Mandarin Orange Cake- (ht)

1 - 18.25 oz butter recipe cake mix

1/2 - cup vegetable oil

1 - can (15 oz ) mandarin oranges, undrained & separated

3 - eggs

Add the cake mix, oil, eggs and mandarin oranges to a large mixing bowl. Put a few of the mandarin oranges aside for garnish. (about 6-8 segments). Mix together the cake ingredients using an electric mixer. Pour into two greased and floured round cake pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until golden brown and the cake springs back. Remove from oven and let cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on a baking rack. Frost when cakes are completely cooled.

Frosting

1 - can (8 oz) crushed pineapple, undrained

1- 3.4 oz box vanilla or french vanilla instant pudding mix

13 - ounces cool whip (thawed) whipped topping

Prepare the frosting by adding the dry pudding mix and un drained pineapple together and mix with a spoon. Fold in cool whip until well blended. Frost both layers and sides of cake. Garnish with remaining mandarin orange segments. Keep refrigerated before serving.

Recipe From Mommy's Kitchen

Freckled Strawberry Lemonade Bars- (ht)

1 c. flour
½ c. butter, softened
¼ c. powdered sugar
Dash of salt
3 eggs
1 oz. cream cheese
2 T. flour
1 ½ c. sugar
¼ c. fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/2 c. strawberries
2 T. sugar
1 t. cornstarch

In a large bowl, combine 2 c. of flour, butter , powdered sugar, and salt until well mixed. Press into the bottom of a 9x9 inch baking pan. Bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 15 minutes. In a large bowl, combine eggs, cream cheese, 2 T. flour, 1 ½ c. of sugar, and lemon juice. Pour over cooked crust. In a blender, puree strawberries, 2 T. sugar, and cornstarch. Spoon here and there over the lemon mixture. Return to oven and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes, until lemon mixture is fully cooked and firmly set. Cool completely before cutting into squares (or triangles). Dust with powdered sugar before serving

Recipe from Cheeky Kitchen

Pineapple Limeade- (ht)

1/2 cup of sugar
3 cups pineapple juice
1/2 cup lime juice
1 liter club soda, chilled
1 lime, sliced and then cut slices in half

In a large picture, mix the sugar and juices together and chill. You want this nice and cold.
Just before serving mix in club soda and lime slices. Serve over ice. Enjoy! Makes 8servings.

Recipe from Real Mom Kitchen

Tassie Cups with Whipped Lemon Curd

3 ounces of cream cheese (a cube is 8 ounces, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Start off by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F.
Using a food processor, combine the softened cream cheese, softened butter, flour and salt. Pulse and grind until the mixture forms into a ball. Then get a strip of plastic wrap and place it on the counter. Place the dough onto the center of the plastic wrap and wrap tightly into a ball. Place in refrigerator for 1 hour

Once chilled divide dough into 24 little round half dollar size balls. Using a mini-cupcake pan place each ball in a cup (slightly greased). Pressing from the center out, press dough up the sides of the cup until the dough is evenly pressed up the cup. Then place them into the oven for 10-15 minutes until they are barely brown on the edges (mine took about 10 minutes).

Let the tassie cups cool completely, then remove them carefully from the pan and place on a cooling rack.

For the whipped curd take a half pint of heavy whipping cream and using a stand mixer, mix until the whip cream is pretty thick. Take out about a 1 1/2 cup whipping cream and set aside. Then using already made and cooled lemon curd, mix 2 cups whipping cream and 1 cup lemon curd. Be careful that as you combine the two that you fold the curd into the whipping cream and not mix it. You want to keep the air in the mixture and stirring it will do the opposite.

Next take the 1 1/2 cups whipping cream and add a little drop of vanilla and a about 2 tablespoons powdered sugar to the mixture and stir.

Once the tassie cups are completely cooled, spoon in about a little over a tablespoon of whipped lemon curd into the cups (or fill until they are leveled with the tops of the cups). Then place a dabble of whip cream on top and for garnish and color, add a slice of strawberry.

Review: These were really good but took kind of a long time to make so I don't think I would make them just for an every day snack but they look really pretty and would be an impressive thing to bring to a potluck or something. The only thing I did differently is that I added a half of a cup of sugar to the tassie cup dough so it was kind of like a shortbread with cream cheese. They turned out really great and when I took some to the neighbors they thought I was a gourmet pastry chef. Maybe that's what I'll be when I grow up.

Recipe from Rozlynn's Homemade Goodness

Lemon Curd

1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 6-8 large lemons)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest

1 cup sugar

6 large eggs

1.5 sticks butter (12 tablespoons) cold, unsalted butter cut into bits

Zest lemons and set aside. Halve lemons and juice. Whisk together juice, zest, sugar and eggs in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Cook over medium low heat for about one minute. Then slowly add bits of chilled butter, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of a whisk and the first bubble appears on the surface (about 5-6 minutes).

Press curd through a large sieve into a shallow casserole dish (a 9×13 Pyrex works well). Cover the surface with plastic wrap to keep a film from forming on the surface of the curd. Chill overnight or for 8 hours before serving. Enjoy!

Recipe from Cafe Zupas

Review: This was a lot easier to make than I thought it was going to be, I did change a few things though. First off I decided to use just the egg yolks instead of the whole egg. I did this because I wanted it to be a little more custardy and I think it worked. because of this I only used 1/2 a cup of lemon juice, 1 Tablespoon of zest and one stick of butter. I kept the sugar the same though. It turned out great and was much cheaper to make than to buy!