Homemade Chocolate Cherry Bundt Cake

prep: 15 minutes

bake: 40 to 50 minutes

serves 12

you’ll need…

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

2 cups cake flour

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon cream of tartar

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup shortening, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 cup plain yogurt, divided

½ cup freshly brewed coffee

3 eggs

1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling

let’s get to it…

Spray a Bundt pan with cooking spray and dusty lightly with flour; set aside. Place oven rack in center of oven. Heat oven to 350°F.

Break chocolate into small pieces and place in a small sauce pan. Heat over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat when most of the chocolate has melted (it will continue to melt).

Sift cake flour, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt into a large mixing bowl.

Add shortening, half of the yogurt, coffee and eggs. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl once or twice. Add remaining yogurt and melted chocolate and beat another 2 minutes.

Pour mixture into Bundt pan. Pour cherry pie filling on top of cake mixture. Pat mixture down slightly (you’ll still be able to see it).

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (make sure you aren’t sticking it in the middle of the cherry pie filling).

Loosen cake from sides of pan. Cool in pan 30-minutes. Carefully turn out onto a serving plate.

Save-A-Step Gingerbread Skeletons 

prep: 15 minutes (and 2 hours in the refrigerator resting)
cook: 10 to 12 minutes
makes: 12 6-inch Gingerbread Skeletons

you’ll need…
1 package Spice Cake Mix
1¼ cups all purpose flour (plus a little extra for rolling out the dough)
2 large eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup dark molasses
3 teaspoons dried ground ginger
1 16 ounce can Ready-to-Serve White Frosting
Candy, cereal and other sweets for decorating

let’s get to it…
Heat oven to 375°F.
Blend cake mix, flour, eggs, oil, molasses and ginger in a large mixing bowl. Remove dough from bowl, divide in half and place in two Ziploc® Brand Storage Bags Gallon size or wrap separately in Saran™ Premium Wrap. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
Lightly flour a work surface and place half of the dough in the center. Cover with parchment paper or waxed paper and roll dough to ¼-inch thickness. Cut with gingerbread man cookie cutters. Place 1-inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Cool in pan for 5 minutes and then remove from pan and cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before decorating.
Spread frosting on each of the cookies and decorate with candy.

Cooking Know How:

• Evenly divide frosting into four separate Ziploc® Brand Freezer Storage Bags and add a few drops of orange, black or purple food coloring to each bag. Reserve one bag for white frosting. Knead the sealed bags to mix the colors completely. Push the frosting into the corner of the bag and snip off a corner and squeeze into a bowl. Use the Ziploc® Brand Freezer Storage Bag as a decorating bag by snipping off a tiny corner: very small for dots, and a little bigger for writing and outlining.

• Use cut up red and black licorice and marshmallows to make “bones” and Red Hots cinnamon candy or frosted cereal for “eyes.”

6-Ingredient Strawberry Flan

prep: 20 minutes
bake: 45 minutes
resting time: 4 hours (or more)
serves: 6

you’ll need…
1¼ cups sugar
¼ cup water
1 can (14 ounces) fat-free sweetened condensed skilm milk
1 pint strawberries, with stems removed, divided
8 egg whites or 1-cup liquid egg white substitute
1 4-ounce chocolate bar

let’s get to it…
Place six 6-ounce ramekins in a 13x9x2-baking dish; set aside. Heat oven to 350°F. Boil 4-cups of water; set aside.

Heat sugar and water in a small saucepan on medium high heat. Stir gently with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a boil. Take care not to splash the sides of the saucepan or the sugar will crystalize. Reduce heat to medium and cook without stirring for 5 to 8 minutes or until sugar has turned a golden brown.

Remove from heat immediately and pour caramel evenly into ramekins, rotating each so caramel coats sides and bottom.

Blend half of strawberries in a blender container until smooth (you’ll want about 1-cup pureed strawberries). Add sweetened condensed milk and egg whites or egg substitute. Blend until smooth, about 1 minute.

Pour mixture evenly into ramekins on top of caramel sauce. Pour boiling water into baking dish to come up to half the height of the mold. Cover lightly with foil. Bake for 40 to 45 minute, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean and the Strawberry Flan custard is set.

Remove ramekins from water and cool on a rack for 30 minutes. Refrigerate Strawberry Flan at least 4-hours or overnight.

Run a thin knife around the mold edges to loosen.

Hold a plate over the mold; quickly turn over to unmold the Strawberry Flan. Let caramel drip down the sides.

Slice remaining strawberries in half. Cut the top part where you removed the stem into a V; set aside.

Microwave chocolate on a microwaveable plate on high for 15 to 20 seconds. Slowly pull a vegetable peeler over the bottom of chocolate, allowing a thin layer to curl as it is peeled off. For thinner curls, pull peeler over the edge of the chocolate bar. Use toothpicks to move chocolate curls. Garnish each flan with curls and strawberry hearts.

Cook’s Tip: No ramekins? Make it in a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate! Place the pie-plate in a large roasting pan after pouring in the caramel. Add the prepared flan mixture. Increase the baking time to 55 to 60-mminutes.

If some of the caramel remains in the ramekin after unmolding, dip the bottom in very hot water. Pour over flan.

Mexican Wedding Cookies

prep: 20 minutes
bake: 20 minutes

you’ll need…
1 cup pecans
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1¼ cup powdered sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour

let’s get to it…
Heat oven to 350°F. Spread nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly toasted, stirring occasionally. Cool completely; chop finely and set aside.
Beat butter, ½ cup powdered sugar and vanilla on medium speed in an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed to low and add the flour and cooled pecans.
Using a spoon, shape dough into small 1-inch balls and place on an ungreased baking sheet.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until cookies brown on the bottom. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes. While cookies are warm, roll them in the remaining powdered sugar until evenly coated. Cool on a wire rack. Roll cookies a second time in the powdered sugar. Store in a tightly sealed container.