Category: Desserts

Tradition dictates that whoever finds the miniature plastic baby embedded in the cake is named king or queen of the party and has to bring the cake next year.

Cake:

• 1 packet (.25-ounce) active dry yeast 1/4 cup warm water (110-115 degrees) 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 1 cup warm milk (110-115 degrees)
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 – 4 cups all-purpose flour, divided

Cinnamon Filling:

• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted

Glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1-2 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (clear, if available)
• Purple, yellow and green colored sugar
• Mini plastic baby

  
  Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, add yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar to warm water and stir gently to coat yeast. Let set to proof 5-10 minutes or until bub-bly. Add 1/4 cup sugar, butter, milk, eggs, salt and 2 cups flour; beat until smooth. Gradually add more flour until dough forms soft ball (it will be sticky). Turn dough onto floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic. Form into ball and place in greased bowl, turning dough over to coat all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 45-60 minutes until dough is doubled in size. Punch dough down and turn onto lightly floured surface. Roll out into a rectangle 10-by-20 inches.

  For filling, combine brown sugar, cin-namon and pecans in a small bowl. Melt butter and stir into mixture until combined. Sprinkle over dough, leaving a half-inch border around the edges. Roll dough lengthwise, jelly-roll style, and pinch seam to seal. Place on prepared baking sheet and form a circle, pinching edges together tightly. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 45-60 minutes or until almost double in size. About 20 minutes before rise is done, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 25-35 minutes or until golden brown and then cool on a wire rack.

  For glaze, whisk together all ingredi-ents in a small bowl until smooth and you have desired consistency. Spoon onto cooled cake and top with bands of colored sugar. Before serving, gently embed the baby up underneath the bottom side of the cake. Makes 14 servings.

• 1 watermelon
• 2 cups grapes
• 1 cup strawberries
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 cup raspberries
• Fresh mint, for garnish

Cut top and bottom off watermelon so it will sit straight. Cut away rind and smooth with a vegetable peeler. Place on cake plate or serving platter and garnish with fresh fruit and mint leaves. Makes one cake.

• 1 (15-ounce) package lemon cake mix with pudding
• 2 cups Cool Whip
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, Cool Whip, lightly beaten egg, lemon zest and lemon juice. Stir until completely combined (it will be sticky). Place powdered sugar in a separate bowl. Scoop a spoonful of dough and drop into powdered sugar. Roll to thoroughly coat and place on prepared cookie sheet. Repeat. Bake 10-12 minutes or until tops have cracked and they are golden brown along bottom. Remove and let cool on cookie sheet at least 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely. Makes 2 dozen.

• 2 cups crushed graham crackers
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 stick melted butter
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 1/2 cups fresh whipped cream
• Lemon slice for garnish
• Fresh berries

Mix together crushed graham crackers, sugar and butter; press into a 9-inch pie pan. You also can use a premade graham cracker crust. In a bowl, whisk sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice and lemon zest. Fold in whipped cream. Add to pie crust and place in freezer 1 hour. Garnish with slice of lemon and serve with fresh berries.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Katelyn Youngblood
sweetandsassyapron.com
facebook.com/sweetandsassyapron

• 6-8 fresh peaches, *peeled and sliced
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Juice from 1/2 lemon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pour melted butter into center of 9×13 baking dish (do not spread butter around pan). In a separate bowl, combine flour, 1 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Slowly pour in milk and vanilla extract, stirring to combine. Pour batter over butter, but do not stir. Place brown sugar, peach slices and lemon juice in a saucepan over high heat. Stir frequently until sugar is completely melted and peaches have released their juices. Pour peaches over batter, but do not stir. Bake 40-45 minutes or until top of cobbler is golden. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream. Makes 8-10 servings.

*To easily peel peaches, bring a pot of water to boil. Lightly cut an “x” on the bottom of each peach. Place in water, one at a time, for 30 seconds (no more). Remove with a spoon and peel at the “x.” The skin will come right off.

• 10 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup mayo
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract
• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream, whipped until stiff peaks form
• 3/4 cup coconut
• 1/2 cup pistachios
• 1 1/2 cups pineapple chunks
• 2 bananas, chopped or sliced
• 1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries

Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, mayo, coconut extract and powdered sugar until smooth. Fold in whipped cream. Add coconut, pistachios, pineapple, bananas and strawberries. Stir gently and pour into baking dish. Cover and freeze 24 hours. Thaw 10-15 minutes before slicing into squares and serving. Makes 10 servings.

• 6 cups bread flour (or all-purpose flour)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 2 cups non-fat milk, at 120 degrees

Cinnamon filling:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Glaze:
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/2 tablespoon honey

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In bowl of a stand mixer, stir together 4 cups bread flour (all-purpose flour will have a slightly different texture), sugar, salt and yeast. Stir in eggs, butter and milk until just starting to combine.

With mixer on low, slowly add remaining 2 cups flour. Replace paddle with a dough hook and beat 5-8 minutes or until smooth and dough starts to pull away from bowl when mixing (it will be sticky). Spray a large bowl with non-stick spray and add dough. Cover with towel and let rise 50-60 minutes until doubled in size.

Turn onto well-floured surface and punch down. Roll out to 24×12 rectangle and spread with softened butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon and both sugars. Gently fold dough in half width-wise. Cut into 1-inch strips along the length side. Twist each strip and tie in a bun knot.

Place on baking sheet and cover with clean cloth; let rise 20-30 minutes or until twists puff and dough is extremely soft to the touch. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake 10-12 minutes or until twists start to turn golden brown.

While knots are baking, stir together glaze ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to medium-low and simmer 5 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Remove from heat and cool. Brush glaze over twists and serve warm. Makes 16.

Crêpes:

• 1 large egg
• 6 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
• Melted butter for crêpe pan

Filling:

• 2 cups sour cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 1 box (4-serving size) vanilla instant pudding mix
• Powdered sugar for garnish
• Lemon slices for garnish

Place crêpe ingredients (excluding melted butter for crêpe pan) in a blender and pulse about 10 seconds. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. (You can make batter ahead of time and refrigerate up to 48 hours.) Heat a nine-inch crêpe pan on medium-high heat and brush with melted butter. Pour about an ounce of batter into center of pan and immediately swirl batter so it covers bottom of pan in a thin layer. Cook about 30 seconds until bubbles appear and bottom of crêpe is golden brown. Flip and cook another 10 seconds until blonde but not as dark as the first side. Remove to a sheet of parchment paper and repeat with rest of batter. In small bowl, beat sour cream, milk, lemon zest, lemon juice and pudding mix with whisk or fork until blended. Spoon filling down middle of crêpes and roll up. Garnish with powdered sugar and lemon slices. Makes 10-12 crepes.

• 1 1/2 cups (1 1/2 sleeves) chocolate graham crackers
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 8 tablespoons melted butter, divided
• 3 Braeburn or Honey Crisp apples
• 2 packages cream cheese, softened at room temperature
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 cans apple pie filling, chopped into small pieces
• 1 (8-ounce) carton Cool Whip
• 1/2 cup caramel sauce
• Ground cinnamon for garnish

Place graham crackers in a food processor and process until fine crumbs. Empty into a medium bowl; add sugar and 6 tablespoons melted butter. Mix well. Press crumb mixture onto bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan. Chill 5 to 10 minutes in the freezer until set. 

Peel, core and slice apples. Sauté in 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat 4-5 minutes until cooked through; set aside to cool. In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Gently stir in the apple pie filling and whipped topping. Spread over the prepared crust. Spoon caramel sauce evenly over top of cheesecake. Garnish with cooked apple slices in a pinwheel pattern. Refrigerate 4 hours or until set. Lightly garnish with cinnamon before serving.