Cake Recipe #30 -Key Lime Cupcakes

What's the second best thing to Key Lime Pie???? - Key Lime Cupcakes! Start with a mix, add a few more ingredients, bake and eat.

Ingredients: 1 package lemon cake mix, 1 package (4-serving size)lime-flavored gelatin, 3/4 cup water, 1/3 cup Key lime juice, 1/3 cup oil, 3 eggs, 2-3 drops green food coloring, if desired. Glaze: 1 cup confectioners' sugar, 2-2 1/2 tablespoons Key lime juice. Frosting: 1 package (8 ounce) cream cheese, softened, 1/4 cup butter, softened, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 3 12 cups confectioners' sugar, grated lime zest or green spinkles, optional.

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with cupcake liners.

In large bowl, beat cake mix and gelatin with mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Add remaining cupcake ingredients. Beat on low 30 seconds; beat on medium for 2 minutes. Divide batter evenly among cupcake liners in pans.

Bake 17-22 minutes or until toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; transfer to wire racks. With toothpick, pierce cupcake tops in several places.

Mix 1 cup confectioners' sugar and enough lime juice until glaze is smooth and thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle and spread glaze over warm cupcakes. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

In bowl, beat cream cheese and butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. On low, beat in vanilla and 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar; beat on medium until fluffy. Frost cupcakes. Garnish with zest and/or sprinkle, if desired; refrigerate.

Makes 24.

"Betty Crocker Fix with a Mix Desserts" by General Mills. Wiley Publishing, 2010. I found it in "Woman's World" magazine, July 25, 2011, pg. 31.

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Cake Recipe #29 - Blueberry Crunch Dessert

This cake falls under the category of "dump cakes". Not a very pretty name, but simply means everything is "dumped" in the pan and baked; preparing this is "a piece of cake".

Ingredients: 1 can crushed pineapple, UNDRAINED, 3 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen (thawed), 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 package yellow cake mix (I used white), 1 stick butter, melted, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup pecans, chopped.

Instructions: Butter or spray a 9x13-inch baking pan; preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pineapple, along with pineapple juice in bottom of pan; place blueberries on top of pineapple. Sprinkle the 3/4 sugar over fruit. Pour dry cake mix over mixture in pan evenly then drizzle melted butter over all. Sprinkle the 1/4 cup sugar and chopped pecans on top. Do not stir.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven about 45 minutes. Allow to cool on wire rack. Serve warm or completely cool with a dollop of whipped cream.

My good friend, Sue, gave me this recipe and I also found it on southernfood.about.com.

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Cake Recipe #28 - Chocolate Peanut Butter Toffee Icebox Cake

No baking needed to accomplish this delicious cake. You WILL need to wait at least 5 hours for it to chill in the refrigerator, so try to be patient.
Any kind of candy bar and cookies could be used.

Ingredients: 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, 2 cups cold heavy cream, divided, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 36 chocolate wafer cookies or chocolate graham crackers (I used graham crackers), 1 (1.4-ounce) Heath bar,chopped.

Instructions: Combine peanut butter and 1/4 cup cream in a large bowl. Stir until smooth and softened. Beat remaining 1 3/4 cups cream, sugar and vanilla in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Stir about 1/4 of whipped cream into peanut butter mixture. Fold in remaining cream.

Line a 9-inch springform pan with plastic wrap. Spread a thin layer of peanut butter mixture on bottom of pan. Arrange 12 cookies on top and cover with about 1/3 of remaining peanut butter mixture. Repeat with two more layers of cookies and peanut butter mixture, ending with peanut butter mixture.

Sprinkle Heath bar around top edge and refrigerate at least 5 hours. Remove pan side. Gently lift cake by the plastic wrap to remove it from the pan bottom and peel away plastic wrap. Cover and refrigerate any leftovers.

Serves 10.

This recipe came from "Relish" insert in our local newspaper, "The Mercury News".

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Cake Recipe #27 - Puckett's Firecracker Cheesecake

There is a place in Franklin, TN called Puckett's Grocery and this cheesecake is based on the one you can find there. It takes 3 hours to bake, so alot of firecrackers could be set off and enjoyed while you wait. The cheesecake is fluffy and light and adorned with lots of berries, almost too pretty to slice into, almost...

Ingredients: Blueberry Sauce: 1 cup blueberries, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Crust: 1 cup graham cracker crumbs, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 5 tablespoons butter, melted, Filling: 3 pounds cream cheese, 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar, 3 whole eggs, 2 egg yolks, 1/3 cup heavy cream. Small strawberries, raspberries and blueberries for garnish.

Instructions: To prepare sauce, combine blueberries, sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until blueberries begin to release their juices. Mash some of the blueberries against the side of the pan. Let cool.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Wrap the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan with foil (I think this step could be eliminated; just leave the cheesecake on the bottom of the springform pan when serving.)

To prepare crust, combine all crust ingredients and press into the bottom of the springform pan.

To prepare filling, beat cream cheese with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add sugar and beat until well combined. Combine eggs and egg yolks in a small bowl. Beat lightly. Slowly add eggs to cream cheese mixture while beating. Add heavy cream and beat, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally, until smooth.

Pour 1/4 of the batter into another bowl and stir cooled blueberry sauce into it until well mixed.

Pour half of the unflavored batter over crusst. Pour fruit-flavored batter on top. Swirl with a spoon or knife. Top with remaining unflavored batter. Swirl again.

Place springform pan in a larger baking pan. Place on the center rack of oven. Pour in hot water to a depth of 1 inch. Bake for 3 hours or until set. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool. When completely cool, remove sides of pan and refrigerate for at least 8 hours before serving.

Garnish with strawberries, raspberries and blueberries in desired pattern.

I found this recipe in an insert of our local newspaper titled "Relish".

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Cake Recipe #26 - Red Velvet Cake

Ingredients: 3 eggs, 3/4 cup butter, 3 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, 1 1-ounce bottle red food coloring (2 tablespoons), 1 1/2 cups buttermilk (see Cake Crumbs for how to make your own), 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar. Frosting: 1/2 cup butter, softened, 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened, 4 cups confectioners' sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Instructions: Let eggs and butter stand for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 8x 1 1/2-inch round baking pans; set aside.

In medium bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, and the salt; set aside. In large mixing bowl beat butter on medium-high 30 seconds. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until combined. One at a time, add eggs; beat on medium after each. Beat in food coloring on low until well mixed.

Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk to egg mixture; beat on low-medium speed after each addition just until conbined. Stir together baking soda and vinegar in small bowl; add to batter and beat just until combined.

Spread evenly in prepared pans. Bake 25-30 minutes or until pick inserted near centers comes out clean (cakes may appear marbled). Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and allow to cool completely.

Prepare Cream Cheese Frosting: In large mixing bowl beat softened butter and cream cheese together. Add vanilla and confectioners' sugar. Beat until well combined and fluffy.

To assemble: Place one layer flat side up on serving plate. Spread top with 3/4 cup frosting. Stack second layer, flat side up; spread top with 3/4 cup frosting. Stack final layer, flat side down; spread remaining frosting on top and sides.

Leave plain or sprinkle mini chocolate chips, chocolate curls, broken up pieces of chocolate, or candy sprinkles over top and sides of cake.

Store in refrigerator.

I found this recipe on bhg.com under "Red Velvet Cake". It came with directions for using a Buttercream Frosting. I chose to make the above "Cream Cheese Frosting" instead, but either will work.

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Cake Recipe #25 - Cheeseburger-Ice Cream Cake

What a fun cake to make...and eat! Just a few things needed to have a cheeseburger with no meat.

Ingredients: 1 package 2-layer-size yellow cake mix, 1/3 cup white (I found gold ones) decorative sprinkles, 1 1.75-quart container chocolate ice cream, 1/3 cup flaked coconut, green food coloring, yellow fondant. Fries: 1 10 3/4 ounce frozen pound cake, thawed, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon.

Instructions: Prepare and bake cake mix according to package directions for 8-inch layers. Cool in pans for 10 miinutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Very lightly brush one of the layers with water and add sprinkles to resemble sesame seeds. Place layers on a tray or baking sheet and freeze until firm.

Meanwhile, line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with waxed paper; set aside. Place ice cream in a large bowl and stir until softened. Spoon ice cream into prepared springform pan; spread evenly. Cover ice cream with plastic wrap and freeze until firm.

For "lettuce", place coconut in a resealable plastic bag. Add green food coloring, a few drops at a time, and shake bag to achieve green color; set aside. For "cheese", roll yellow fondant to about 1/16-inch thick. Have a spatula handy to loosen the fondant periodically from your surface as you roll it. Use a pizza cutter to cut into a 8-9-inch square; set aside.

To assemble, place plain cake layer on a serving plate. Remove sides of springform pan and remove plastic wrap and waxed paper. Place ice cream layer on top of cake layer on plate. If necessary, trim 1/4 to 1/2 inch from the edges of ice cream layer if it hangs over too much. Top with "cheese" and "lettuce". Add remaining cake layer, sprinkled side up. Return to freezer for at least one hour until firm.

Make Pound Cake "Fries": Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil; lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray. Cut thawed cake into 1/4-inch thick slices, then cut each slice into 3 "fries". Spread evenly on prepared baking sheet. Mix together sugar and cinnamon. Lightly coat pound cake with nonstick cooking spray then sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Toss carefully to coat; spread in an even layer. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp. Cool before serving with cake. Makes about 42.

I found this recipe at www.bhg.com, Meredith Corporation, 2011.

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Cake Recipe #24 - Fresh Peach Cake

It is important to use ripe peaches with this recipe (mine were a little crunchy) or well-drained canned ones. The cake itself has great peach flavor with a touch of spice (cinnamon).

Ingredients: 1 box yellow cake mix, 3 eggs, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks), 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 3-ounce box sugar-free or regular peach Jell-O, 3 fresh peaches, peeled and sliced, 1/8 teaspoon grated fresh nutmeg (or dried), powdered sugar, for sprinkling.

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13-inch baking pan; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat cake mix, eggs, sour cream, butter, vanilla, cinnamon and peach Jell-O on medium speed until well mixed, about 2 minutes. Spread in prepared pan and cover top with peaches in design of choice. Grate (or sprinkle) nutmeg over peaches.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean and top is mostly browned. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Before serving, sprinkle top with powdered sugar and serve with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream, if desired.

This recipe came from our local newspaper, the Mercury News, under the Food and Wine section titled "Home Plates" by Kim Boatman and was submitted by Florence Hiett, June 1, 2011.

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