Holiday Ambrosia Cake Food

HOLIDAY AMBROSIA CAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extract. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with pineapple juice, beating well after each addition. Fold in the coconut, pineapple, macadamia nuts, raisins, mangoes and candied cherries., Transfer to a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan. Bake at 350° until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50-60 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely., In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, coconut milk and extracts. Drizzle over cake.

HOLIDAY AMBROSIA SALAD

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain, transfer to a large bowl, and cool.
• Whisk the sugar, eggs, flour, salt, and reserved pineapple juice together in a saucepan until smooth. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture thickens. Pour over cooled pasta, and toss to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or at least 8 hours.
• Stir the pineapple chunks and mandarin oranges into the pasta mixture. Mix in the coconut if desired. Stir in the frozen whipped topping until evenly blended. Chill until serving.

RED, WHITE AND BLUE AMBROSIA

Steps:

• Combine the heavy cream and confectioners' sugar in a large bowl. Whip with an electric mixer until thick but not grainy. Mix in sour cream.
• Use a rubber spatula to fold in the flaked coconut, pineapple, strawberries, blueberries and marshmallows until everything is evenly distributed. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours before serving. It tastes best if chilled overnight.

AMBROSIA CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Stir together first 3 ingredients; press mixture into bottom of a 10-inch springform pan.
• Bake at 350° for 8 minutes. Cool.
• Beat cream cheese, eggs, and 1 cup sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy. Stir in 14-ounce package coconut and vanilla. Pour into prepared crust.
• Bake at 350° for 1 hour. Cool completely on a wire rack.
• Cover and chill 8 hours. Release sides of springform pan, and place cheesecake on serving platter or cake stand. Spread Fresh Orange Curd evenly over top of cheesecake. Sprinkle 1 cup toasted coconut around outer edge of top, if desired. Arrange Decorated Pastry Strips on sides of cheesecake, if desired. Garnish top of cake, if desired.

AMBROSIA LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Make cake:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour cake pans, knocking out excess flour.
• Sift together flour (2 3/4 cups), baking powder, and salt into a bowl.
• Beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer (fitted with paddle attachment if using a stand mixer) at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then beat in zest and vanilla and continue beating 5 minutes more. Reduce speed to low, then add flour mixture and milk alternately in 4 batches, beginning with flour mixture and mixing until batter is just smooth. Divide between cake pans, spreading evenly.
• Bake cake layers until they begin to pull away from sides of pans and a wooden pick or skewer comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes in pans on racks, then invert cake layers onto racks and cool completely. (Leave oven on for toasting coconut.)
• Make filling while layers bake:
• Whisk together eggs in a heatproof bowl until combined well.
• With clean dry whisk, stir together sugar, cornstarch, and a pinch of salt in a 1 1/2- to 2-quart heavy saucepan, then whisk in water and juices until smooth. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking, then reduce heat and cook at a bare simmer, whisking constantly, 2 minutes (mixture will be thick).
• Add half of hot juice mixture to eggs in a slow stream, whisking, then whisk egg mixture into juices in saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, whisking, just until it reaches a boil. Remove pan from heat, then add butter and zest, whisking until butter is melted. Chill filling, its surface covered with a buttered round of wax paper (buttered side down), until cold, about 30 minutes.
• Make frosting:
• Spread coconut in a shallow baking pan and toast in oven, stirring occasionally, until golden, 12 to 15 minutes.
• Beat together egg whites, sugar, water, corn syrup, and a pinch of salt in a large metal bowl with a handheld electric mixer (clean beaters if necessary) until combined. Set bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and beat mixture at high speed until it holds stiff, glossy peaks, 5 to 7 minutes. (Humid weather may necessitate additional beating time.) Remove bowl from heat, then add vanilla and lemon juice and continue beating until frosting is cooled and very thick, 6 to 10 minutes.
• Assemble cake:
• Halve each cake horizontally with a long serrated knife. Put 1 layer on a cake stand or large plate and spread with about 3/4 cup filling. Stack remaining cake layers using about 3/4 cup filling between each layer. Spread top and side of cake with frosting and coat cake with coconut, gently pressing to help it adhere.

AMBROSIA CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Make, bake and cool cake as directed on box for two 8-inch or 9-inch round pans.
• To make orange-coconut filling, in small microwavable bowl, mix sugar and cornstarch. Gradually stir in 1/3 cup water. Stir in orange peel and orange juice. Microwave uncovered on High about 1 minute or until mixture thickens and boils; stir. Microwave 30 seconds longer, stirring every 15 seconds. Stir in 2 tablespoons coconut; cool.
• Fill cake layers with orange-coconut filling. Frost side and top of cake with frosting. Sprinkle 1/2 cup coconut over top. Store loosely covered.