Graces 4th Of July Short Cakes Recipes

FOURTH OF JULY SHORTCAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 11-by-7-by-1 1/2-inch baking dish. Line pan with parchment paper, allowing paper to extend 1 inch above pan.
• Stir together flour, salt and baking powder; stir in bran.
• Beat cream cheese and butter; add sugar and beat until fluffy. Beat in lemon zest, egg and lemon juice. Stir in dry ingredients.
• Spread dough in a very thin layer over bottom of pan and up sides to form a shell. Press a piece of parchment paper down into the shell. Fit close to dough at all points and let extend an inch above the pan. Fill with pie weights or dried beans or rice.
• Bake 20 minutes or until dough is set. Remove top parchment paper and weights. Reduce oven to 350 degrees and bake 15 minutes longer or until golden brown.
• Set pan on wire rack and let cool. Lift out shell. Spread interior of shell with apricot preserves.
• Make the filling: Slice strawberries, and sprinkle them and blueberries with sugar to taste. Arrange fruit in pastry shell in four segments, alternating berries.
• Make the topping: Beat ricotta with milk until smooth. Blend in sugar and vanilla. To serve, drizzle topping on each piece of shortcake.

GRACE'S HONEY CAKES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 9x13 inch pans.
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Stir in the honey and corn syrup, then beat in the eggs one at a time until the batter is light and fluffy. Stir in milk and vanilla. Combine the cocoa, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking powder and flour; stir into the honey mixture until fully incorporated. Batter will be thick. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans, and spread flat.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven. Do not over bake, or the cakes will not be chewy. Cut into squares while still warm, remove from the pan, and let cool. Frost with cream cheese frosting, and garnish each piece with a pecan half.

MARBLED 4TH OF JULY 'BOX' CAKE RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350˚F (180˚C).
• Grease and line 3 9-inch (20 cm) round cake pans with parchment paper.
• Set aside 1 bowl of cake batter - this will be the white part of the cake. Add 2 teaspoons of red food coloring to another bowl of batter, mixing until fully incorporated. Add 2 teaspoons of blue food coloring to the last bowl of batter, mixing until fully incorporated.
• Take 1 cup (115 G) of each batter and carefully pour into each of the 3 cake pans. Repeat, alternating colors, until all of the batter is used. Gently stir to blend the colors in each pan.
• Bake according to package instructions, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lay 3 wooden skewers 4 inches (10 cm) apart.
• In a small heat-proof bowl, melt the red hard candies in the microwave for 1 minute. Using a small spoon, carefully drizzle the red candy in a star pattern over the skewers. Cool for 5 minutes.
• In another small glass bowl, melt the blue hard candies in the microwave for 1 minute. Using a small spoon, carefully drizzle the blue candy in a star pattern over the red candy. Cool for 10 minutes before gently prying away from the parchment.
• Remove all the cakes from the pans and let cool completely before continuing.
• With a serrated knife, removed the domed tops from each cake layer and set aside the excess cake.
• Place a dab of frosting on a cake stand or an inverted plate. Place a layer of cake on the cake wheel, then evenly spread frosting on top. Place the next layer of cake on top of the frosted layer, and spread frosting on top. Add the last cake layer.
• Add 1 cup (115 G) of frosting on top of the cake, spreading evenly across the top and sides with a spatula.
• Dab the blue and red frosting around the sides cake, alternating from top to bottom, about 3 inches (7 cm) apart.
• Using a spatula, smear the red and blue frosting onto the sides of the cake.
• Place the firework skewers on top of the cake.
• Enjoy!

SPARKLING FOURTH OF JULY CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with baking spray with flour. Place paper baking cup in 1 regular-size muffin cup.
• Make cake batter as directed on box. In small bowl, place 1/2 cup batter; stir in red food color. In another small bowl, place 1/2 cup batter; stir in blue food color.
• Fill muffin cup 2/3 full with white batter; set aside. Pour remaining white batter into 13x9-inch pan. Randomly drop generous teaspoonfuls of red and blue batters over white batter in pan. For swirled design, cut through batters with knife in S-shaped curves in one continuous motion; turn pan one-fourth turn and repeat.
• Place muffin pan and cake pan in oven. Bake muffin cup 12 to 13 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean; place pan on cooling rack. Continue baking 13x9-inch cake 14 to 18 minutes longer or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan 10 minutes. Remove cake and cupcake from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Reserve 2 tablespoons frosting. Frost cake with remaining frosting. In upper left-hand corner of cake, lightly score 5x3 1/2-inch rectangle in frosting for blue area of flag; sprinkle with blue sugar. Cut 2 strips of clean white paper, 13 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Cut a third strip, 8 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Place strips lightly on cake to cover area for white stripes. Sprinkle red sugar on cake for red stripes. Remove paper strips. Top blue sugar with candy stars.
• Frost cupcake with reserved frosting; place in center of cake. Arrange candles in and around cupcake. Store loosely covered.

JULY 4TH FLAG CAKE

Steps:

• Make the cake:
• Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F.
• Butter the bottom and sides of a 13- by 9-inch metal baking pan and line the bottom with wax or parchment paper. Butter the paper and dust the pan with flour, knocking out any excess.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the boiling water, cocoa powder, and instant coffee granules until smooth. Whisk in the milk and vanilla.
• In a second medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars and beat on medium until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat on medium until fully incorporated. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour and cocoa powder mixtures in batches, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. (The batter may look curdled.) Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top, and bake the cake until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, 35 to 40 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then invert the cake onto the rack, remove the wax or parchment paper, and let it cool completely. DO AHEAD: The unfrosted cake, can be cooled, wrapped securely in plastic wrap, and stored at room temperature up to 24 hours, before assembling and serving.
• Make the frosting:
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese and butter and beat until creamy and smooth, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low, add the sifted confectioners' sugar in three batches, mixing until fully incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is smooth. Chill the frosting in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before assembling the cake.
• Assemble and serve the cake:
• Frost the top and sides of the cake with 2 1/2 cups of the frosting. Transfer the remaining frosting to a pastry bag fitted with the star tip.
• Using a toothpick or small knife, outline a 4 1/2-inch-long by 3 1/2-inch-wide rectangle in the top left corner of the cake. This area will be reserved for blueberries.
• Starting with the longer side of the cake that is closest to you, pipe a line of frosting along the top edge of the cake then arrange two horizontal rows of raspberries directly above the line of frosting. Pipe a second line of frosting above the raspberries and arrange two more horizontal rows of raspberries directly above the frosting. Repeat this process two more times, making sure to exclude the top left corner that is reserved for the blueberries. Arrange the blueberries in horizontal rows in the top left corner of the cake.
• Slice and serve the cake immediately or store it, covered securely in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator until ready to serve.