Patriotic Cake

This month we have lots of patriotic celebrations to celebrate and here is a recipe we've used many times to delight folks gathered with us in celebration. It came to us in the mail from Kraft Foods many years ago.

Ingredients

1 qt. strawberries (about 4 cups), divided

1-1/2 cups boiling water

1 pkg. (8-serving size) or 2 pkg. (4-serving size each) JELL-O Brand Gelatin, any red flavor

Ice cubes

1 cup cold water

1 pkg. (12 oz.) pound cake, cut into 10 slices

1-1/3 cups blueberries, divided

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed

Directions:

Slice strawberries in half & set aside. Stir boiling water into dry gelatin mix in large bowl 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Add enough ice to cold water to measure 2 cups. Add to gelatin; stir until ice is melted. Refrigerate 5 min. or until slightly thickened (consistency of unbeaten egg whites). Meanwhile, line bottom of 13x9-inch dish with cake slices. Add sliced strawberries & 1 cup of the blueberries to thickened gelatin; stir gently. Spoon over cake slices. Refrigerate four hrs. or until firm. Spread whipped topping over gelatin. Arrange strawberry halves on whipped topping for "stripes" of "flag." Arrange remaining 1/3 cup blueberries on whipped topping for "stars." Store leftover cake in refrigerator. 160 Calories per serving.

Apricot Glazed Cake sent in by Melissa

Melissa states that is easy to make a special cake if you start with a cake mix in a box and add special goodies to it to make the cake your own. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
1-cup apricot preserves
1 cup Buttermilk
1 pkg. Yellow Cake Mix
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 tbsp Corn Syrup
1-cup margarine
1/2 cup water
Mixing bowl
Wooden spoon
Sauce pan; large
9x13 pan
Pam non-stick spray
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray pan in baking pan and set aside. In mixing bowl, add cake mix, eggs and water. Beat together with wooden spoon until blended; usually 2 minutes. Be sure to scrape sides on bowl while mixing. Pour batter into prepared baking pan and put in the oven to bake following box directions. Meanwhile prepare glaze in saucepan stirring sugar, margarine, buttermilk, corn syrup, vanilla and soda together. Bring to boil while stirring. Remove the cake from the oven and remove onto serving tray once cooled. Pour glaze on top of the cake while it is still warm. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Ghosts in the Graveyard Cake.

I received this free Halloween recipe in the mail courtesy of: www.Kraft Kitchens.com and thought it was seasonal to share as Halloween is on-the-way.
Ingredients:
15 OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, crushed
3 cups cold milk
2 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
1 tub (12 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
Assorted decorations: 3 CAMEO Cream Sandwich Cookies,
decorating gel, 5 candy pumpkins, 10 pieces of candy corn
Directions:
Pour milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. or until well blended. Let stand 5 min. Gently stir in 3 c. of the whipped topping & half the cookie crumbs. Spread evenly into 13x9-inch baking dish; sprinkle with the remaining cookie crumbs. Refrigerate at least 1 hr. Meanwhile, decorate cream sandwich cookies with decorating gel to resemble tombstones and set-aside the mix until ready to use. Insert decorated cookies into top of dessert just before serving. Add candies. Drop large spoonfuls of the remaining whipped topping onto dessert to resemble ghosts. Cover and store leftover dessert in refrigerator.
How to Make Green Grass:Use snipped pieces of green chewy fruit snack rolls to create "grass" around the graveyard. Serves 18. Has 190 calories per serving
Join the cooking club: Click Here!

Mocha Torte - Free Betty Crocker Coffee Recipe

Recently found this recipe on an old Betty Crocker Coffee Maker's instruction page. Since Betty Crocker has great recipes, and the recipe was provided free, thought I'd pass it along. Ingredients: 1 pkg. Betty Crocker white angel food cake mix; 1-1/3 cups of Strong Coffee [cold]; 1 pkg Betty Crocker fluffy white frosting mix; 2 tsp. freeze-dried instant coffee; 1/2 oz. grated semisweet chocolate; 1 tbsp. toasted sliced almonds. Directions: Prepare cake according to pkg directions but substitute water with cold coffee. Bake and cool. Prepare frosting while cake is cooling according to the directions except dissolve instant coffee into the boiling water. Cut cake into 3 layers using a long serrated knife. Cover each layer of the cake with 1-1/4 cups of frosting. Join the layers together and cover the rest of the cake with the remaining frosting and add sprinkles of remaining chocolate and almonds to the outside. makes 20-24 servings. *Calorie counters remember that 2-1/2 pieces of cake [one piece = 2.5 oz. of cake] provides 250 calories.