Strawberry cake

Around the time that my daughter was born (almost 11 months ago, eek!), I started social networking with a lot of other expectant moms and new moms. The connections you can make via blogs, Twitter and Facebook are astounding, and I love the virtual community/sounding board/friendships I've had access to - these people are truly amazing.

One of my favorite new mamas (her absolutely adorable son was born a few short weeks ago) is an extremely crafty lady who Tweeted a few months ago about making her husband a strawberry cake. Elizabeth has an amazing sense of humor, is a great writer and is insanely creative and stylish. She and her husband have an amazingly sweet love story, and I relate to their May-December pairing. I've followed her pregnancy via her blog and Tweets, and I was instantly intrigued by her mentioning of the cake, as *my* husband is a big strawberry fan.

She e-mailed me the recipe, which looked easier and yummier than I had initially imagined. I worried only that I might not be able to find the strawberry nectar, but lo and behold, it was super easy to find in my grocery store - it came in a soda can-type container and came in many other flavors.

Having secured the necessary ingredietns, I vowed to make it soon. 

Soon came when I co-hosted a bridal shower for a friend (and Tim was promised the leftover cake). It was the perfect cake for the occasion, and it was absolutely delicious. It was simple, flavorful and moist - all winners in my book. And after Elizabeth pointed out the candy-like flavor, it totally jumped out at me, and I've started mixing all of the fruit-y flavored frostings that I buy with a vanilla or cream cheese frosting. This is a cake that isn't drastically complicated or crazy different, but it tastes great and has the amazing touches of the preserves and the strawberry nectar.

The recipe, from Elizabeth:

Use a boxed strawberry cake mix and add strawberry nectar in place of the called for water (like Jumex strawberry nectar - you can usually find it in the Hispanic section of the grocery store).

Instead of icing between the layers, use strawberry preserves.

To ice the outside, mix a container of strawberry icing with vanilla or cream cheese icing so it doesn't taste like candy. The vanilla seems to drown out the fake strawberry flavor in pre-made icings.

Then cut up fresh strawberries and arrange them on top.

Source: E Tells Tales

Strawberries and Cream Dessert Squares

These bars taught me that I need to stop baking when I get home from work late at night. I was rushing to get the crust part done and misread the instructions, overcooking the crust by a few minutes. Alas, they were still yummy, and they were a super easy way to make a tasty dessert with one of Florida's seasonal fruits.

Layers of deliciousness.

Ingredients:

Crust
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg

Filling
1 cup white vanilla baking chips (6 oz)
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

Topping
4 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/3 cup water
10 to 12 drops red food color, if desired

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom only of 15x10x1- or 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter and egg until soft dough forms. Press evenly in bottom of pan. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

2. In small microwavable bowl, microwave baking chips uncovered on High 45 to 60 seconds or until chips are melted and can be stirred smooth. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Stir in melted chips until blended. Spread mixture over crust. Refrigerate while making topping.

3. In small bowl, crush 1 cup of the strawberries. In 2-quart saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch. Stir in crushed strawberries and 1/3 cup water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and thickens. Stir in food color. Cool 10 minutes. Gently stir in remaining 3 cups strawberries. Spoon topping over filling. Refrigerate 1 hour or until set; serve within 4 hours. Store covered in refrigerator.

Source: Betty Crocker

Light and refreshing

Every year around this time, tons of strawberries descend upon our grocery store and suddenly become dirt cheap. Now, we normally eat organic produce of nearly everything in which we consume the skins (apples, tomatoes, etc).

But I just can't pass up 88 cent strawberries, so I wash them reeeeeaaallyyyy good, and tell myself it's worth it. And oh, is it. They. Are. So. Good.

Whenever I see strawberries, I immediately think how good they are with those little shortcake dessert cups you usually find hanging out near the strawberries. Combine that with the fact that I had a coupon for whipped cream, and Mike and I had a low-calorie and refreshing dessert for three nights in a row!

I made them last year, too. And that post reminded me that if you threw some blueberries on there, it would make a cute little patriotic dessert for Memorial Day or July 4th.

Oh, and once we used up all the dessert cups, I still had whipped cream left over. I canNOT let whipped cream go to waste. So this week, we bought some more strawberries, and a pre-made angel food cake caught my eye. A slightly different version of the same dessert was born:

Mike loves these. Every time I make him one, he sighs happily and says, "So refreshing!!" It is in the 90s out here after all - and possibly hitting 100 this week?! Boooooo.

Mini Strawberry Shortcakes

This weekend, I wanted a simple, refreshing dessert. One that did not require turning the oven on. It's hot here, you know. I know people say it's a "dry heat," but it sure hasn't felt like it this weekend. It's supposed to storm for the next five days, so the air is just about as thick and heavy as you can imagine. And the sun is brutal.

Anyway.

So when I came across those little pre-made dessert cups at the grocery store, I was pretty pumped. They were only $1.29 and have like 60 calories in them. I also grabbed a tub of fat free whipped cream and a carton of strawberries, and threw together this healthy but tasty dessert last night.


And the package came with six of those dessert cups, so we'll be having these a couple more times this week.

You could also throw some blueberries on there for a quick (yet patriotic) July 4th dessert. Who wouldn't want to chase a burger and some pasta salad with one of these babies?