Some Easy Cakes and Dsserts Recipes

Simple Pound Cake:

Servings:
6-8
Cooking Time:
55-60 minutes

Ingredients:
4 ounces Butter, softened
3 cups Sugar
4 Eggs
2 cups Flour
½ teaspoon Baking powder
½ cup Sour cream
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

Instructions:
Place the butter and sugar in a mixer. Cream until smooth.
Add the eggs - one at a time with the mixer running.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Blend well into the mixture.
Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix until blended.
Pre-heat the oven to 325°. Grease and flour a bread pan. Pour in the batter.
Bake for 55-60 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.

Chocolate Heart Cake:

Serve this dessert as a romantic finale to your Valentines' Day with your sweetheart. If fresh raspberries are not available, use fruits in season or what is available like strawberries or blueberries.

Servings:
12
Cooking Time:
Preparation: 30-45 minutes / Cooking: 45 minutes

Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
1 cup less 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ¼ tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup, firmly packed, brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 ¾ cups buttermilk

For the Frosting:
2 cups prepared frosting
2 cups whipped cream
1 pint fresh raspberries

Tools:
9-inch heart-shaped cake pan
2 pastry bags with small star tips
Waxed paper

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of the pan with waxed paper. Grease the paper and all sides of the pan, and then dust with flour.
In a medium bowl, mix flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer set on medium speed, beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla; mix until blended.
At low speed, alternately beat flour mixture and buttermilk into butter mixture just until blended. Pour batter in prepared pan.
Bake the cake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to wire rack; cool for 10 minutes.
Turn out and remove the waxed paper. Turn the cake topside up and cool completely.
Frost the cake evenly with chocolate frosting. Run the tines (forks) of a fork across the top of the cake to form a wavy pattern south-to-north across the cake (from the bottom of the heart to the top).
Spoon any leftover frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Starting an inch from the edge, pipe out stars in a heart shaped pattern, following the edges of the cake. To make a star - squeeze the bag and lightly lift the tip to form the star.
Fill another pastry bag with the whipped cream, fitted with a small star tip. Pipe around the top, outer edge, and along the bottom of the cake, forming a scroll pattern.
Garnish with the raspberries!

Cream Puffs:

Servings:
Makes 12
Cooking Time:
55 minutes

Ingredients:
1/3 cup sugar
¼ tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup margarine
3 cup skim milk
1/8 tsp salt
nonstick spray coating
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tbsp cornstarch

Instructions:
Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray coating. Bring water, margarine, and the ¼ teaspoon salt to boiling.
Add flour all at once, stirring vigorously. Cook and stir until mixture forms a ball that doesn't separate. Cool 10 minutes.
Add the 4 eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth after each addition. Drop batter by heaping teaspoons, 3 inches apart onto baking sheet, making 12 mounds.
Bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes or till golden brown and puffy. Cool.
Split cream puffs and remove any soft dough from inside.
Meanwhile, for pudding, in a saucepan combine sugar, cornstarch and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Stir in milk.
Cook and stir till bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat.
Gradually stir 1 cup of the hot mixture into the beaten egg. Return all to saucepan.
Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and food coloring, if desired. Pour into bowl.
Cover surface with clear plastic wrap. Chill.
To serve, fill cream puffs with pudding and strawberries.


You could substitute the chocolate frosting with white chocolate frosting or whipped cream!