Easy Melted Gelato Sheet Cake by Cleo Coyle #SummerCake

 

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In the meantime, we still have to eat! "Quick and easy" works best for us right now. Summer and easy just seem to go together, don't they? Okay, maybe not in our writing lives, but we'll take it in the kitchen.

Our "Melted Gelato Cake" is a fun cake to make for picnics, cookouts, and snacking. You can either frost it or do what we do: simply serve it with whipped cream or ice cream, a sprinkling of chopped nuts, and maybe even some fresh fruit. 

The cake is incredibly easy to make (no baking skills needed!) and it's highly versatile. You can experiment with your favorite flavors of gelato. And I suggest a few fun alternate ideas for cake flavors in the recipe...

So let's start baking!

#Easy #SummerCake (using) #MeltedGelato

Cleo Coyle writes two
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A Recipe Note from Cleo

Versions of the "melted ice cream" cake have been around for some time. Years ago, ABC News even published a recipe.

I always wondered if this recipe would turn out well with gelato. Unlike ice cream, Italian gelato uses milk instead of cream, so it has much less butterfat, in some cases half the fat of ice cream, and yet the end product is denser than ice cream.

Well, I finally tested my idea on today's Pistachio Cake recipe, and not only was the cake easy to make, it was delicious, and here's why I can sing its praises.

Typically, a cake mix will require oil or butter to be added along with water. The gelato is about the same amount of calories as the oil or butter required, but it adds flavor as well as moisture and fat to your cake, so it's a real bonus when making a cake from a mix.

Even better, this method will work with any flavor gelato. The cake is rich and moist without being heavy. It's full of flavor and stores very well, and it tastes even better the second day. May you bake it with love and...

Eat with (summertime) joy!

~ Cleo

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Free Recipe PDF.

Easy Melted Gelato Cake
by Cleo Coyle

Ingredients:

3 extra-large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 package white cake mix 

1 pint pistachio gelato (*see my note below for other flavor ideas)

+ A little almond or nut milk or cow’s milk (see my recipe directions about why you need this...)

3/4 cup shelled and roughly chopped pistachios 

+ 1/2 cup chopped pistachios for garnish

*Other Flavor Ideas: This recipe will work with any flavor gelato. You can experiment and have fun. Certainly, if you’re not using pistachio gelato, then don’t use chopped pistachios. Instead, add an ingredient that will boost the flavor, such as Lemon Zest for Lemon Gelato; Chopped Hazelnut for Chocolate-Hazelnut Gelato; Espresso Powder for Coffee Gelato; Chocolate Chips for Chocolate Gelato, etc. Note: If you're choosing a chocolate gelato, and you want a more powerful chocolate flavor, I would swap out the white cake mix for chocolate cake mix.

Directions:

Step 1 - Prep Oven and Pan: First preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a 13 x 9-inch pan with non-stick spray or butter and flour it to prevent sticking. Set aside. 

Step 2 - Melt Your Gelato: Completely melt 1 pint of gelato (for this cake I'm using pistachio gelato). You should have a little over 2 full cups of melted gelato. If you don’t, then pour in enough almond or hazelnut milk (or plain old regular cow’s milk) until the liquid in the measuring cup reaches a little over the 2-cup line.

Step 3 - Make Batter: Crack your extra-large eggs into a mixing bowl, add vanilla. Pour in melted gelato (and nut milk as described in Step 1) and add the white cake mix. Beat for 2 minutes. The batter will be thick. Fold in the chopped nuts (or whatever other flavor add-ins you're using).

Step 4 - Bake: Pour the cake batter into your sheet pan. Smooth the top with a spatula or the back of a spoon. 

Bake the cake for about 35 to 40 minutes. Allow the cake to cool, slice into squares. Top with whipped cream or ice cream, sprinkle on chopped pistachios as a garnish (or use whatever add-ins complement your chosen flavor of gelato). This light summer cake also goes great with fresh fruit. 

However you make it and serve it, 

we hope you will eat with summertime joy!

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Free Recipe PDF.

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Cold Brew Recipe!

☕

Eat (and read) with joy!

~ Cleo Coyle

New York Times bestselling author

of The Coffeehouse Mysteries and

Haunted Bookshop Mysteries

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Peach Mousse Cake

For some reason, this cake has been on my mind all summer. When two of my college roommates happened to be passing through at the same time, it seemed like a perfect excuse to go for it. It's based on a recipe in The Best of Gourmet 1988 but I've switched things up a little bit. It's been years since I made it but it's every bit as good as I remembered.

Now I have to admit that this isn't the cake you want to tackle on a busy day. None of the steps are difficult, but they are time consuming. I'm going to divide the steps to make it a little easier to follow the recipe. The great news is that you can make it a day ahead of time and simply serve it when company arrives the next day.

I made this in a pan designed for tiny individual cakes. You loosen the sides and push each individual cake up. Very cute. But this can also be made in a 7 inch spring form pan.  If you have extra mousse, spoon it into pretty glasses and serve as mousse. Yum!

The cake is basically a cookie bottom topped by peach mousse, with a dollop of whipped cream. Light and refreshing for a summer day. It's just the kind of thing that is served at tea time in the Sugar Maple Inn on Wagtail Mountain in MURDER, SHE BARKED.

Peach Mousse Cake

Cookie Base

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
4 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/3 cup flour
pinch salt

Mousse

4 large yellow peaches
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 packet unflavored gelatin
3 tablespoons cold water
1/2 cup plain 2% Greek yogurt
2 large egg whites

Whipped Cream

2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Step One: Cookie Base

Preheat oven to 375.

Cream the butter with the sugar until well mixed. Beat in the egg yolk then the flour and salt.

Flour your fingers and press into the bottom of the pan.

 

Bake 10 - 14 minutes. It should be golden on the edges. Cool on a rack.

Step Two: Peaches

Peel and pit the peaches, slice and cut the slices in half. Place in a heavy bottomed pan with 2 tablespoons sugar and the lemon.

Bring to a simmer and cook about 20 minutes. Allow to cool, then puree in a food processor.

Step Three: Gelatin

In a small saucepan, sprinkle the gelatin over three tablespoons of cold water. Give it a swirl to cover it all with the water. Allow to stand for 5 minutes. Measure the yogurt and set aside. Heat the gelatine over medium low, stirring until dissolved.

Step Four: Mix

In a large metal bowl, mix the peaches with the yogurt and quickly add the gelatine, mixing thoroughly. Place in a larger bowl with ice to cool. Stir occasionally so it does not set.

Step Five: Egg Whites

Place a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water. Add the egg whites and 1/3 cup sugar. Stir or whisk lightly until all the sugar has dissolved. (Note: Salmonella is killed between 145 and 165 depending on who one asks. You can test it with an instant read thermometer.) Remove the bowl and immediately beat the eggs until they form soft, glossy peaks. Stir 1/4 of the egg whites into the peach mixture. Fold the rest in, gently, but thoroughly. Spoon the mixture onto the prepared cookie bottom and refrigerate.

Step Six: Whipped Cream

Beat 2/3 cup heavy cream. When it begins to take shape, beat in the confectioner's sugar and vanilla.

Run a knife around the edge of the cake pan to loosen. Unclasp the spring form and lift off.

Pipe whipped cream onto the mousse cake.

Easy Old-Fashioned Spongecake

My mother's favorite summer cakes were all based on spongecake and summer fruit with whipped cream. They were light and not overly sweet, but always indulgent.


So when I spotted this strange spongecake recipe, I had to give it a try. It's a Better Homes and Gardens Recipe from the fifties that's supposed to be quick and easy.


However, I have to say this is one of the stranger recipes I have ever made. Not only is there no separation of eggs or gentle folding so they won't collapse, but logic would seem to dictate that the hot milk really ought to deflate the whole thing! 


Interestingly, they recommend baking it in a square pan. How very chic and modern for the fifties. I cut it in half to create two layers, added whipped cream and strawberries and had a fabulous dessert in no time.


The only major things to notice are that the eggs have to be room temperature and the sugar must be added slowly so the eggs won't deflate.

Hot Milk Spongecake

(from Better Homes & Gardens)

2 eggs (room temperature)
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter + extra for greasing pan

Take the eggs out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before using.

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x9 pan well with butter. Combine flour with baking powder and set aside.

Beat the eggs until thick, about 4 minutes. Slowly add the sugar. Beat for another 4-5 minutes. Add the flour mixture and beat just enough to combine. 


Heat the milk and the butter enough for the butter to melt. Pour into egg mixture and beat to combine. Pour into prepared pan and bake 20-25 minutes.


Choose your own fruit. This would work equally well with blueberries or sliced peaches. I used about one pound of strawberries.

To make the cream:

1 - 2 cups of heavy cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar per cup of cream
splash of vanilla

Beat the cream until it begins to take shape. Add the sugar and continue to beat, adding the vanilla. Beat until it holds a shape.

Use a serrated knife to slice the cake in half horizontally. Spread cream over the cut side of the bottom half. Lay strawberry slices on top of the cream. Cover with the top half of the cake. Spread cream over the top. Arrange strawberries on the top in a pleasing pattern.

If there is leftover cream, pass it in a bowl when serving.