Monday, April 19, 2010

"The best darn bundt cake ever."

This is the moistest, easiest bundt cake that I've found. I make it often, usually making it a poppy seed cake (my hubby's favorite) but have also used mini chocolate chips.

One side note: don't use the poppy seeds if you foresee having a drug test in the near future, as it will make your test come out a positive for opiates. Seriously, it will; because the poppy seed is obviously in the family of opiates, but with no "high". This cake will make you giddy though!



Poppy Seed Cake


*1 yellow cake mix, dry

*4 eggs

*1 cup water

*1/2 cup oil

*2 TBS lemon or orange juice

*1 small pkg. vanilla instant pudding

*1/4 cup poppy seeds, or mini choc chips

*4 TBS of white and chocolate frosting for drizzle


Combine all ingredients well. Bake in well greased bundt pan. Cool for 10 minutes. Invert pan onto plate. To drizzle with frosting; I use left-over frostings in my refrigerator from other cooking projects, however, if you don't happen to have that at the time, you may certainly use the "canned" frostings. I put a small amount of frosting in a ziploc bag, then microwave it for approximately 10-15 seconds, softening the frosting slightly to the melted point. Clip a very small hole in the corner of the bag and drizzle over the top of cake, using one flavor, then the other.


This cake gets moister as it sits, so it's best if you wait for the next day to dive in, but don't feel obligated to do so!

Crunchy Ice Cream Bars


Hey gang, it "don't get no" better than this! This recipe is is one from my childhood. It was our favorite treat for my mom to make, especially in the summer. It isn't quite summer here in Iowa yet, but I made my first batch of these wonderful dessert treats tonight. As I listed the few things that I was going to pick up at the grocery store, my kids squealed when they heard two of the obvious ingredients, knowing what was ahead of them for the evening menu!.............It's so easy, easy, easy!


Crunchy Ice Cream Bars

*1 cup Karo white syrup
*1 cup peanut butter (I prefer chunky for this recipe)
*8 cups "CoCo Krispies" cereal
*1 quart brick vanilla ice cream

1. Heat the Karo syrup and peanut butter in the microwave for about 30-60 seconds to soften. Stir until well blended, then mix in the cereal, stirring till all is coated.
2. Line a 9x13" pan with waxed paper. Spray lightly with "Pam". Put half of the mixture onto the waxed paper. Press out evenly, making sure that you get it onto the corners also.
3. Lay another piece of waxed paper onto the top of the 1st layer of cereal mixture. Spray lightly with "Pam". Repeat with second layer of cereal mixture. I like to put another layer of waxed paper on top and press again, just to make sure the layers are firm.
4. Put pan in freezer till cereal mixture is slightly frozen and firm.
5. By lifting the waxed paper, lift off the layers of cereal out of the pan. Open the ice cream brick completely so that there is no cardboard edges surrounding the ice cream. Slice the ice cream in 1-inch slices. Lay the slices on top of one of the cereal layers, covering it completely. Next, since the layer is firm, invert it upside down and place it on top of the ice cream, making it like a sandwich. Press down firmly. Cut into squares.

I like to freeze my squares separately, so I quickly wrap each square in tin foil and place back in the freezer. My girls usually help me in an assembly line sort of way to quickly do this before the ice cream starts to melt.