Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Better than a poke in the eye

A hot summer day and an invitation to a backyard BBQ prompted a search for a refreshing dessert recipe.


My friend, Linda, is a fellow 'foodie' and often hosts large-ish groups at her home.  The fact that she lives in tiny little house doesn't even faze her.  (I use my small house as an excuse to avoid inviting people over.)  The fact that her home isn't perfectly spic-n-span doesn't bother her either.  (I use that excuse even more often than the 'small house' excuse.)  To top it all off, her kitchen is the size of match box.  Even that doesn't stop her from hosting groups of 15 or more.  We all bring a dish or two and she provides the main attraction.

On this particular day, I wanted to find an easy dessert that would keep us cool and be a little more interesting than a quart of ice cream.  Keeping in mind that I had a few limes and a white cake mix, I searched for recipes along that line.  I confess, I cheated.  I did use the cake mix AND I caved (due to the time constraints) to pre-made frosting.  That was my only mistake.  If I had it to do over again, I'd make my own frosting.  That pre-made stuff is overly sweet and had a strange consistency.

I found this recipe for Key Lime Poke Cake from the Betty Crocker® website.  Simple, easy, but with lots of POW factor!

I'm always amazed by kitchen chemistry.  The recipe has you mix lime juice into sweetened condensed milk.  Then you are to wait while it thickens.  I was like a kid at a circus side show.  Watching that dish and swishing it periodically to test its thickness (or not).  It really works!  I was almost giddy with food happiness when the magic happened.


Key Lime Pie Poke Cake

INGREDIENTS
Cake:

1
box Betty Crocker SuperMoist® white cake mix
1¼
c water
1
T vegetable oil
4
eggs

Key Lime Filling:

1
can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
¾
cup whipping cream
½
cup key lime juice or regular lime juice
1
t grated lime jest
4
drops yellow food color
1
drop green food color

Frosting:

1
Container (12 oz) Betty Crocker ®  Whipped vanilla frosting
2
t grated lime peel

Garnish, if desired:


fresh strawberries

key lime slices
lemon leaves

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350° F (325° F for dark or nonstick pan).  Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with baking spray with flour.

2. In a large bowl, beat cake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.  Pour into pan.
3. Bake 27 to 33 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool 5 minutes. With handle of wooden spoon (¼ to ½ inch in diameter), poke holes almost to bottom of cake every ½ inch, wiping spoon handle occasionally to reduce sticking.
4. In medium bowl, stir together filling ingredients (mixture will thicken).  Pour over cake; spread evenly over surface, working back and forth to fill holes. (Some filling should remain on top of cake.)  Refrigerate 1 hour.
5. Spread frosting over cake; sprinkle with lime peel.  Garnish as desired.  Store loosely covered in refrigerator.

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