Easter 2008

This Easter I ventured out and tried to make some different desserts. This first cake is an Italian Cream Cake. The recipe is a family secret that has been passed down for generations. I was lucky enough to obtain this recipe from a friend because he thought that I would be able to make it better than he could and apparently I did. I'd never made or even heard of an Italian Cream Cake until he told me about it. I describe it as having the texture of a carrot cake, but instead of carrots, it has coconut in it. And to make it even better, it is frosted with a cream cheese icing. So delicious!!!

Below are the infamous lemon squares. This recipe has been in my family for generations and is a must for every holiday. Dr. Fuller reminds me at least once a month to make lemon squares for the next party. They have a buttery, shortbread crust and a very lemony curd-like custard on top; always a hit during the spring and summer months.

 

This year was the first time I made a trifle. I made Grandma's Pound Cake, cream anglaise, and sweetened whipped cream. I cut up the pound cake into cubes and layered half of them into the bottom of the trifle dish. Then, I topped the cubes with half the cream anglaise, a mix of sliced strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries, and then half of the whipped cream. I then repeated the layers until the trifle dish was full and then placed some more berries on top. It is such a simple dessert that can be made so many different ways and always looks beautiful; it tastes great too!!!

This next cake was made purely for fun. I saw a cake like this in a magazine and thought it looked really cute. I took a flower pot and layed chocolate cake and chocolate pudding into it, then topped it with some crushed Oreo cookies to make it look like dirt. We had some fake flowers laying around the house so I shoved them in and added some gummy worms. It's a great idea for kids parties and super simple.

Last, but not least, was the key lime pie. I made a graham cracker crust and then mixed together some key lime juice, sweetened condensed milk, and a few eggs for the custard. I baked it until the custard was set and garnished it with some sweetened whipped cream and some lime slices. Like the lemon squares, this soon became an Easter tradition.