baking time, remove from the oven and dip some of the cream up and pour back over the tops of each dumpling.  This keeps them from drying out and makes the tops nice and brown.

Blackberry Dumplings



Banana Split Cake!

 

This is actually a very old recipe.  I am not sure how old it is, but I know that my mother used to make it when I was still at home and that has been a while.  I made this for my husband when we were just dating and he loved it.  He is the one who suggested I make this and put it on the blog.  I am sure he had his own selfish reasons for mentioning it, but it was a good suggestion.

This is a not actually a heavy dessert and there is no baking required so it's perfect for warmer weather.   I will caution that the recipe calls for two raw eggs and while raw eggs don't bother me if they are extremely fresh or pasteurized is even better, they do bother some people.  Also, this is my disclaimer, pregnant or nursing women should not ingest raw eggs.   I solved this dilemma by using egg substitute.  It is not only pasteurized, it's homogenized, fat free and cholesterol free and it works perfectly in this.

Here is what you will need:

2 cups graham crackers

1 stick butter

4 bananas

1 (20 oz.) can crushed pineapple drained

2 eggs or 2/3 cup egg substitute

2 cups confectioner's sugar

2 cups sliced strawberries

1 large frozen whipped topping

1 small jar maraschino cherries

2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans 

Bananas, graham cracker crumbs, butter, eggs or egg substitute, whipped cream, crushed pineapple, strawberries, confectioners sugar, walnuts, maraschino cherries.

Melt 1 stick butter and mix with 2 cups graham cracker crumbs.  Pat into the bottom of a 9"x13" baking pan.

Mix eggs or eggs substitute with confectioners sugar using an electric mixer.  Beat well and then pour over the graham cracker crust.

Drain the crushed pineapple well and layer it over the sugar/egg layer, next layer the sliced bananas and the sliced strawberries.  Next cover this with whipped topping.  Drain the maraschino cherries and place them on top either randomly or on what would be each serving.  Sprinkle walnuts on top.  Chill for about 2 hours before serving.

 

Banana Split Cake!