Featured Recipe: Pudding Pound Cake with Raspberry Cream Icing

Pudding Pound Cake w/Raspberry Cream Icing

It all starts with the icing - at least for this cake. I wanted a light, creamy, and sweet icing that wasn't too sweet. After creating the perfect icing, I decided that a pudding pound cake would be the perfect cake to wear this icing.
This cake turned out to be a super moist, rather dense, but light in flavor pound cake. It is the perfect pairing for the icing.
I hope you enjoy it.

Pudding Pound Cake w/Raspberry Cream Icing
Ingredients
1 box yellow cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
3 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda

Pudding Pound Cake with Raspberry Cream Icing

1/4 tsp salt
1 large pkg instant Vanilla Pudding (I used Jell-O brand)
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 8 ounce pkg cream cheese (I used Philadelphia brand) softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbl McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract
4 Tbl McCormick Raspberry Extract
Fresh raspberries for decorating
1 prepared Bundt cake pan sprayed with cooking oil

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Cake
In medium mixing bowl, stir cake mix (do not prepare according to directions on box)1/2 box of instant vanilla pudding (you'll use the other half in the icing)salt, baking powder, baking soda. Add water, oil, butter and eggs. Blend together with mixer until creamy.

Pour into prepared Bundt cake pan and place in preheated oven. Bake for 40 minutes or until top and sides are browning and toothpick inserted in top comes out clean.
Run knife along sides and invert onto wire rack to cool.

While cake is baking, prepare icing.
Directions
Mix softened cream cheese, the remaining half of large vanilla instant pudding mix, powdered sugar and raspberry extract. Blend with mixer until smooth and creamy. Add heavy cream in small amounts while blending with mixer until creamy and fluffy. Refrigerate icing until cake is totally cool.

Prepare cake after cooled by slicing horizontally through center of cake. You will have a top circle and bottom circle of equal depth after slicing.
Remove icing from refrigerator and spread 1/4 of icing on bottom half. Carefully place top half back on iced lower half of cake. Finish icing the top and sides of cake with remaining icing and decorate with fresh raspberries. Keep refrigerated.
Enjoy!

Contact me at Vicki.Arsenault@oakpress.com for food and product reviews. Email your favorite recipe to enter my bi-weekly cookbook giveaway. Follow on Twitter @OCKidsKorner.

FEATURED RECIPE: Easy Pecan Pie

My Easy Pecan Pie recipe made using pecan halves.

You probably love it but hardly ever make it. Or maybe you've never baked a warm, sweet aromatic pecan pie.

This is one of the easiest pies to make. Just mix all the ingredients together, pour in a prepared pie shell and bake. It really is that easy.

My family has been making this pecan pie forever - my mother is almost 95 and she's been making it since she was young.

We all love it and you'll love it more when you find out just how easy it is to prepare.
Here you go - get ready for pure sweet satisfaction.


Easy Pecan Pie
Ingredients
1 frozen deep dish pie crust (room temperature)
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups pecan pieces
1 cup sugar
1 cup Karo corn syrup
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter (melted but not hot)
2 tsp. McCormick pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together in medium mixing bowl. Pour into prepared pie shell and bake for 1 hour on center rack.
Note: You can do the done test by inserting a toothpick in top of the pie. The toothpick should come out clean. If pie filling sticks to toothpick, cook another 5 minutes and retest.
Enjoy!

Contact me at Vicki.Arsenault@oakpress.com for food and product reviews. Email your favorite recipe to enter my bi-weekly cookbook giveaway. Follow on Twitter @OCKidsKorner.