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If your family is anything like mine, they love dessert. Come rain or shine, one thing that I can be sure that my family will always eat with enthusiasm is something sweet. The good news is you can find dessert ideas for just about any occasion or situation below. Keep reading to find out more.
Dessert Ideas
For celebrations
Nothing says it is a special occasion like a good celebration cake, draped in icing. Of course, all families have their favorites, whether they are chocolate, vanilla, or something else. For my brood, however, only a moist carrot cake will do as long as it’s smothered in rich indulgent frosting.
For the cake, you will need the ingredients you will find here. Be sure to combine all the dry ingredients first, and then add the wet ones. Then bake for 30 mins or until you prick the batter with a knife at the deepest part and it comes out clean!
For the frosting, you will need a decent mix of cream cheese, butter, confectioner’s sugar, vanilla extract, and heavy whipping cream. Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature as this will make them easier to combine.
Once your cake has cooled you can use the frosting to sandwich together the layers. Then add a generous helping of icing on top and around the sides and smooth. Decorate with chopped nuts and enjoy.
For when you are short on time
While my kids love a good dessert, often I just don’t have time to bake something from scratch, and this is where this genius recipe for smores in the oven comes in. Of course, the kids adore them because not only are they sweet and delicious but smores remind them of all the happy times they have spent at cookouts, campaigning, and on the 4th of July.
However, the best thing about this recipe is that you can put it together. I’m just a few minutes with you probably already lying around. That’s right all you need are some graham crackers, marshmallows, and some chocolate and you can whip up these beauties almost instantaneously.
Hershey’s bars are typically used, but feel free to think outside of the box and try dark chocolate, chocolate spread, or even chocolate flavored with orange for a variation on this simple and delicious dessert.
For when it’s hot out
Looking for dessert ideas for when the temperatures are sore? Then homemade popsicles are the solution. Indeed, popsicles don’t just cool everyone down, but when you make your own you can decide exactly what goes into them, which means they can be healthy as well as delicious. Although, you will need to invest in a popsicle tray, and you should try and find a silicon one if you can because it makes getting them out so much easier once they have frozen.
In particular, using juices made from fresh fruits can work well because they will pack a flavor punch, and be full of nutrients. Try combinations like watermelon and strawberry, apple and raspberry, or orange and mango. Feel free to cut up pieces of fruit and add them to the mix as well, as this will add extra interest and texture to your popsicles.
For when it’s cold out
Of course, no one is going to want popsicles when it is already freezing outside (unless you’re part of my crazy brunch, who love those strawberry-filled popsicles)! Instead, a nice warming dessert will be the order of the day. One of the best ways to do this is to pre-make and then freeze some hand pies. Then you can get one or two out as you need them and cook until golden brown. Add a little Creme Anglaise and you have a sweet, comforting dessert that will warm up the whole family in an instant.
To make hand pies use sheets of pie crust, either bought or homemade. Cut 10 by 6-inch squares from the crust and add in your filling. When it comes to filling you can use the tinned variety or make your own with fresh fruit, a little sugar, and a touch of cornstarch to thicken. Just about any typical pie filling will work, from cherry to apple, to blueberry, or you can get fancy and combine more than one fruit.
Once your filling is ready, go take one of your pie crust squares and spoon some filling onto one side. Be careful not to overfill the pies and leave one entire side clear, as well as a border of at least ½ an inch around the fling on the second side.
Then fold the empty side over the side with the filling and seal the edges with a fork. Make slits in the top of the pieces so air can get out while they are cooking, then brush with milk, and place on a baking sheet that has been lined with grease-proof paper. You can then go ahead and either bake until brown or freeze for at least an hour. Once the pies are frozen you can remove them from the sheet and store them in a bag or box long-term.
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