A Wedding

I'm making a wedding cake this Saturday. I don't think they know about my Scout Eagle Court of Honor cake disaster or they wouldn't have asked me to make it.
Anyway, they like strawberry cake so I was testing out this recipe I found yesterday. The cake was quite good and the frosting even better. I'm not sure I can use the frosting because it's kind of thin and runny for decorating, but I think the cake will taste good with regular old white decorator's frosting if I decide do that.
Here's the recipe for the cake and the frosting. I will make this again, it was that good.

Strawberry Dream Cake

1 white cake mix
1 1/2 cups frozen sweetened strawberries, pureed
12 ounces cream cheese, softened
8 (1 oz) squares Bakers white chocolate
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 (8oz) container cool whip, thawed
1/2 pint fresh sliced strawberries (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease 2 9-inch round cake pans.
Make cake per directions except substitute the 1 1/2 cups of strawberries for the water and add 1 extra egg. (My cake mix required egg whites, which I used and then added a whole egg), and 8 ounces of the cream cheese. Beat well and pour into the prepared pans.
Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown. Let cake cool fully before frosting.
To make frosting, heat the heavy cream until just beginning to boil. Pour it over the white chocolate (chopped) and the remaining 4 ounces of cream cheese. Mix well and let cool. Once cool, fold in the cool whip. Frost cake and garnish with fresh strawberries.
I wonder if it would be better to chill the frosting before frosting the cake because when the put the frosted cake in the fridge, the frosting firmed up.

What Diet?

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

This frosting recipe will knock you right off that diet wagon you might be on.

I originally got it from Amy, who originally got it from someone else, and it originally came with this recipe for Strawberry Cake, which is sinfully delicious itself. Here's the original recipe:

Strawberry Cake
1 white cake mix + ingredients listed on the box
1 single serving size strawberry yogurt

Mix the cake according to directions, adding the yogurt with the other ingredients. Bake as normal. Cool, frost and then top with frozen, sweetened strawberries (thawed).

Cream Cheese Frosting
2 small boxes vanilla pudding
2 (8 oz) blocks cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
16-24 ounces Cool Whip

Blend the pudding, cream cheese and powdered sugar together until smooth. Blend in the Cool Whip last. The more you use, the lighter the frosting is. I use the max amount. This recipe makes a crazy amount of frosting and should probably be halved for a 9x13 cake. I make the entire recipe when I make cupcakes so there's plenty to pile on top of each cupcake.

Here's where the chocolate comes in. Just swap out the vanilla pudding for chocolate pudding and you have Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting. It's sooooo good!! The picture above is a cupcake made using this recipe, then topped with a huge amount of frosting. Just plan to go on a 5 mile run after you eat one. ☺

As If They're Not Fattening Enough

Saw these in the latest issue of Food Network Magazine.

Deep-Fried Snickers On A Stick


4 large Snickers bars (we used the fun-size bars)
2 cups pancake mix, plus ingredients to make them
oil for frying

Unwrap and push each candy bar onto a skewer or popsicle stick. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight (we froze our fun-size ones for about an hour). Make the pancake batter while you heat the oil to 330°. Dip the Snickers into the batter, turning it with the skewer to coat. Carefully place the Snickers into the hot oil and fry, turning as needed, until crisp, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Remove with tongs and drain on paper towels. Serve warm.

We also made these:

Chocolate-Strawberry Waffle Ball On A Stick


12 large strawberries, hulled
6 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
oil for frying
2 cups pancake/waffle mix, plus ingredients to make them
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Thread each strawberry onto a skewer. Place on a baking sheet and freeze for about 30 minutes. Melt the chocolate in the microwave. Dip the strawberries into the chocolate, turning to coat well. Freeze for another 15 minutes. Make the batter while you heat the oil. Dip the strawberries into the batter, turning to coat well. Fry in the hot oil 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Let drain on a paper towel for 5 to 10 minutes to let the chocolate re-harden. Dust with sugar.

A Keeper

I've had this recipe for awhile but this is the first time I've made it and it was delicious. I would 1 and 1/2 the filling next time though (doubled would probably be too much) because I ended up adding a layer of Cool Whip to the top to make it come to the top of the pan. Maybe my pan was just extra deep. I used a 9 x 2 3/4 inch springform pan. I put a few extra strawberries too. Yum!

Chocolate Strawberry Torte
1/2 cup plus 2 tsp butter, divided
2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
(about 26 squares)
1/4 cup sugar
1 carton (12 oz) Cool Whip
1 cup sour cream
1 small pkg (3.9 oz) instant chocolate pudding mix
1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
1 square (1 oz) semisweet chocolate

Melt 1/2 cup butter. In a bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar. Press onto the bottom and 1 1/2 inches up the sides of a greased 9-inch springform pan. Refrigerate.
In a mixing bowl, beat the cool whip, sour cream and pudding mix until blended. Spread half over crust. Arrange strawberries over top. Spread with remaining filling. In a microwave, melt chocolate and remaining butter; stir until smooth. Cool to room temperature. Drizzle over filling. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. Serves 10-12.

A Valentine Treat

Strawberry Heart Pillows

frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
strawberry jam or preserves
Cool Whip
strawberries, sliced
chocolate chips, melted

Preheat oven to 350°. Unfold pastry. Cut into hearts with 2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter. Place on ungreased cookie sheets and bake about 20 minutes or until golden. Remove to wire racks and cool completely.
Cut each heart horizontally in half. Spread 1 teaspoon of jam onto bottom half of each heart. Top with 1 tablespoon of Cool Whip and a strawberry slice. Cover with tops of hearts. Drizzle with chocolate and serve immediately or cover and refrigerate up to 1 hour.