Hey there and welcome back! This week I am excited to bring you a little something different with a couple of light desserts that are perfect for spring and summer. Since the weather is warming up that means we are starting to get together more and there is no better way to try new recipes than with friends. So, pull up a chair and pour a refreshing drink because these easy spring desserts are sure to please!
The first recipe I want to share is super easy and can fun to decorate. This is a light angel food cake stuffed with fruit and cool whip. Here is what you will need:
Angel food cake (store-bought or using a mix)
8 oz cream cheese softened
1 large container cool whip
1 jar maraschino cherries drained and cut in half
2 cans of mandarin oranges drained
½ – 1 bag mini marshmallows
Chopped walnuts (optional)
Coconut (optional)
In a large bowl, you want to mix the cream cheese and cool whip until it is smooth. Then mix in the remaining ingredients. Then it is time to assemble the cake.
Start by cutting the angel food cake horizontally twice so you have a top, middle and bottom piece. Place the bottom piece on a plate and then spread around 1/3 of the fruit and cool whip mixture. Then place the middle piece on top and repeat for the next two layers! Refrigerate for an hour or so to let the mixture firm up a little. I like to put a fresh flower or two in the middle on top and sometimes around the sides when it’s time to serve.
The next dessert is so simple, yet bursting with flavor and fun to make. This is one of the first cakes I learned to make — my mom used to make this a lot when I was a kid for gatherings because it is just so easy. For this cake you will need:
White cake mix
Jello flavor of your choice
1-2 small containers Cool whip
Your choice of fruit to garnish
Start by making the cake according to the directions on the box. Let the cake cool completely — that part is important!
Once the cake is cool you can take the handle of a wooden spoon and poke holes all over the cake. This part is fun for kids to do. Mix up the jello according to the package instructions then pour over the cake and refrigerate overnight. Before serving top with cool whip and just like that you have dessert! My favorite is to use orange jello because it kind of tastes like a dreamsicle, but I have made it with strawberry and cherry too! You could garnish with the same kind of fruit you selected for the jello flavor by placing the fruit on top of the cool whip.
When I asked Annie and Clay at the Village Wine Shop what kind of wine pairings may go best with these light desserts they said, “There are several varieties of wine, that can and will enhance your dessert choices. Think it’s going to be too sweet? Au Contraire!! Any food will have a pair out there, somewhere, underneath the same big sky…! For the Jello Cake, we have good news!
Vouvray Brut: Made with Chenin Blanc grapes, Vouvray is a crisp, mouth-puckering white wine that adds notes of green apple, pear, and honeysuckle. If you’re looking for something familiar but also unique, check out sparklers from South Africa, where Chenin Blanc is a super important grape!
Why it works: The acidic bite that comes from a Vouvray Brut slices right through the shortcake and the whipped cream, while the notes of tree fruit beautifully complement the fresh strawberry, berry flavor. Plus, many Vouvray Brut wines are made using the Traditional Method, which adds a biscuity note that tastes amazing with this treat’s already creamy ingredients. This will also pair nicely with the Angel food cake, but there’s more!
A dry riesling or sauvignon blanc is a great choice for cakes, fruits and nuts!
Dry Riesling: Germany’s favorite wine, Riesling can run the gamut from sweet to bone dry, and carries some amazing notes of citrus and green apple with it. Especially apparent in drier Riesling is a slatey sense of minerality, which only furthers its complexity.
Why it works: With its bright acidity and fruit flavors, a dry Riesling cuts through the syrupy sweetness of a cake, fruit or nuts, while only enhancing the dessert’s fruitiness. The earthier tones that are present in German Riesling (like one from the Mosel Valley) will accentuate the pasty dryness of angel food cake while enhancing its more subtle sweetness.
Of course, you can find these wines and more at your Village Wine Shop, Main Street, White Sulphur Springs!”
So there you have it friends some tasty spring desserts with some awesome wine pairings to kick off this beautiful warm weather. You can change each of these recipes up to fit what you like and as always I am sending love from my kitchen to yours!
