JELL-O CAKE
Preheat oven to whatever it recommends on the cake mix box, rack in the middle position.
This recipe is from Andrea, who makes it for Tracey’s birthday every year. Tracey’s friends love it because it’s colorful. Andrea loves it because it’s easy, and she’s the undisputed Jell-O Queen of Lake Eden.
1 package white cake mix (1 pound 2.25 ounces)
the ingredients called for on the cake mix box
2 packages (3 ounces each) Jell-O in contrasting colors
1 small tub of Cool Whip, or one can of whipped cream
Grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch cake pan.
Mix up the cake using the directions on the box. Bake the cake for the required amount of time. Let the cake cool to room temperature.
When the cake has cooled, dump one package of Jell-O into a small bowl. Add one cup boiling water to the Jell-O and stir until it’s dissolved.
Poke about 30 holes in the top of the cake with a fork, punching it all the way to the bottom of the cake pan.
Pour the Jell-O evenly over the top of the cake. Give it a minute or two to sink down into the holes you punched.
Refrigerate the cake for 1 hour.
Prepare the second package of Jell-O as above.
Punch more holes in the top of your cake, crisscrossing the first holes. Pour the second bowl of Jell-O liquid over the top of the cake. Give it a minute or two to sink down and then cover it with plastic wrap or foil. Refrigerate the cake for at least 4 hours. Overnight is fine, too.
Andrea says to warn you that the top is going to look ugly, and that’s why you’ll frost it with Cool Whip or whipped cream and cut into square pieces.
To Make A Layer Cake:
For a truly gorgeous cake, divide the batter into two 8-inch round pans and bake it according to the package directions. Then divide the Jell-O between the two pans.
To frost, remove the cakes from the pans, use Cool Whip or whipped cream between the layers and to frost the sides and top. Everyone will ooh and ahh when you slice the cake.
Andrea made a confession to me the night of the Christmas potluck dinner. She said she doesn’t bake the cake. She buys an unfrosted sheet cake at the Red Owl, does the part with the Jell-O, and frosts it with Cool Whip. I thought about this for a few minutes and decided it’s probably a good thing.
LADY HERMOINE’S (HANNAH’S) CHOCOLATE SUNSHINE CAKE
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
1 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, defrosted
? cup butter, softened
2 ? cups white (granulated) sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
? teaspoon salt
? teaspoon orange extract (or ? teaspoon vanilla)
2 eggs
2 cups flour (no need to sift)
? cup milk
1 cup pecans, chopped (or walnuts)
Grease the inside of a Bundt pan. Dust with flour, or cocoa, knocking out the excess.
Put the chocolate and the orange juice concentrate in a microwave-safe bowl and heat it for one minute on HIGH. Stir it and then heat it on HIGH for another minute. Stir until the chocolate has melted. Set the bowl aside to cool.
The following steps are a lot easier if you use an electric mixer: Combine the butter and sugar, and mix until fluffy. Mix in the baking powder, salt, and orange extract. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition.
Add half of the flour to the bowl. Mix thoroughly. Mix in the milk, and then add the rest of the flour.
When the chocolate mixture is cool enough to touch, add it to your bowl. Mix thoroughly. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula and then add the nuts. Give a final mix.
Let the batter rest for several minutes, and then pour it carefully into the prepared Bundt pan.
Bake at 325 degrees F., for 60-70 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the ring comes out clean.
Remove to a wire rack and let cool for 25 minutes. Loosen the cake around the outside and inside edges with a sharp knife and tip it out onto the wire rack.
Let the cake cool completely and then glaze. (Or, if you don’t’ feel like making a glaze, just dust the cool cake with confectioner’s sugar.)
Chocolate Glaze:
1 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
? cup cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Combine in a microwave-safe bowl. (I use a 1-quart glass measuring cup.) Microwave on HIGH for 1 minute. Stir until chocolate chips are melted. If the glaze is too thick, add a little more cream. If the glaze is too thin, add a few more chips.
Drizzle the hot glaze over the crest of the cake and let it drip down the sides.
POPPY SEED CAKE
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
1 box yellow cake mix (1 pound, 2.25 ounces)
one package (4.3 ounces) lemon pudding and pie filling (not sugar-free)*
4 tablespoons poppy seeds
? cup lemon juice
? cup water
? cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
* You can substitute a 3.4-ounce package of Jell-O Lemon Instant Pudding and Pie Filling if you can’t find the kind of pudding you have to cook.
Grease and flour a Bundt pan.
Dump the dry yellow cake mix in a large bow. Mix in the dry lemon pudding and pie filling. Add the poppy seeds, lemon juice, water, and oil. Mix until well-blended.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition.
Beat for two minutes at medium speed with an electric mixer or three minutes by hand.
Pour the cake batter into the Bundt pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F. for 45-50 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Cool on a rack for 15 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 cook, drizzle Vanilla Glaze in ribbons on the top and 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.)
Vanilla Glaze
1 cup powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 tablespoons cream
Measure powdered sugar into a small bowl. Stir in vanilla and cream. Stir until thoroughly mixed. The glaze should be the proper consistency to drizzle over the cake. If it’s too thick, add a bit more cream. If it’s too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar.
Drizzle the glaze over the crest of the cake and let it drip down the sides.
Refrigerate until serving.
ROSE’S FAMOUS COCONUT CAKE
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
A note from Hannah: Rose McDermott called to give me this recipe the day before I had to turn everything in to our editor. This has come close to convincing me that the man in the red suit with the sleigh is real. Tracey asked for six things in her letter to Santa, and she got three of them. If she gets that puppy she wants, I’m a believer.
1 ? cups butter, softened
2 cups white (granulated) sugar
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream * (you can substitute plain yogurt for a lighter cake)
? teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon coconut extract (if you can’t find it, you can use vanilla)
1 ? cups flour (not sifted)
2 cups coconut, flaked or shredded (pack it down when you measure it — more is better in this case.)
* Generously grease a Bundt pan. Dust it liberally with flour and knock off the excess.
Cream softened butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. (You can mix this cake by hand, but it takes some muscles.) Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until they’re nice and fluffy. Then add the sour cream, baking powder and coconut extract.
Put the flour and the coconut in a food processor. Process with the steel blade until the mixture looks like fine cornmeal. (You don’t have to do this if you don’t have a food processor, but most folks like it better.)
Add half of the flour and coconut mixture to the bowl. Mix thoroughly. Add the rest of the flour and coconut combination and mix until the batter is smooth.
Let the batter rest for 5 minutes or so. Then pour it into the Bundt pan, smoothing the top with a rubber spatula.
Bake at 325 degrees F. for 60-70 minutes. The cake should be golden brown on top and wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cake ring should come out clean.
Cool in the pan on a rack for 25 minutes. Run a knife around the inside edges of the cake to loosen it and don’t forget to loosen it around the funnel in the middle of the pan. Turn the cake out on the rack and let it cool completely.
When the cake is completely cook, glaze it with Coconut Glaze.
Coconut Glaze
1 cup powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
? cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon coconut extract (or ? teaspoon coconut and ? teaspoon vanilla extracts)
? cup coconut flakes
If the powdered sugar has big lumps, sift it. Otherwise, use it as it is. Put the powdered sugar in a small bowl. Add the heavy cream and the coconut extract. Stir until smooth. (If you can’t get it smooth, you may need to heat it for 30 seconds or so in the microwave on HIGH, and then stir again.)
If the glaze is too thick to pour over the cake, thin it with a little more cream. If the glaze is too thin, thicken it with a bit more powdered sugar.
Drizzle the glaze over the crest of the cake and let it drip down the sides. Sprinkle the cake with the coconut before the glaze dries.
Mother’s been after Rose for years to use my Chocolate Glaze on this cake. (You can find it in my Lady Hermoine’s Chocolate Sunshine Cake recipe.) She even took Rose the recipe. Rose liked it a lot, and now she offers two cakes, one with Coconut Glaze and the other with Chocolate Glaze.
DESSERTS: PIES
COCONUT GREEN PIE
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
Bridget Murphy makes this green pie every year for St. Patrick’s Day dinner. She says that if green food doesn’t spark your appetite, either cover the top with whipped cream, or shut your eyes when you eat it.
You’ll need a blender to make this pie. It makes its own crust.
In the blender container combine:
1 ? cups water
one can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
? cup Bisquick (biscuit baking mix)
3 eggs