April Fools' Lasagna: Banana-Pudding Cake

My sweet tooth has been nagging me lately, which should explain the many dessert postings. Not quite sure how this will taste (although the ingredients sound delicious). I plan on making it for a friend coming in from NYC for New Year's celebrations.

Photograph by Levi Brown

Make a box of instant vanilla pudding. Cut a loaf of pound cake into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange half of the slices in a 7-by-11-inch baking dish, then press 20 vanilla wafers into the cake. 

Make fake tomato sauce: Mix 3/4 cup strawberry jam with 5 crushed Oreo cookies and dollop half of the mixture over the wafers. Sweeten 3/4 cup ricotta cheese with 2 teaspoons sugar; dollop half over the jam. Top with 1 sliced banana and half of the pudding. Repeat with the remaining cake, 20 more wafers, the remaining jam and ricotta mixtures, another sliced banana and the remaining pudding.

Top with shaved white chocolate, crushed vanilla 

wafers and mint; chill.

Apple Cinnamon Rice Pudding

What to do with leftover apples... ?

Image courtesy of vectordiary.com

4 egg yolks
1 egg white
2-3 cups chopped apple (size of your thumb nail)
1 1/2 cups cooked white rice (or try arborio rice for a creamier flavor)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 Tbsp. butter
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla
some vanilla soy or almond milk

Combine egg yolks, apples, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, cooked rice, and sugar in large mixing bowl. Stir gently. Whip egg white with electric mixer until it forms stiff peaks. Fold egg white into rice mixture and transfer to a large greased baking dish. Sprinkle extra cinnamon on top. Bake in a water bath at 350 degrees for up to an hour. Garnish with apple wedges and serve hot or let cool and store in the fridge.

Giada's Ricotta Orange Pound Cake

From Food Network Magazine

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp.
1 1/2 cups cake flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 1/2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups (plus 1 Tbsp) granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 orange, zested
2 Tbsp. amaretto
Confectioners' sugar (for dusting)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan with butter. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir to blend.

2. Using a mixer, cream the butter, ricotta, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the machine running add the eggs 1 at a time. Add the vanilla, orange zest, and amaretto until combined. Add the dry ingredients, a small amount at a time, until just incorporated.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared, greased, pan, and bake until a toothpick comes out clean and the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. To wrap, return to the pan and dust with confectioners' sugar.