4 cups confectioner"s (powdered) sugar (no need to sift un-
less it"s got big lumps)
Mix the softened b.u.t.ter 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 b.u.t.ter 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 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 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 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 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 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. Pa.s.s 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
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 m.u.f.fin pans (the kind of pan that makes 12 m.u.f.fins 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 m.u.f.fin 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 m.u.f.fin 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
cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon orange zest (optional if you like it super orangey)
4 eggs