52 - Wednesday, December 20, 1989 - North Shore News Even a six-year-old can bake these cakes MY KIDS don’t mince words. If they come home and find me in real clothes instead of a track suit they ask, ‘‘Where are you go- ing?’’ If they find a dessert on the menu they look around suspicious- ly and ask, ‘‘Who else is coming?”’ Aren’t kids kind to point out our shortcomings? Desserts are more than my shortcoming, they can be my downfall. On one occasion I attempted a new recipe for some chocolate- cream-gelatine mixture guaranteed to fit in a nine-inch square pan. Our oldest daughter came home for lunch in time to find me wallowing in enough gloop to fill the ‘bathtub and helped me shovel it out of the kitchen. I can make the most beautiful scratch cakes -—- feather light, gloriously golden and flavored to perfection. Just don’t let me near a recipe for icing. Mine runs if it doesn’t need a hammer to crack it. My decorative swirls resemble oil spills and if I sprinkle the top with shaved choc- olate it sinks in shame. Now and then, there’s no escape. Like anyone else with a noticeable lack of talent I've filed some deceptively simple creations that I can hide behind. A six-year-old with basic reading skills can produce any of the fol- lowing. Filled Angel Food Cakes For the cake: Buy a mix. Buy the easiest one you can find, re- quiring one bowl, one step and nothing to add but water. Prepare and cool as directed. These can be frozen at this point and it uncomplicates your life if you prepare the cake days before the main event. it improves the appearance of the finished product if you remove the brown crust — much easier to do when the cake is frozen stiff. To cut the cake in three even layers, mark your paths with toothpicss. Run a line of fine thread under the picks and tighten like a noose. Do the surgery when the cake is thawed but still cold. To make a “‘tunnel’’ remove the top third of the cake and set aside. \e With a fork, pry out the centre part of the remaining % cake and discard (my cats love the bits even though I explain that they'll ruin their waistlines). For any recipe calling for the cake to be torn into pieces, do it while the cake is very cold and don’t squeeze the pieces — angel food cake is a near cousin to cot- ton candy. beaters Barbara McCreadie Peanut Brittle Angel Food % pint whipping cream whipped ¥2 Ib. peanut britile, crushed Combine gently and use to frost one mix-sized angel food cake. If you want to get fancy, double the recipes for the topping and “tunnel? the cake as explained earlier. Fill the tunnel, replace the top layer and frost the cake with the remaining cream mixture. Strawberry Angel Food Prepare cake by removing the brown crust and dividing into three layers. Wash and spray the pan you us- ed to bake the cake. Arrange some sliced berries decoratively on the bottom of the pan. Strawberry mixture: 2 envelopes plain gelatin ¥2 cup cold water pinch salt Ye cup sugar 2 cups sliced strawberries (you can use dry frozen) 2 tablespoons lemon juice Y% pint whipping cream, whipped of SALE om DEC, BOXING DAY BLITZ Heat gelatin, water, salt and sugar in the top of a double boiler until sugar is dissolved. Cool. Combine gently with remaining ingredients. Spoon a little of the mixture around the berries in the bottom of the pan and place the smallest cake layer on top. Spoon more filling over this jJayer, pulling the edges away from the pan so that the filling can trickle down the sides. Repeat until all the cake is layered in the pan. Pour any remaining filling over- top and chill for several hours — preferably overnight. Invert and remove pan to serve. You can dec- orate with a spray gun of whipped cream if you like. Cherry Ange! Food Square Remove crusts from prepared cake. Cut remaining cake in Y2- inch cubes. Spray 9”? x 11’? x 2” pan and layer half the cubes in the bottom. Cover with: Y2 tin cherry pie filling Top with remaining cake cubes. Custard Mixture: 1 regular size package vanilla in- stant pudding mix 1% cups mitk 1 cup sour cream Beat well. Pour over cake and cherries, Spoon remaining cherry pie filling on top — try to judge where you'll be cutting and make sure each piece has a spoonful of cherries on top. Chill overnight. Chocolate Almond Angel Food Prepare cake by the tunnel method. It isn’t necessary to remove crust — the topping is brown anyway. Filling and Topping: 3 cups whipping cream 1% cups icing sugar, sifted ¥s cup unsweetened cecoa (not hot chocolate mix!) pinch salt ¥% cup shaved almonds (I like the ones with the skins attached) Whip cream with sugar, cocoa and salt until stiff. Divide in half and fold half the almonds into half the cream. Use this to fill the tun- nel. Replace top layer and use re- maining cocoa-cream mixture to frost the cake. Sprinkie with re- maining almonds and chill well be- fore cutting. * Any of the above cakes will serve 12 to 14. ADp, |: REMAINING AQUARIUM KITS WILL BE SUPER- REDUCED! TROPICAL FISH 30% ‘90% ian rey x ADD ON TO YOUR HABITRAIL SYSTEM OFF FF * BUDGIE, CANARY AND FINCH TREATS WILL BE ON 9 FOR °2.99 Just some of the many specials for Boxing Day! PET HABITAT 9¢ 4919 Lynn Valley Centre. HEARING LOSS? See us for good hearing aid service — sales, repairs, batteries and advice. ASK ABOUT OUR TRIAL SERVICE. North Western Hearing Centre Open Tues. - Fri. 9:30 - 5 Sat. 9:30 - 1. Closed Mon. 985-5552 1910 Lonsdale North Vancouver Cotour Burst OF HUNTER DOUGLAS LONSDALE AND BLINDS Closed Mondays ‘It’s a special manufacturer's inventory clearance! A huge selection of top quality venetian blinds from HunterDouglas, the world's leading manufacturer of window fashions. 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