Mini Berry Cakes

Dieting or not, everybody wants dessert. So why not take a bite and make this cute little cake-like creation? This mini dessert will satisfy the sweet tooth craving without pushing your calorie intake to the limit. It may be quite small but it's jam packed with fruity flavors! YUM!

Also, it gives me a chance to show off some of my new dishes! I got 4 white square snack plates, 4 Mini Trifle dishes, and the Tasting Party Ramekins set, both from Pier1. Mommy loves me.

A few notes about the recipe before I jump in. 

This recipe is courtesy of Diabetic Living  magazine and the BHG Test Kitchen.

The original recipe calls for:

6 6-ounce ramekins or quiche dishes - I used 6 2.75 oz ramekins and halved the recipe. Nutritional info altered.

Fresh berries - I used frozen, then thawed. Fresh would work better and the top would bake more completely.

Eggs - I used Egg Substitute. Nutritional info not altered.

Fat Free Milk - I used 1%. Nutritional info not altered.

Here is the halved recipe. You can obviously double it for the bigger pans.

Mini Berry Cakes

serves 6

Non Stick Cooking Spray

1/4 c. Egg Substitute

1/8 c. Sugar

1/2 t. Vanilla

Dash of Salt

1/2 c. 1% Milk

1/4 c. Flour

1/4 t. Baking Powder

1 1/2 c. Assorted Berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, etc.)

Preheat over (toaster oven!) to 400 degrees.

Place ramekins on baking sheet and spray with non-stick spray.

In small bowl whisk egg and sugar until combined. Add and blend in the vanilla and salt. Whisk in milk until combined and smooth.

Divide berries between dishes and pour batter over the berries. The batter will not completely cover the berries. 

Bake 20 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown. 

Mine didn't turn golden brown. As you can see in the picture above, they turned grey. I had to thaw my berries in warm water, and obviously didn't drain them well enough. Too much juice was in the bottom of the ramekins so it blended with the batter and didn't turn out as pretty as planned. But! That's ok. It was yummy.

Nutritional Info (not altered to reflect 1% milk or Egg Substitute):

Cal 70.5

Fat 1

Carb 13

Prot 2.5

All-Purpose Flour

Mandarin Orange Cake with Pineapple Frosting

Well I went to the gym this morning, and worked hard, too! So I felt making a cake would be a good way to pat myself on the back... I now understand the problem. It has fruit, therefore it is healthy, right?
So here is my family pleasing Mandarin Orange Cake, found via Betty Crocker online.

Mandarin Orange Cake with Pineapple Frosting

Serves 20

1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist Yellow Cake mix

1/2 c. Canola or Vegetable Oil

11 oz. can Mandarin Oranges, NOT drained

4 eggs

1/2 c. chopped Walnuts, optional

20 oz. can Crushed Pineapple, NOT drained

3.4 oz. pkg Instant Vanilla Pudding, Sugar Free

1 1/2 c. Light Whipped Topping

1 t. Orange Zest (shredded orange peel)

Pre-heat oven to 350 for a glass dish and 325 for a dark dish.

On low speed mix cake mix, oil, mandarin oranges (including juice), eggs (and walnuts if you must...) for 30 seconds. Mix on med speed for 2 minutes. 

Grease or spray 9x13 pan. Pour cake mixture into pan and bake 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick in center comes out clean. Cool completely.

In med bowl, stir together pineapple (including juice), pudding mix and orange zest. Fold in whipped topping. Spread on cake. Store in refrigerator. 

As you can see I used some extra oranges as a cute decoration to the cake. This cake is really good and very moist. I personally think the cake itself could use an extra kick or orange, but it is great the way it is! Let me know how you like it!

Mandarin

Tartlets!

A few weeks ago I needed an "appetizer" to take to a Relief Society Lunch Bunch. I interpreted that as "finger food in general". I had some puff pastry in the freezer so I came up with these little tartlets.

Fruit Dip Tartlets
makes 24-48 


1-2 sheets puff pastry, thawed (depends on how many you want to make)
1-2 Kiwi, sliced 1/4" thick, then cut into 8 wedges each
11 oz can Mandarin Oranges (I peeled an orange and broke the segments out of the ... membrane? because I didn't have a can of oranges. Do this the easy way if you can.)
1/2 - 1 c. Fluffy Fruit Dip (from previous post)
Powdered Sugar, optional

Pre-heat oven to 400. On a floured surface, roll puff pastry out to get rid of creases. With a knife or pizza cutter cut pastry 4x3, and cut each square diagonally making 24 triangles. If you are making a bunch (48), work with one sheet of puff pastry at a time, and place the second sheet in the fridge until you are ready to cut it.

Spray mini-muffin pan with cooking spray. Press each triangle into the pan and Bake at 400 degrees for 7-8 minutes.

Leave Puffed Pastries in pan to make assembly and transportation easy. To create the 'bowl' press down the center of each puff with the small end of a melon baller or a medium sized fondant ball tool. Let these cool while you prep the fruit.

Drop about 1/4 t.+ fluffy fruit dip in the center of each pastry and top with fruit. If desired, dust very lightly with powdered sugar.
Feel free to change the fruit : )

Also...

Caramel Apple Tartlets
makes 24-48


1-2 sheets Puff Pastry, thawed
1 Granny Smith Apple, finely diced/minced
1/2 - 1 T. Butter
1/2 t. Cinnamon or Apple Pie Spice
1/2 t. Brown Sugar
1 t.+ Caramel Topping

Pre-heat oven to 400. Cut, bake, and press pastries as above.

In frying pan, saute minced apple in butter. Mix in cinnamon, brown sugar and caramel.

Put about 1/4 - 1/2 t. saute'ed apple mixture in each pastry.

Serve with extra drip of caramel on top if desired.

These were a big hit. If you had one, or make a variation, let me know!

Tarts

Cookie Salad!!!!

In honor of National Cookie Day, which was yesterday... I am posting my favorite salad recipe. Sorry, no picture yet.

Cookie Salad.

This makes me want to go on a salad diet. 

Happy Day-After-National-Cookie Day!

2 cans Pineapple Tidbits or Chunks, drained
2 cans Mandarin Oranges, drained
16 oz. Cool Whip
1 lg pkg Instant Vanilla Pudding
2 c. Buttermilk
1 pkg Keebler Fudge Stripe cookies.

Dump cookies into a gallon zip locking bag. Break cookies against counter, floor, wooden spoon, sister's head...
Mix pudding with buttermilk, fold in the Cool Whip, add other ingredients.
Add cookies prior to serving to avoid soggy cookies (I actually prefer them with a little less crunch though). Refrigerate until ready.

Enjoy. This is a Fourth of July tradition, but it was National Cookie Day. How could I not share?

I brought this to a work potluck (Eddie Bauer's 91st Anniversary) and everyone loved it. I know of at least two people who clocked out to go home after their shift, then sat down and had another scoop : )

If you've tried it, let me know. If you've made it, tell me what you do differently.