Joanne Fluke's Lake Eden Cookbook
Page 8
Grease (or spray with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray) a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan and set it aside.
Hannah’s 1st Note: This is a lot easier with an electric mixer, but you can also make it by hand.
Beat the sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla together in a large bowl. Mix in the sour cream (or yogurt.) Add the baking soda, cinnamon (and cardamom if you used it) and salt. Mix them in thoroughly.
Add the can of crushed pineapple (including the liquid) and the chopped nuts to your bowl. Mix them in thoroughly.
Add the flour by half-cup increments, mixing after each addition.
Grate the carrots. (This is very easy with a food processor, but you can also do it with a hand grater.) Measure out 2 cups of grated carrots. Pack them down in the cup when you measure them.
Mix in the carrots BY HAND. Grated carrots tend to get caught on the beaters of electric mixers.
Spread the batter in your prepared cake pan, and bake it at 350 degrees F. for 50 minutes, or until a cake tester (I use a food pick that’s a little longer than a toothpick) inserted one inch from the center of the cake comes out clean.
Let the cake cool in the cake pan on a wire rack. When it’s completely cool, frost with cream cheese frosting while it’s still in the pan.
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
½ cup softened butter
8-ounce package softened cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups confectioner’s (powdered) sugar (no need to sift un-
less it’s got big lumps)
Mix the softened butter with the softened cream cheese and the vanilla until the mixture is smooth.
Hannah’s 2nd Note: Do this next step at room temperature. If you heated the cream cheese or the butter to soften it, make sure it’s cooled down before you continue.
Add the confectioner’s sugar in half-cup increments until the frosting is of proper spreading consistency. (You’ll use all, or almost all, of the sugar.)
Hannah’s 3rd Note: If you’re good with the pastry bag, remove cup of frosting and save it in a little bowl to pipe on frosting carrots and stems.
With a frosting knife (or rubber spatula if you prefer), drop large dollops of frosting over the surface of your cooled cake. I usually end up with somewhere between 6 and 12 dollops. The dollops are like little stacks of frosting – you’ll spread neighboring stacks together, working your way from one end to the other, until you’ve frosted the whole cake. (This dollop method prevents uneven frosting thickness and “tearing” of the surface of your cake as you “pull” frosting from one end to the other.)
If you decided to use the pastry bag to decorate your cake, mix most of the remaining frosting with one drop of yellow food coloring and one drop of red food coloring. Mix it thoroughly to make an orange frosting, and pipe little carrots on top to decorate your cake. You can save a bit of uncolored frosting to color green and dab green stems on the large end of the carrots.
HERB’S WEDDING COOKIE CAKE
This cake must be refrigerated to set up – make it the night BEFORE you plan to serve it.
4-quart bowl
2 pounds chocolate cookie wafers23
8 small packages of vanilla pudding mix24
10 cups (2 and ½ quarts) whole milk (or half and half if you
want to splurge)
Sweetened whipped cream for frosting and topping.
Line the inside of your bowl with long strips of plastic wrap, leaving enough wrap to fold back over the top when your cake is finished.
Cover the bottom of the bowl with chocolate cookie wafers, all the way out to the sides. You can break them in half or even in quarters if you want, but it’s also okay just to overlap them. (Unlike a jigsaw puzzle, it doesn’t matter if some pieces don’t fit together exactly.)
Make the first two packages of pudding using 2 and ½ CUPS OF MILK, not the 4 cups called for in the directions on the box.
Pour approximately a third of the pudding over the layer of chocolate cookie wafers in your bowl. Gently spread it out with a rubber spatula. (It doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth, just not wildly uneven, that’s all.)
Put another layer of chocolate cookie wafers on top of the pudding in the bowl. (Again, it doesn’t have to be perfect – the pudding will soak into the cookie wafers and all will be forgiven.)
Put half of the remaining pudding on top of the second layer of chocolate cookie wafers. Spread it out so it covers them.
Lay down another layer of chocolate cookie wafers and top it with the remaining pudding. Spread out the pudding and lay down another layer of chocolate cookie wafers. (Don’t bother to wash out the bowl or pan you used to make your pudding. You’re just going to make another batch.)
Using another 2 packages of pudding and another 2 and ½ cups of milk, make your second batch of pudding.
There are more chocolate cookie wafers to cover now, since the bowl is wider. Use half of the pudding to cover the cookies. Smooth the pudding with your rubber spatula, lay down another layer of chocolate cookie wafers, cover it with the remaining pudding, and top it with another layer of cookies. (I’ll bet you’re already guessing what the rest of the cake will be like!)
Make the third batch of pudding using 2 packages of mix and 2 and ½ cups of milk. Put half on top of the chocolate cookie wafers in your bowl, spread it out, and top it with more cookies. Now use the rest of the pudding and top it again with chocolate cookie wafers.
One more time! Make the final batch of pudding using 2 packages of pudding mix and 2 and ½ cups of milk. Spread half the pudding over the chocolate cookie wafers, smooth it, and cover it with more cookies. Put on the rest of the pudding, smooth it, and this time cover it with a DOUBLE LAYER OF CHOCOLATE COOKIE WAFERS.
(Wasn’t that easy? Even if you don’t bake, you can make this cake.)
Fold in the edges of the plastic wrap to cover the contents of your bowl. Find a plate that will fit inside the bowl on top of the cake. Put it in right side up so that it’ll push the cake down slightly. Set a weight on top of the plate. I use a can of fruit.
Refrigerate the cake until time to serve.
When you’re ready to serve, remove the weight and the plate, peel back the plastic wrap, and center a serving platter, right side down, over the top of the bowl. Invert the bowl, lift it off, and peel off the plastic wrap.
Frost your cake with sweetened whipped cream. (Hannah whips her own cream, but you can use the kind in the can if it’s easier for you.)
Slice the cake as you would a pie, in wedge-shaped pieces. Everyone will ooh and ahh when you do. Pass a dish of sweetened whipped cream for those who want more, and enjoy!
JANE’S MINI CHERRY CHEESECAKES
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the center position.
24 cupcake liners (48 if you’re like me and you like to use
double papers)
24 vanilla wafer cookies
2 eight-ounce packages softened cream cheese (room
temperature)25
¾ cup white (granulated) sugar
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 can cherry pie filling, chilled (21 ounces net weight)
Line two muffin pans (the kind of pan that makes 12 muffins each) with paper cupcake liners. Put one vanilla wafer cookie in the bottom of each cupcake paper, flat side down.
Chill the unopened can of cherry pie filling in the refrigerator while you make the mini cheesecakes.
You can do all of this by hand, but it’s easier with an electric mixer on slow to medium speed:
Mix the softened cream cheese with the white sugar until it’s thoroughly blended. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Then mix in the lemon juice and vanilla, and beat until light and fluffy.
Spoon the cheesecake batter into the muffin tins, dividing it as equally as you can. When you’re through, each cupcake paper should be between half and two-thirds full. (They�
��re going to look skimpy, but they’ll be fine once they’re baked and you put on the cherry topping.)
Bake at 350 degrees F. for 15 to 20 minutes, or until top has set and has a satin finish. (The center may sink a bit, but that’s okay – the topping will cover that.)
Cool the mini cheesecakes in the pans on wire racks.
When the cheesecakes are cool, open the can of cherry pie filling and place three cherries on top of every mini cheesecake. Divide the cherry juice equally among the 24 mini cheesecakes.
Refrigerate in the muffin tins for at least 4 hours before serving. (Overnight is fine, too.) Then take them out of the tins, carefully remove the cupcake papers, and place them on a silver platter for an elegant dessert at a finger food party.
Hannah’s 1st Note: I made these with Comstock Dark Cherry Pie Filling and came up 4 cherries short. Lisa’s can of regular cherry pie filling had 72 cherries, 3 for each of her Mini Cherry Cheesecakes.
Hannah’s 2nd Note: If you prefer, you can use fresh fruit glazed with melted jelly instead of the canned cherry pie filling. You can also use any other pie filling you like.
KITTY’S ORANGE CAKE
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
1 box yellow cake mix (1 pound, 2.25 ounces)
1 package (3 ounces) orange Jell-O powder (NOT sugar free)
1 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon orange extract
½ cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon orange zest (optional – if you like it super orangey)
4 eggs
1 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate morsels26 (6-counce
package - I used Nestles)
Grease and flour a Bundt pan. (I sprayed mine with Pam and then floured it. You can also use baking spray, which already contains flour and eliminates one step.)
Hannah’s 1st Note: You can make this cake without an electric mixer if you have a strong arm and determination, but it’s a lot easier if you use one.
Dump the dry yellow cake mix in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the orange Jell-O powder. Add the orange juice, orange extract, vegetable oil, and the orange zest (if you decided to use it). Mix all the ingredients together until they are well blended.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition.
Beat 2 minutes on medium speed with an electric mixer or 3 minutes by hand.
Fold in the mini chocolate morsels by hand.
Pour the cake batter into the Bundt pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F. for 45 to 55 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out dry.
Cool on a rack for 20 to 25 minutes. Loosen the outside edges and the middle, and tip the cake out of the pan. Let the cake cool completely on the rack.
When the cake is cool, drizzle Orange-Fudge Frosting over the crest and let it run down the sides. (Or, if you don’t feel like making a glaze, just let the cake cool completely and dust it with confectioner’s sugar.)
ORANGE-FUDGE FROSTING:
2 Tablespoons chilled butter (¼ stick, cup)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (6-ounce bag)
1 teaspoon orange extract
2 Tablespoons refrigerated orange juice
Place the butter in the bottom of a 2-cup microwave-safe bowl. (I used a glass one-pint measuring cup.) Add the chocolate chips. Heat on HIGH for 60 seconds.
Stir to see if the chips are melted. (They tend to maintain their shape even when melted, so you can’t tell by just looking.) If they’re not melted and can’t be stirred smooth, heat them on HIGH at 15-second intervals until they are, stirring to check after each 15-second interval.
Add the orange extract and stir it in.
Add the orange juice Tablespoon by Tablespoon, stirring after each addition.
Pour the frosting over the ridge of the cake, letting it run partway down the sides. It will be thicker on top. That’s fine. (And if it’s not, that’s fine, too – you really can’t go wrong with this cake.)
Refrigerate the cake for at least 20 minutes without covering it. That “sets” the frosting. After that, the cake can be left out at room temperature if you wish.
Hannah’s 2nd Note: When I bake this cake for Mother, I use both the orange extract and the orange zest. Mother adores the combination of orange and chocolate. Come to think of it, Mother adores ANY combination that includes chocolate.
LISA’S WEDDING COOKIE CAKE
This cake must be refrigerated to set up – make it the night BEFORE you plan to serve it.
4-quart bowl
2 one-pound packages of graham crackers
8 small packages of chocolate pudding mix27
10 cups (2 and ½ quarts) whole milk (or half and half if
you want to splurge)
Sweetened whipped cream for frosting and topping
Line the inside of your bowl with long strips of plastic wrap, leaving enough wrap to fold back over the top when your cake is finished.
Cover the bottom of the bowl with graham crackers, all the way out to the sides. You can break them in half or even in quarters if you want, but it’s also okay just to overlap them. (Unlike a jigsaw puzzle, it doesn’t matter if some pieces don’t fit together exactly.)
Make the first two packages of pudding using 2 and ½ CUPS OF MILK, not the 4 cups called for in the directions on the box.
Pour approximately a third of the pudding over the layer of graham crackers in your bowl. Gently spread it out with a rubber spatula. (It doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth, just not wildly uneven, that’s all.)
Put another layer of graham crackers on top of the pudding in the bowl. (Again, it doesn’t have to be perfect – the pudding will soak into the graham crackers and all will be forgiven.)
Put half of the remaining pudding on top of the second layer of graham crackers. Spread it out so it covers them.
Lay down another layer of graham crackers and top it with the remaining pudding. Spread out the pudding and lay down another layer of graham crackers. (Don’t bother to wash out the bowl or pan you used to make your pudding. You’re just going to make another batch.)
Using another 2 packages of pudding and another 2 and ½ cups of milk, make your second batch of pudding.
There are more graham crackers to cover now, since the bowl is wider. Use half of the pudding to cover the graham crackers. Smooth the pudding with your rubber spatula, lay down another layer of graham crackers, cover it with the remaining pudding, and top it with another layer of graham crackers. (I’ll bet you’re already guessing what the rest of the cake will be like!)
Make the third batch of pudding using 2 packages of mix and 2 and ½ cups of milk. Put half on top of the graham crackers in your bowl, spread it out, and top it with more graham crackers. Now use the rest of the pudding and top it again with graham crackers.
One more time! Make the final batch of pudding using 2 packages of pudding mix and 2 and ½ cups of milk. Spread half the pudding over the graham crackers, smooth it, and cover it with more graham crackers. Put on the rest of the pudding, smooth it and this time cover it with a DOUBLE LAYER OF GRAHAM CRACKERS.
(Wasn’t that easy? Even if you don’t bake, you can make this cake.)
Fold in the edges of the plastic wrap to cover the contents of your bowl. Find a plate that will fit inside the bowl on top of the cake. Put it in right side up so that it’ll push the cake down when it settles. Set a weight on top of the plate. I use a can of fruit.
Refrigerate the cake until time to serve.
When you’re ready to serve, remove the weight and the plate, peel back the plastic wrap, and center a serving platter, right side down, over the top of the bowl. Invert the bowl, lift it off, and peel off the plastic wrap.
Frost your cake with sweetened whipped cream. (Hannah whips her own cream, but you can use the kind in the can if it’s easier for you.)
Slice the cake as you would a pie, in wedge-shaped pieces. Everyone will ooh and ahh when you do. Pass a dish of sweetened whi
pped cream for those who want more, and enjoy!
RHUBARB CUSTARD CAKE
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the center position.
1 package (1 lb., 2.25 oz.) lemon cake mix
3 to 4 cups peeled, cut up rhubarb28
1 cup white (granulated) sugar
2 cups whipping cream or half and half (I use half and half)
sweetened whipped cream for a topping
Prepare the inside of a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan by spraying the bottom and sides with nonstick cooking spray and then dusting it with flour. Shake off excess flour. (You can also use baking spray, which has flour in it.)
Mix the cake according to the package directions.
Pour the batter into the pan you prepared.
Spread out the rhubarb on top of the batter.
Sprinkle the top of the fruit with the sugar.
Cover the sugar with the cream or half and half.
Bake at 350 degrees F. for 45 to 60 minutes. (Mine took 50 minutes.)
This cake won’t “set up” exactly like a regular cake – the fruit and custard will sink to the bottom and will have the consistency of a thick pudding, or a trifle. The top half of the cake will be like a regular cake.
Cool the cake completely in the pan. Cut it into squares, put them in wide dessert bowls and top each serving with a generous dollop of sweetened whipped cream, or ice cream.
This pudding cake is good served warm, room temperature, or chilled.