MOLTEN CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKES

The weather here in MO has been gorgeous all week, so hubby and I decided to grill out last night. Dinner time for us coincided with our youngest daughter and her husband's return from spending Christmas week in IA, so we invited them to come over and join us. Since their 1st anniversary is today, I made these last night as a special celebration treat for them. They received thumbs up all around, so that was the green light I needed to put them on here for you all to try.  WARNING: These are very rich! I expected the inside to be a thinner consistency. It was very ooey, gooey, yummy though. Served these with vanilla ice cream, as a dollop of whipped cream just wouldn't have been enough! SUPER easy to make though. Went together in a snap! And the bake time is only about 12 - 14 min, so quick and easy dessert. Most lava cakes are made with bakers chocolate. This recipe calls for chocolate chips. That enticed me to try it, as most cooks already have chocolate chips in the pantry.

MOLTEN CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKES

1/4 sticks unsalted butter
Granulated sugar (for the ramekins)

1 stick unsalted butter
6 oz semisweet chocolate chips
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (plus a little more for dusting)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup flour
6 ramekins

Preheat oven to 425. Soften the 1/4 stick of butter and coat the inside of your ramekins with it. Sprinkle granulated sugar inside each ramekin, turning to coat all sides of it with the sugar. Set those aside.

Put the remaining stick of butter and the chocolate chips in a large mixing bowl. Set the bowl on top of a saucepan filled with 1" of boiling water. Be sure that the bowl is not touching the water. Gently stir the butter and chocolate together until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from the heat.
In separate mixing bowl combine the eggs, egg yolks, powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until it doubles in size and gets very thick and pale colored.
Gently and slowly mix the melted chocolate into the egg mixture. Temper it first, so the eggs don't start to "cook." Once the chocolate is combined with the eggs, gently stir in the flour. Whisk to combine. Divide the batter among the prepared ramekins. Arrange the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 14 - 15 minutes. Remove the cakes from the oven and let rest for 3 - 4 minutes.
Remove the cakes from the ramekins and arrange them on individual serving plates. Dust with powdered sugar. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream and a hot cup of coffee!

PIG PICKIN' CAKE

Here is a nice, moist, light, Summery cake. The cake batter has chopped mandarin oranges in it, and the whipped topping has crushed pineapple in it. So it has a fruity, but subtle, tropical flavor. It's always a hit at potlucks. I got this recipe from my mother-in-law way back in the late 80's. She was one of the first people I ever met that absolutely loved to cook and it showed in her cooking! She was (and still is) a fantastic cook and I use so many of her recipes in my cooking. I think you'll like this one as much as I do!

PIG PICKIN' CAKE

1 Duncan Hines Super Moist Yellow cake mix (w/ pudding in the mix)
- or Duncan Hines Butter recipe cake mix
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
1 small can mandarin oranges w/ juice

In mixing bowl, combine cake mix, eggs & oil. Stir until combined. Add oranges & juice and continue to mix until oranges are evenly incorporated into the batter. Pour into 3 greased & floured 9" round cake pans. Bake at 350 for 20 min.

FILLING & TOPPING:

1 (6 oz) Vanilla instant pudding
1 (20 oz) Crushed pineapple
1 (12 oz) Cool Whip, thawed

Combine pudding mix and pineapple w/ juice. Stir until pudding is completely dissolved. Fold in Cool Whip. Mix until thoroughly combined. Use to frost middles, sides and top of cake. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Refrigerate any leftovers.

HOT CHEESECAKE W/ FRESH RASPBERRIES

This is an awesome cheesecake. The crust is a bit involved. But if you don't mind working with a yeast dough, you won't have any problems. This tastes like the freshest raspberry, cream cheese danish you've ever had! It really is worth the wait on this one! Trust me, if you love cheesecake and raspberries, this will become one of your new favorites!

HOT CHEESECAKE W/ FRESH RASPBERRIES

Dough:

1/2 cup milk, scalded and cooled a bit
1 pkg dry yeast
1 Tblsp sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup butter
3 egg yolks

Dissolve yeast and sugar in milk. Set aside. Cut butter into flour (like pie crust). Add egg yolks to milk. Stir and pour into flour. Mix well. Divide dough in half. Roll out first half into 11 x 15 pan. (May need to add a bit more flour as you mix and roll, to keep it from being too sticky. Roll out second half into a rectangle on cotton towel and set aside.

Filling:

4 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
2 cups sugar
2 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla

Beat all ingredients together and spread over dough in pan. Cover with 2nd half of dough. Sprinkle top crust with sugar. Let rise for 1 hour. Bake at 350 for 30 - 35 minutes or until light golden brown. Serve warm with raspberry sauce, whipped cream and fresh raspberries. Or you could just serve it plain - it's just as good that way!
May be re-heated.

To make Raspberry syrup: Stir together in small saucepan: 1 cup fresh raspberries, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup sugar. Heat over med-high heat until boiling. Turn down and simmer until berries are cooked down. Keep warm to serve over cheesecake.

"KAHLUA" COFFEE CAKE

I recently took this cake to a church fellowship and brought back an empty cake plate. That's always a good sign!! (Jessica, this is the cake) This is a really moist cake and goes REALLY well with a cup of hot coffee! Trust me on this one! They are a match made in heaven!

"KAHLUA" COFFEE CAKE

1 pkg Golden Butter Cake Mix
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 pkg instant vanilla pudding (3 1/2 oz)
3/4 cup oil
1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup Kahlua flavored syrup
1 cup chopped pecans

Combine cake mix adding 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Add sour cream, pudding, oil, and vanilla. Mix well

Divide batter in half. To one half, add brown sugar, Kahlua syrup, and pecans. Grease bundt pan.

Pour 1/2 of the pecan flavored cake mixture into the bundt pan, then all of the plain mixture on top of that, then remaining half of pecan cake mixture. Run a knife through mixture to marblize. Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Check cake in 1 hour. Remove cake from pan onto cake plate. While still warm, mix glaze.

Glaze: Mix powdered sugar and Kahlua flavored syrup until it is the consistency of thin icing - thin enough to drizzle over a cake. Poke holes in top of warm cake and drizzle 2 or 3 times w/ glaze.

If you can't find Kahlua flavored syrup. I would make a simple syrup using equal parts of water (1/3 cup) and sugar(1/3 cup). Heat until the sugar dissolves. Mix in 1 tsp. of instant espresso powder while hot. Let it cool before making the cake. If you love coffee flavored desserts, then this will work well for you! You can use the same coffee syrup in the glaze.

APPLE CAKE

Man! I love Fall! Don't you? I love the colors - the deep orange hues, the red, the gold, green, I love it all. The crisp Fall air. Warm, comfy sweaters. Fleece blankets. Fuzzy socks. Hot chocolate. I love the smells of Fall. Baking. Pumpkins. Apple orchards. Apple cider. Apple pie, apple crisp, Apple cake!! haha My daughter has been asking for this for a few weeks now. I finally surprised her with it tonight. If you like apple desserts, this one won't disappoint! Don't let the stiff, cookie dough like, batter scare you. The chopped apples. once they bake, provide just the right amount of needed moisture in the cake. This is soooo good with a hot cup of coffee on a chilly, Fall day! It's SO moist and the sugar creates a yummy, crispy top.

APPLE CAKE

2 cups sugar
1 stick butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
4 cups raw apples, chopped
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
optional: 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 375.
Cream butter with sugar, add eggs and vanilla and mix well. In separate bowl combine flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir or sift to combine. Add to creamed mixture and beat with mixer until well combined. Don't be afraid of the stiff, cookie dough like batter, the apples will cook up and provide enough moisture in the cake. Use a good heavy wooden spoon and fold apples evenly into batter. Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan with cooking spray and spread batter evenly into pan. Bake for 45 - 50 min at 375. Remove from oven and serve warm with desired garnish.
I sprinkle with powdered sugar. You could serve it with a dollop of whipped cream.

CHERRY CHEESECAKE

Today was Amy's birthday. She is my favorite bus kid! I used to pick her up for Sunday school when she was just a little girl. Now she is a grown young woman, graduated from Bible college. She is such a blessing to my heart. Now she works with me on my bus route. Talk about full circle! A former bus kid picking up bus kids for church! I love it! She loves cheesecake, so I made this for her birthday today. She came over after the bus route tonight and we sang to her and gave her a few little gifts and ate cheesecake with her! haha

I was surprised today as I sifted through the dozens of cookbooks I have, that so many of them didn't have a simple cheesecake recipe. Either it was a jello type cheesecake (no bake) or a full on NY style cheesecake (time consuming). Then I found this in an Amish cookbook. It turned out so yummy. After my first bite I realized it was the same cheesecake my Aunt used to make when I was growing up. I loved it then and I still love it today! This went together in a snap - so quick and easy - and so tasty!

CHERRY CHEESECAKE

Mix:

16 graham crackers, crushed
1/2 cup white sugar
1 stick butter melted

I placed the graham crackers in a heavy duty, gallon size ziploc baggie and crushed them with my rolling pin. Then opened the bag and pour in the sugar and melted butter. Reclosed the bag and shook it to mix in the sugar and butter. Then patted it into the pan.

Press into 9 x 13 pan

Mix:

2 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, beaten

In a large mixing bowl beat softened cream cheese with sugar until creamy. Add vanilla and eggs and beat for approximately 5 minutes more, or until it loosens up and feels fluffy. Spread over graham cracker mixture. Bake at 375 for 15 min. (that's not a typo! 15 minutes!) When cool, pour cherry pie filling over the top. Then chill. Serve with whipped cream on top. Other fruits may be substituted in place of the cherries. Blueberry would be nice too.

This is dear sweet Amy, in the middle, between my two precious girls. Aren't they all so 'perty?' She has made herself a part of our family! We all just love her!

PEACH PLANTATION CAKE

Pardon the pic - it's not one of my better ones. I made this for a fellowship dinner last Sunday and was in a hurry to get out the door with it, so didn't fuss much w/ my camera settings. I've been making this cake since I was a teenager. It was one of my Dad's favorite cakes. It's so easy anybody can make it. Great way to use up those peaches you just bought too!

PEACH PLANTATION CAKE

1 butter recipe yellow cake mix, prepared according to pkg directions

1 large (28 oz) or 2 small (14 oz each) cans sliced peaches in light juice, reserve juice
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 (16 oz) Cool Whip
Whole pecans

Prepare butter recipe cake mix according to pkg directions. Spray a bundt cake pan and pour batter in. Bake according to guidelines on box. Remove from oven. Wiggle cake pan a bit to loosen cake from sides. Dump upside down on cake plate. Let cool completely. Use a large serrated butcher knife and horizontally cut cake evenly in half. Lay top half on separate plate. Meanwhile... open peaches and drain (reserve juice!) Pour peach juice in small saucepan, add 1/2 cup hot water, 1/2 cup sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir to combine and heat over med - high heat until bubbly. Simmer for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Now drizzle half of this mixture over the bottom layer of cake.

*Let the other half of the syrup cool and save it to drizzle on the top* Next take your drained peaches and lay them around the edge of the cake in the same direction, letting them hang over the edge a bit. *Save some of the peaches for garnish on top* Spoon on Cool whip whipped topping (reserve some for top of cake), place top half of cake on top of cool whip. Now put one dollop of Cool Whip on each large section of cake (for my pan, it ends up being 8 sections) On top of each dollop of cool whip, lay 1 peach slice and 1 whole pecan. *I ran out of whole pecans and had to opt for chopped pecans. They don't look as nice as the whole ones do. When you slice the cake to serve it - lay the cake slice on it's side and drizzle with the reserved, cooled peach syrup. ENJOY!

TROPICAL DREAM CAKE

A friend gave me this recipe about 10 years ago and it has been a real "keeper!" This cake is SO moist! The pineapple syrup just sinks down into the holes in the cake and it soaks in and wow... you have to try it to believe it! It's kind of like a "poke" cake, but BETTER!

TROPICAL DREAM CAKE

1 white cake mix + ingredients to prepare it

1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple w/ juice
1 cup brown sugar
cinnamon

1 lg instant vanilla pudding + ingredients to prepare it
1 large Cool Whip
Optional: Shredded coconut

Bake white cake according to pkg directions. While cake bakes, make the syrup. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the crushed pineapple w/ juice, brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon. Cook over med heat until it boils. Simmer until it thickens a bit. Poke holes all over baked cake with handle of wooden spoon. Pour the pineapple syrup mixture slowly and evenly all over the top of the cake, making sure it sinks into the holes. Smooth it over evenly with the back of the spoon. Prepare instant vanilla pudding according to pkg directions. Let it sit for about 10 minutes to thicken a bit. Pour evenly over top of cake and spread smoothly with back of spoon. Chill completely in fridge. Spread Cool Whip evenly over entire cake. If desired, top with shredded coconut. If you aren't a fan of coconut, then garnish it with sprinkles of cinnamon.

TEXAS SHEET CAKE

I'm sure most of you have either had this, or made it at one time or another. But for those of you who aren't as fortunate (haha) you simply must give this a try sometime! It's super easy to make and goes over REALLY well at any function. I like it because, not only does it taste good, but it serves 32 or more. So it's a good economical choice when you are feeding a crowd. And you probably have most of the ingredients in your pantry, right now.

I like to do the top half nuts (chopped pecans) and half plain, to please everyone. The icing tastes like a thin fudge, it's so yummy with a tall glass of cold milk! Definitely not on WW, but a nice treat once in a while.

TEXAS SHEET CAKE

In a mixing bowl, combine the following, and set aside:

2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder

In a saucepan over med-high heat, combine the following and bring to a boil:

2 sticks butter or margarine
1 c. water
2 Tblsp. cocoa, heaping

While hot, add to flour mixture above. Cream will with mixer. Pour into greased and floured jelly roll pan (or cookie sheet with tall sides). Bake 20 min at 350. Frost while still warm.

FROSTING

1 stick butter or margarine
6 Tblsp. milk
2 Tblsp. cocoa

Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add all at once:

1 box powdered sugar (4 cups)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. chopped nuts

Stir until well combined. Pour over warm cake and spread evenly to edges.

DIET SODA CAKE w/ FRESH STRAWBERRIES & WHIPPED CREAM

Have you ever heard of the Diet soda cake? It's any flavor cake you like, mixed with 1 can of diet soda. This is the white cake, mixed with diet 7 - up. No eggs, no oil. So the fat content is very low. The next time I make the white version, I'm going to try using diet cherry 7-up. When I first heard about it, I wondered how the cake would bake up with only diet soda as the binder, but it bakes up beautifully and is SO moist. The chocolate version is good too. I make that one with diet coke and top it with fresh raspberries and light cool whip. The possibilities are endless. Use your imagination. This cake is good for those that have an allergy to eggs too. I have to say though that the original version of the diet soda cake is just that - cake mix and diet soda. The addition of the SF jello and the berries was something I did for us.

1 pkg White Cake Mix
1 (12 oz) can Diet Lemon Lime soda
1 small box, sugar free strawberry jello
Fresh Strawberries (sliced)
Cool Whip - Sugar Free (or light cool whip)

Directions

Mix together cake mix and lemon lime soda.

Coat 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

Pour cake mix into pan.
Bake at 350* for 20 - 30 minutes, until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Using a meat fork, poke holes all over in the cake.
In a separate mixing bowl, combine the sugar free jello with 2 cups boiling water. Stir to combine until jello is completely dissolved. Slowly pour over the top of the cake, letting the jello sink into the holes in the cake.
Refrigerate until jello is set. Or if you want a "speedy set" put it in the freezer for 30 - 45 min.
Top with whipped cream and strawberries.
Makes about 15 servings.

Number of Servings: 15

Calories: 159
WW points value: 3 pts

PRALINE PUMPKIN CAKE

And speaking of birthdays... this is the cake I made for my daughter-in-love's birthday this year. She wanted a big ol' roast beef dinner, which I made. And then she requested this for her BD dessert. It was so moist and so yummy and so pumpkiny and "Fally." Great cake! She deserves this and SO much more!

PRALINE PUMPKIN CAKE

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 box super moist yellow cake mix
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup oil
4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 container rich & creamy cream cheese icing
Caramel topping, if desired
Additional chopped pecans for garnish

Heat oven to 325. In a 1 quart heavy saucepan, stir together the butter, whipping cream and brown sugar. Cook over low heat stirring occasionally, just until butter is melted. Pour into 2 (8" or 9") round cake pans, sprinkle evenly with 3/4 cup chopped pecans.
In large bowl, beat cake mix, pumpkin, milk, oil, eggs and 1 tsp of the pumpkin pie spice with electric mixer on low speed until moistened. Beat 2 minutes on medium speed. Carefully spoon batter over pecan mixture in each pan.
Bake 40 - 45 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center. Cool 5 minutes, remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
Stir remaining 1/2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice into frosting. To assemble cake, place 1 layer praline side up on serving plate. Spread with half of the frosting. Top with second layer, praline side up and spread remaining half of frosting to edge of layer. Drizzle lightly with caramel topping and garnish with additional chopped pecans. Store loosely covered in refrigerator.
16 servings.

ANNIVERSARY CAKE

So tomorrow is our church's 73rd anniversary. We're having a big day with a Potluck dinner and the whole 9 yards. Grilled chicken by the men - will be soooo good! Anyway, I was tossing around the idea of making a cake for it (since I just took a cake decorating class). My daughter (who taught the class) said to go for it, and that she would help me if I got stuck. So this is sort of a joint effort. I made the cake and iced it (she smoothed it! LOL) I made the peach roses, she made the beige ones. She did the writing. LOL We had a lot of fun working on this together, tonight.

PUMPKIN GOOEY BUTTER CAKE

Oh my soul!! If you've never made a gooey butter cake, you simply MUST try one some time! They are so stinking good!!! You can make them with tons of variations, but the pumpkin is by far, our favorite. You really should put this on your next menu for dessert! And Thanksgiving, is a given! I promise, you'll never want pumpkin pie again! LOL

PUMPKIN GOOEY BUTTER CAKE

Cake:
1 (18 oz) box yellow cake mix
1 egg
1/2 cup melted butter

Filling:
1 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin pie filling
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 (16 oz) box powdered sugar
1/2 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 13 x 9 baking pan. In a bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cake mix, egg and butter and mix well. Pat into the bottom of prepared pan and set aside. Still using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin, eggs and vanilla. Dump in powdered sugar and beat well. Reduce the speed of the mixer and slowly pour in butter. Mix well. Pour filling onto cake mixture and spread evenly. *Bake for 40 - 50 minutes. Don't be afraid to make a judgment call on the cooking time, because oven temperatures can vary. You want the center to be a little gooey, so don't bake it past that point!
Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Cut into squares and serve with whipped cream. These little cakes are very, very rich and a little will go a long way!

*NOTE* ESPECIALLY if you are using a Pampered chef stone baking pan. If you are, you should remove it from the oven at around 30 - 35 minutes, as it will continue to cook in the stone. I find that as soon as I see the edges starting to look "cooked" and a bit dry, I remove it, even if the center still seems a bit "soft". It really will finish cooking in the pan.

HOT FUDGE PUDDING CAKE

OH MY SOUL!! I am so excited that I FINALLY get to post this recipe! This is an all time family favorite around here and it is literally TO DIE FOR! The first time we had this we were at someone's house for dinner. When we walked in, the lady of the house had just taken it out of the oven, and my Honey says, "Oh man! Sorry about your cake!" Little did he know! LOL Now he says it's a religious experience!
If you like chocolate, this one will make you weep!
I tried to get a decent pic of the vanilla ice cream WITH the hot pudding still on it, but it insisted on sliding right off. That's vanilla ice cream though. Be sure to use a good QUALITY ice cream, like Bryers, to get the full affect of this dessert. None of that stuff in the plastic pail! That stuff is ice cream sacrilege! *hehe*

HOT FUDGE PUDDING CAKE

1 cup flour
2 teasp baking powder
1/2 teasp salt
3/4 cup white sugar
3 Tblsp cocoa
1 1/2 cups milk
2 Tblsp oil
1 teasp vanilla

3/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tblsp cocoa
1 cup hot water combine with 1 cup coffee (can just be leftover from that morning)

In mixing bowl, combine first 8 ingredients. Mix well with whisk and pour into sprayed 9 x 13 baking pan. The batter will be very thin. Don't worry, this will be come the "pudding." Now sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the top of the batter. DO NOT STIR. Then evenly sprinkle the 2 Tblsp of cocoa over that. Again, DO NOT STIR. Now SLOWLY drizzle the hot water & coffee combo evenly over the top - once again DO NO STIR. Place it carefully in your oven and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. DO NOT overbake it. The pudding will be on the bottom and the "cake" part will be floating in the middle. Don't worry if it looks like it's not "done." It IS! Trust me on this. Serve it piping hot over a dish of ice cream! Prepare to enjoy NIRVANA! LOL

This is what mine looks like when it first comes out of the oven. When you first take it out, it will look like it's at the top of the pan. But as soon as you sit it on the counter, it will go POOF and sink! It's OK. Don't pass out and think it's a failure. You can see in the dead center how it looks cracked with "liquid" bubbling up in the middle - you WANT this.
The more "pudding" there is, the better it is. Although the cake part is good too!

CANDY BAR CAKE

CHOCOHOLICS REJOICE! If you love chocolate, this is the cake for you! Be sure to have a TALL glass of cold milk standing by to serve with this though. This cake is SO simple, but so yummy. I made this for my daughters birthday and we drove 2 hours to visit her at the college she attends. We had cake and ice cream in the kitchen of their dormitory. Before too long, there were more than several dorm students kind of hovering around until we invited them to sit and have a piece of cake with us! LOL

CANDY BAR CAKE

1 chocolate cake mix, prepared according to package directions.

Frost your double layer chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Line the outside edge with Kit Kat bars nestled up next to each other. You may have to trim them a bit to fit the height of the cake. Wrap a colorful, wide, fabric ribbon around it and tie it in a bow. Fill the top side of the cake with chocolate kisses, Hershey's peanut butter cups, or whatever is the favorite candy of the lucky person receiving this. I was kind of "skimpy" with the candy on top of this one, but feel free to pile it on! The more candy there is, the better the presentation!

KILLER STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

You read that right - it's "killer!" I LOVE the presentation of this dessert. When I first read the recipe, it said to make the cake in a clear bowl. I thought it would look better on a cake plate, but I'm so glad I didn't follow my instincts, and instead followed the recipe. It NEEDED to be in a bowl!
And if you have a pretty fruit compote bowl, it would be perfect for this. Be warned though, this is very sweet. Personally, when I make this again, I'll probably double the amount of strawberries it calls for. I would like to have tasted more of the berries. But is was still so YUMMY!

KILLER STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

1 large angel food cake

CUSTARD:

1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 oz) Cool Whip

GLAZE:

1 cup sugar
3 Tblsp cornstarch
3 Tblsp strawberry Jell-O
1 cup water
2 cups fresh strawberries, cut in half (if berries are extra large they may be cut in quarters)
Whole strawberries and mint leaves for garnish

Slice cake, using a serrated-edged knife, horizontally into 3 equal layers. Mix together cream cheese, condensed milk and cool whip in a bowl; set aside. In a medium saucepan, stir together sugar, cornstarch and jell-o; add water. Cook, stirring over medium heat until thick. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Then fold in sliced strawberries. Place one layer of cake in bottom of large clear bowl. Top with a layer of strawberries & glaze, followed by a layer of custard mixture. Repeat layering in this order for remaining cake, glaze and custard. For a pretty presentation, top cake with 3 whole strawberries and fresh mint leaves.

STARR'S FAVORITE CAKE!

JELLO CAKE is one of my all time favorite cakes. This past weekend was my birthday and when my daughters asked me what kind of cake I wanted, this was my first choice. It's so simple a blockhead can make it. You just can't mess it up! And MOIST, oh my soul, is it ever moist! The nice thing is, you can dress it up with fresh berries and whipped cream and make it even better!

JELLO CAKE

1 white cake mix, prepared according to directions
1 large box strawberry jello
1 quart fresh strawberries
1 (12 oz) Cool Whip

Prepare white cake mix according to pkg instructions. Bake in a 9 x 13 pan. Remove from oven and poke holes all over the cake with a meat fork. In separate mixing bowl, prepare strawberry jello using ONLY the hot water, not the cold. Stir until jello is dissolved. Pour over the cake, making sure it gets drizzled evenly over the holes. Refrigerate until jello is set. Top with Cool whip and fresh strawberries. Garnish with fresh mint.