Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Strawberry Napoleons

Fancy. Easy. Delicious. What more could you ask for from a recipe?


Ingredients

  • 1 sheet frozen puff pastry
  • 1 3.4 oz package instant vanilla pudding
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 tsp almond extract
  • 1 cup Cool Whip
  • 2 cups sliced strawberries
Directions
  1. Thaw puff pastry for 20 minutes.  Heat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Open sheet of puff pastry and cut along folds. The halve each strip, making six rectangles.
  3. Bake 15 minutes. Cool on cooling rack.
  4. Whisk pudding mix, milk, and almond extract for two minutes.
  5. Fold in Cool Whip and mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate.
  6. Split each puff pastry in half.  Cover bottom half with pudding mixture then strawberries. Cover with pastry tops, a dollop of of pudding mix, and two strawberry slices.
  7. Enjoy!

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

The Ultimate Cake Ball

Cake balls are pretty much heaven in your mouth.  They're easy to make and easy to eat in one sitting.  The key is the proportion of cake to icing, as well as the chocolate used for coating.


Ingredients

  • Cake mix of your choice
  • Icing
  • Nestle white and semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • Crisco
Directions
  1. Bake cake according to directions
  2. Immediately after baking, use a fork to mash up the cake into crumbs.  Transfer to large container with a lid. I typically leave the corners of the cake out, as they are harder and do not form crumbs as easily.
  3. Mix a whole can of icing in with the cake, making sure to mix completely. I found it's easier to use an icing that is a different color than the cake so you know when it's completely mixed in.
  4. Refrigerate 2 hours.
  5. Roll into balls about an inch in diameter.  Place on waxed paper covered cookie sheet.
  6. Freeze at least 3 hours, or overnight.
  7. Mix two cups of chocolate chips with 2 Tbsp of Crisco in microwave safe bowl.  Microwave until melted, stirring every 25-30 seconds to prevent burning.  The Crisco ensures the chocolate hardens in a reasonable amount of time.
  8. Using a fork, dip cake into chocolate until coated.  Tap on side of bowl to remove any excess.  Continue until all cake balls are covered.
  9. Decorate using leftover chocolate and a gel food coloring as desired.
My personal favorite cake/icing combination is Duncan Hines Red Velvet cake with Cream Cheese frosting. YUM.