Best Banana Split Dessert Ever

Mmmm, banana splits.  What a treat.  Dan and I used to share one back in our dating days which was about the time the dinosaurs roamed the earth.  Yes, they had banana splits then too.  I never could eat a whole banana split, it was just too much ice cream for me.  I know, I know, I am one of the strange people of the world who doesn't like a lot of ice cream.  Dan on the other hand is a completely different story.  Sometimes I refer to him as Dan, Dan the ice cream man.  He literally could eat ice cream every day.  

But let's talk banana split desserts!  Now these are a totally different story because this is not made from ice cream, but is scrumptious for lack of a better word.  It is truly OH EM GEE good.  I made this dessert on Easter Sunday and it was a major hit - I mean M A J O R!  My daughter told me her husband wondered if we were still up at 10 pm that night because he was willing to drive all the way across town just to have some more of his new favorite dessert!  Made me laugh out loud for sure.  He has celiac and I made this gluten free for him so he could enjoy dessert too.  Will certainly be making it again, like this weekend for Dan's big Medicare birthday.  Now you know how old he is.  

Look at this dessert in the pan.  It's hard to see all the wonderful layers, but it is fabulous.  Just sayin'.  

There are nuts, chocolate, vanilla, bananas, strawberries, cream cheese and whipped cream with that fabulous crunchy chocolate crumbled on top.  The only thing it doesn't have is pineapple and a cherry.  Oh well, feel free to add that if you want.  Personally, I don't think you will miss it one bit.

The crunchy chocolate topping is this:

I buy these at World Market and they are less than $3.00 a container.  I think Target may have them too, I'm not positive.  They are thin chocolate wafers with a crunchy crisp in them made from rice flour so they are also gluten free!  Fantastic.  You don't have to save the for toppings, they make a wonderful little "taste of chocolate" when you need one.

Here is what you need for this dessert:

Crust:

1 cup flour (I used Bisquick gluten free baking mix)

3 TBSP granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup chopped pecans

Melt butter, and mix with other ingredients.  Press into the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan.  Bake at 350 until light brown, about 10-12 minutes.  Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Cream cheese layer:

2 cups cream cheese ( 16 ounces)

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup cool whip or whipped cream

Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar with mixer until smooth.  Fold in cool whip.

Banana layer.

Slice 4 - 5 medium bananas and cover bottom crust layer.  Cover with cream cheese layer.

Vanilla Pudding layer:

2 small boxes Vanilla instant pudding

3 cups milk

Mix vanilla pudding with milk and pour over cream cheese layer.

Strawberry layer:

Slice fresh strawberries and cover top of vanilla pudding layer.  I used about 20 strawberries.

Chocolate Pudding layer:

2 small boxes Chocolate instant pudding

3 cups milk

Mix chocolate pudding with milk and pour over strawberry layer.

Cover chocolate pudding layer with 2 cups of Cool Whip or whipped cream.   

Cover Cool Whip with shaved chocolate or break up pieces of Belgian Chocolate Wafers.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Now, cut the dessert into squares, put them on a plate and watch them disappear!  Holy cow, this one goes in a big hurry and it is  so easy to make.  Yum.  Yum.   Yum.  Can't wait till Dan's birthday Saturday to enjoy another piece of this fabulous Best Banana Split Dessert Ever!  I know Chris will be happy!!  Don't wait too long to try this one!  It will be a hit and will be requested again and again.  

Everyday Donna

Things to remember:

Life is short, don't buy green bananas!

Honey Lime Fruit Salad - Best Fruit Salad I've Ever Eaten

It is definitely spring and summer will not be far behind.  Do you find yourself looking for cooler, crunchier food that is quick to prepare and enjoy in warm weather? We certainly do, although I could eat soup every day no matter the temperature.  But, that's just me.

Salads are something that we seem to eat more of in warm weather and anything with fruit.  Fruit can be light and refreshing and there are so many wonderful fruits available in summer - peaches, cantaloupe, and watermelon just to name a few.  I can't wait until peaches start coming in!

There are so many things you can do with fruit.  It can be a dessert, a snack or a main course.  It is also good for you and provides a lot of necessary minerals and vitamins.  The best way to get a healthy range of antioxidants, which are so important in keeping us healthy,  is to eat fruits and vegetables representing all colors of the rainbow.  Look at how bright and colorful this fruit salad is!  That is an excellent indication of the health value of what you are eating.  Hot weather can also cause potassium loss from excessive perspiration and fruit can be a great potassium replacement.  You should also have 2 - 4 servings of fruit daily according to the most current food pyramid.

This fruit salad is now my most favorite way to eat fruit!  The recipe comes from Mel's Kitchen Cafe and I made it for Easter dinner.  We have 5 young grandsons living in town and they were coming for an Easter egg hunt and dinner.   Fruit is something they will all eat so I decided to put it on the menu sans poppy seeds.  They would have taken one look at all those little black seeds and announced they did not want any.  I, on the other hand, love poppy seeds, but we do what we can to get everyone to eat.  Let me tell you, this recipe is easy AND delicious which is a great combination.  Here is what you need:

Ingredients

1 20 oz can pineapple chunks, well drained (or you can use  2 cups of fresh pineapple cut into chunks)
1 11 oz can mandarin oranges, well drained
3 ripe kiwi, peeled and sliced into thick half moons (cut in half and then slice)
1 cup green grapes
1 cup strawberries, quartered (I added a few more)
zest from 1 lime
1 TBSP honey (I use local honey which is supposed to help with allergies)
1 tsp poppy seeds (optional)

Combine all fruit in a bowl.  Add lime zest and poppy seeds if you are using them.  Drizzle the honey over the fruit and stir to coat all the fruit.   Refrigerate and serve.

Oh my goodness, this is SOOOO good.  The combination of fruit is outstanding and that hint of lime and the honey is the best "dressing" I have ever had on fruit salad.  We will definitely be having a lot of this recipe this summer.  It would be awesome for a summer brunch, lunch or dinner.  It is so cool and refreshing and super tasty.  Maybe you could serve it with some yogurt or whipped topping and you have a super snack - great for everyone, especially kids!

Give this easy recipe a try.  You are going to be so glad you did.  It is nothing like that fruit cocktail from a can that we used to have as kids.  That stuff almost ruined me on fruit salad forever.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:


A fruit is a vegetable with looks and money.  Plus, if you let fruit rot, it turns into wine, something Brussels sprouts never do.  ~P.J. O'Rourke

Fresh Strawberry Short Cake Using A Spectacular Sponge Cake Recipe

Second verse, same as the first!  Yes, it's Monday again and we had one terrific weekend.  How about you?  The weather was gorgeous, our grandson played his first little league game and our trip to the farmer's market yielded one amazing surprise.  Fresh local strawberries are already in!  Made me want to do cartwheels.  They are way early this year because it has been so warm, but that is a-okay with us because we got to have fresh strawberries on a from scratch sponge cake with fresh whipped cream.  My oh my oh my, is it ever good!

Look how beautiful these strawberries are!  Fresh local berries are always better than the ones you get in the grocery because they don't have to pick them so early.  They are ripe and juicy and make a lovely syrup when you slice them and macerate them with a little sugar.  The ones you get year round at the grocery never seem to make any juice, although it is nice to have fresh berries all year round.  That is a luxury we did not have back in the "old" days.  There is just nothing like those first delicious, red ripe berries.  Mm Mm Mm

I bought a whole flat of strawberries because I just could not resist their beauty and fragrance and knew they would be delicious.  I shared some with our daughter's families and kept some for us to enjoy.  I wanted to make a fresh cake to "decorate" with all those lovely berries, so I decided on a sponge cake -which is better than angel food in my book.  In other words, sponge cake is just perfect for serving with berries.  It's light and airy and has a slight hint of lemon flavor and soaks up all that wonderful strawberry juice.  Yum!  Are you drooling yet?

The recipe I used is called American Sponge Cake from the Joy of Baking.com.  It is a really good cake.  And don't worry, as our grandson said, it doesn't taste like sponge at all.

Here is what you need:

Ingredients:

6 large eggs separated
1 cup granulated sugar divided
1 tsp vanilla
1 TBSP water
zest of 1 medium lemon
1 cup sifted cake flour (I use Swans Down)
3/4 tsp cream of tartar

Separate the eggs while they are cold.  Cover with plastic wrap to keep a film from forming.  Bring to room temperature by letting them sit out about 30 minutes.

Sift the cake flour to which 1/4 cup of sugar has been added.  Measure another 1/4 cup sugar and set aside for beating with the egg whites.

Place final 1/2 cup of sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and use paddle attachment. (This is where a stand mixer like a Kitchen Aid comes in really handy).  Add the egg yolks and beat on high for about 5 minutes or until thick and fluffy.  Batter will fall back in like a slow ribbon.  Add vanilla, water, and lemon zest.  Mix.  Sift the flour/sugar mixture over batter but do not fold in!

In another clean bowl, using whisk attachment for your mixer, whip the eggs until foamy.  Add cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form.  Gradually add 1/4 cup of reserved sugar and beat until shiny stiff peaks form.  Gently fold in some of the egg whites just to lighten up the batter, then fold in all the rest just until incorporated.  Do not over mix.  (To fold, use a spatula and lift batter and egg whites from bottom of bowl over top of batter.  Do this until all egg whites are incorporated).  Pour the batter into an UNGREASED tube pan.  (This allows more air into the batter so cake will be light and fluffy).  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.  Test center of cake with toothpick to make sure it is done.  Remove immediately from oven and invert cake pan onto little feet and let cool at least one hour.

When cake is cool, turn pan right side up.  Run a knife around the outside edge of cake and remove tube from pan.  Run a knife around bottom of cake and around center tube.  Remove cake by turning sideways and catching with your hand.  Place on tray or platter.

See how pretty it looks?  It tastes even better.

Now, the fun begins and it's all up to you.  Slice a piece of cake and place it on a plate.  Pile on the strawberries and lots of juice so it soaks in the cake.  Top with whipped topping.  I like fresh whipped cream so I used some I had just made.  Feel free to use Cool Whip or canned whipped cream if you prefer.  If you want to add ice cream, be my guest!  Dan likes it that way.  I like it without.  Just personal preference.  But, look at that beautiful dessert.  See how the juice begins to seep into the cake.  Yum. Yum. Yum.

I hope it's not long before fresh berries start to come in where you are so you can try this fabulous cake recipe and have your own strawberry shortcake.  This cake will also be great with peaches, or blueberries.  Wow, it's going to be a great summer!

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Strawberries are the angels of the earth, innocent and sweet with green leafy wings reaching heavenward.  ~Terri Guillemets