Sunday, April 26, 2009

It's all about the presentation....

I love making a beautiful dessert that all my guests remember and rave about for days. However... there are dinners where I just don't have the time or interest to spend baking an elaborate dessert.
This is when I turn to boxed cake mixes, good quality ice cream and a hershey's frosting recipe. ( plus a little bit of creative plating) Viola, you have a dessert in 30 minutes that tastes heavenly and looks beautiful on the plate! The best part is that your guests will think you spent hours baking and you can just smile and accept all the glowing reviews! After all we all need to have a few secrets in the kitchen.
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Chocolate Fudge Cake with Vanilla Bean Ice cream

1 duncan hines double chocolate fudge cake mix

1 hershey's chocolate frosting recipe (on the back on hershey's cocoa powder)

Good quality vanilla bean ice cream

Fresh strawberries

Bake cake in 9x13 pan according to directions. Cool and set aside. Make hershey's frosting recipe, place in piping bag with large star tip.

To assemble: Cut out 7 rounds of cake using a metal ring mold or clean soup can with both ends removed. Remove cakes from pan and place on plate, pipe frosting on top of cake. Start on the outside edge and work your way in to the middle in circles, overlapping each layer slightly. Garnish with a fresh strawberry and a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream

10 comments:

Christo Gonzales said...

I often find myself in arguments with others telling me that if it tastes good it doesnt matter how it looks and that is true to some extent but I think you will agree that if it looks good too - then why not?

Anonymous said...

Presentation certainly does make a difference - it transforms a simple dish into a fancy one for sure. This dessert sounds great to me!

Sippity Sup said...

I have to admit to the boxed cake shortcut. I use it myself, but your presentation is the really exciting revelation. Well done! GREG

Kimberly said...

I love quick and easy, this is great!!

Chef E said...

When I catered I did a similar thing with brownies, mascarpone cheese, and blueberries...was a cute little bite of heaven...

I love my set of different sized round molds I bought years ago...and sometimes short cuts are necessary!

A talent with the camera helps too...

Tangled Noodle said...

A feast for the eyes is as important to the experience as it is for the tastebuds! Just goes to show that a limited budget doesn't mean having to live (or eat) plainly.

Sara said...

What a great trick! This really is beautiful :)

Daily Spud said...

Great job! For a long time, food presentation was really not my strong point but I can so appreciate that it does make a difference. This looks great and your boxed cake secret is safe with me :)

Michelle said...

See I thought that was a cupcake at first but the way you did it is so much more posh. Lovely :-)

Chris said...

What a great idea for a simple dessert, which is great because since I don't eat desserts, I rarely put effort into them:)

Thanks, my family will love this.