For this Valentine's Day, I decided to draw inspiration from another one of my favorites from Hans and Harry Bakery. On a previous post, I shared my homemade version of their famous fresh fruit strudel. This time around, I've created an egg-free version of their equally popular fresh fruit cake. It's a rich vanilla butter cake layered with Bavarian cream and topped with fresh fruit.
You might have noticed the even though the recipe makes two cake layers, I only have one layer in the photo. My son was hovering around me, smacking his lips and eagerly waiting for this cake. So I just quickly arranged the fruit on top and let him eat his Valentine's Day cake :-)
Here's another variation of my fresh fruit cake with only strawberries (see, I got to use two cake layers for this one). Feel free to use any fruit you'd like and it doesn't necessarily have to be fresh fruit either. Sometimes I use frozen fruit (like blueberries or raspberries) and canned fruit (like pineapple and peaches).
Happy Valentine's Day!
Egg-Free Fresh Fruit Cake
Makes 2 layers (6 1/2 cups of batter)
Allergy Note: contains wheat and dairy ingredients
cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 cups butter, melted
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups warm milk
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
cream:
1 box instant vanilla pudding mix
1 pint whipping cream
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon flavored liqueur (optional)
cake syrup:
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
strawberries, cut in half
mandarin orange segments or peaches
blueberries
for the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans.
In a large mixing bowl, sift together dry ingredients. In a medium mixing bowl, combine butter, vegetable oil, milk, vinegar and vanilla extract. Add to the dry ingredients. Mix till smooth. Pour into prepared cake pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool completely. Level and trim the top of the cakes.
For the cream:
Using an electric mixer, whisk together instant pudding mix, milk and whipping cream (and flavored liqueur) together until thickened.
For the cake syrup:
Combine ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 1 to 2 minutes on HIGH. Stir till the sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool.
To assemble the cake:
Drizzle a little bit of cake syrup over the cake. Spread half of the seedless raspberry jam over the cake. Spread half of the cream over the cake. Repeat for the second cake layer. Top with fruit. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
My son has these books written by Laura Numeroff and one of them is called "If You Give a Moose a Muffin." It's such a sweet and silly story about a boy who gives a moose a muffin and the adventures that ensue. We have so much fun reading it and I always kept it in the back of my mind that someday I will come up with an awesome egg-free muffin for him.
After fine-tuning this recipe a few times, I think I finally got a winner. The proof? My son gave me two thumbs up after gobbling up a muffin. And another. And another. These muffins are so delicious fresh out of the oven. They're practically bursting with wild blueberries and I'm pretty sure they would taste great with some blackberry jam on top :-)
Egg-Free Blueberry Muffins
Makes about a dozen muffins
Allergy Note: contains wheat and dairy ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
1 cup blueberry yogurt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup blueberries *
*I recommend wild blueberries. They're smaller but more flavorful. You can find frozen organic blueberries in the freezer section of most grocery stores or supermarkets.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line muffin pan with paper liners.
Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix together butter, milk, yogurt and vanilla extract in a small mixing bowl. Pour into the dry mixture and mix till combined. Gently fold in the blueberries. Using an ice cream scooper, divide the batter equally into the muffin pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
My dad asked me if I could come up with a quick and easy recipe for Crema de Fruta so he could try his hand at making it. He's gotten the baking bug recently and wanted to start out with some simple recipes first then work his way up to more challenging ones. So I experimented with a few ingredients and came up with an incredibly effortless version.
As I mentioned on a previous post, crema de fruta is a Filipino dessert that is very popular around the holidays. The traditional version that I posted last year was made with sponge cake and stirred custard. This quick and easy version that I created for my dad is made with vanilla cake mix and instant vanilla pudding mix. Yes, you read that right. Now how can you get any simpler than that?
A lot of my friends and family have quickly embraced this easy recipe because it's pretty much foolproof to make. I have a feeling a lot of them will be making this for their family gatherings in the next couple of weeks. The best part about this recipe is that it will fill two party trays. Hooray!
Happy Holidays Everyone!
Quick and Easy Crema de Fruta
Makes about 24 servings
Allergy note: contains eggs, wheat and dairy
cake:
1 box white cake mix
1 cup milk
1 cup oil
4 large eggs
crema:
2 boxes Jello instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups milk
2 cups whipping cream
fruta:
2 envelopes Knox unflavored gelatin (1/4 ounce each)
1/2 cup water
2 30-oz. cans fruit cocktail in heavy syrup (DO NOT drain the syrup)
cake:
Mix together cake mix, milk, oil and eggs. Pour into two rectangular aluminum pans and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool.
crema:
Using an electric mixer, whisk together instant pudding mix, milk and whipping cream together until thickened. Pour over cake and spread evenly.
fruta:
Sprinkle the unflavored gelatin over the water. Let the gelatin absorb the water and expand. Microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute until the gelatin melts. Mix into the fruit cocktail and pour over the crema.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
We're going to my in-laws tomorrow and since they're not really big on desserts, I thought I'd bring them a fruit salad. My version of Ambrosia Salad has coconut milk and instant vanilla pudding mix as a base. It's light and not too sweet, so I hope they like it :-)
Ambrosia Salad
Makes 16 servings
Allergy Note: contains dairy ingredients
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 14-oz. can coconut milk
1 box Jello instant vanilla pudding mix (5.1 0z.)
1 16-oz. jar maraschino cherries, drained
2 20-oz. cans pineapple chunks, drained
2 11-oz. cans mandarin oranges, drained
2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
In a large mixing bowl, whip together heavy whipping cream, coconut milk and pudding mix until thickened. Mix in cherries, pineapple, oranges and shredded coconut. Refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.
I was so blown away by how well my ultimate chocolate chip cookies turned out, I just had to try the same technique on another cookie recipe. So my latest creation are these absolutely mouthwatering oatmeal raisin cookies. You wouldn't believe they're egg-free after you've tried one. Really! You'll be shaking your head in disbelief. I sure did.
Egg-Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies, 3 inches diameter
Allergy Note: contains dairy and wheat ingredients
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
8-oz. bar cream cheese, softened to room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups raisins
3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup hulled sunflower seeds (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon; set aside. In large mixer bowl, cream together butter, sugar, brown sugar and cream cheese. Add vanilla extract to the butter/sugar mixture. Gradually blend flour mixture into butter/sugar mixture. Add in raisins, rolled oats and sunflower seeds. Drop heaping tablespoons (I use an ice cream scoop) onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper (or silicone baking mat) about 2 inches apart. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring.
I made this cake for my nephew's 5th birthday earlier this year. It was inspired by the cake I made for my son last year (see below). When my cousin asked me to make a race car cake, I was thrilled, but there was only one problem...I had to figure out how to ship the cake from California to Philadelphia. I was always reluctant about shipping cakes (even fake ones) because there's just soooo many things that could go terribly wrong. But I figured, I'll go ahead give it a try and see what happens.
I decided to make the car cake out of rice krispie treats, just like the Lego Cake I made a few months ago, so it'll be easier to ship. Again, since I've got a bun in the oven, my sweet husband helped me (what a guy!). My cousin was going to order a sheet cake from a local bakery and place the race car on top of it. I took a Wilton 3-D Cruiser Pan
, lined it with plastic wrap and packed it with the rice krispie treats. When I unmolded it, I spread a thin layer of buttercream and covered it with red rolled fondant.
I cut three long strips of fondant and placed them on top of the hood, the roof and the trunk of the car. I brushed clear alcohol (lemon extract or vodka) on the strips to glue them to the car cake.
I used petit four cutters
to make the headlights. I made the grill by cutting thin strips of fondant (see fondant scrolls post to learn an easy way to cut strips) and used a small round cookie cutter to make the "5" logo (see simple and easy monogram post). I painted the pieces with silver luster dust and a black food color marker.
I colored the wheels, windshield and windows with a black food color marker.
I used two different sizes of round cookie cutters
to make the rims of the wheels. I painted the rims and spokes with silver luster dustand made the lug nuts by pushing the black food color marker into the fondant.
I used the same fondant scrolls and simple and easy monogram techniques to make the bumper and license plate.
The good news: the cake made it to Philly in one piece.
The bad news: the bubble wrap I used to cushion the box left bumps all over the fondant :-(
I'm not sure if I packed it too tightly or if the fondant softened while in transit, but I don't think I'll ship another cake across country until I figure out a better way to package it.
