Restaurants love Mother’s Day because it’s traditional to gift Mom with a dinner where she can select what she wants and enjoy in a purely social setting. However, times and people change. Now most Mothers work away from home, not in it. With the availability of neighborhood bistros, take outs, from gourmet to fast food and frozen entrees, commercially prepared dinners are a regular option.

In addition, our growing obsession with foods, cuisines, and popular diets has sparked an interest in cooking. Moreover modern home design merges the kitchen into social areas. Everyone nowadays feels comfortable in a kitchen and most know how to use one. Fixing dinner is usually a family affair.

Although it’s still pleasurable for Mom to choose exactly what she wants and consume it at leisure with her family in a relaxed, chore free environment, there’s a growing desire to make it a ’special’ occasion once again, not just another dinner out. The easiest way to do that is to ‘personalize’ it by making a physical contribution.

Of course the family can always make the whole dinner at home. However, a better solution to this dilemma, especially for children, is to leave the restaurant after the entrée and surprise Mom with an elegantly ‘fancy’ dessert, a dessert made especially for her by her family, even the youngest members. If the gathering includes an extended family, this provides a wonderful chance to extend the visit.

Below are 9 delicious, glamorous desserts which are easily made and allow ample opportunity for children to help, with only minimal supervision. All are spectacular enough to impress a finicky guest so imagine how they’ll please a mother!

There are 3 pastry desserts, 3 cakes and 3 torts. Most can be made ahead, all assemble quickly and several can be created from pre-cooked ingredients. About half require a bit of basic baking, but nothing a teen-ager couldn’t handle. So take a look, I bet once you do, you’ll want to try more and want to repeat them often.

RECIPES

Fruit Pizza:

Serves 8-10

If making the crust: mix 1 ½ cups flour, ½ cup sugar, cut in 2/3 cup shortening, add 3 to 4 Tbs. ICE water to form dough, and roll to a 12 inch round. To fit a pizza pan-disposable ones are fine.
If buying; purchase a roll of sugar cookie dough, not pie dough. Roll dough to fit a pizza pan, prick several times with a fork and bake as for cookies, 350 degrees for 10 to 12 min. until lightly browned, or as directions on package state.
Cool completely in pan.
1 ½ lb. raw fruit- seasonal preferred, frozen acceptable
1/4 -1/2 cup clear jelly –see directions
Water
Decoratively arrange raw fruit over the crust. The amount you will need depends on the chosen fruit, roughly about 1 ½ lbs. In spring or summer use a combination of strawberries and blueberries. Peaches, kiwi, grapes are all good in season.Top with a glaze made from a clear jelly, apple or current, melted with 1 Tbs. water per ¼ cup jelly. Optionally double this amount. Flat fruit slices take less. Chill until completely set. Serve in wedges and optionally pass whipped cream, or ice cream.

My Key Lime Pie:

Serves 8
I always had trouble with Key Lime Pie, despite many recipes, even “authentic” ones from the Florida Keys, until I developed this, which seems to be foolproof, perhaps because it’s so easy. There is one universal rule in making this pie however, the lime juice must be fresh, and, if possible, of the “key” variety. Key limes are small, dark green, very smooth with rounded ends. Their juice has an intense flavor, without the biting acidity sometimes found in regular lime juice. I understand the juice is sold in the baking supply aisles in some stores, but have never encountered it. The limes themselves, can often be found, usually labeled and bagged, in Supermarkets, especially ones with large Hispanic sections. It requires at least 15 to yield enough juice for one pie. If you can’t find them, the common Persian variety limes will do, but I might increase the amount of juice in the pie by a tablespoon or more. Test to taste the strength of the acidity and flavor of the juice. Do NOT use concentrated juice unless it’s labeled Key Lime, or lime drink mix.
(1) 9 inch baked pie shell. Homemade or purchased, regular or graham cracker.
(1) 14oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk MIXED WITH
Sufficient sour cream to equal 2 cups – about 2/3 cup
1/2 cup fresh Key Lime juice
1 Tbs. lime zest
1/2 envelope unflavored gelatin
Whipped cream
Soften the gelatin by soaking 5 min. in the lime juice. Combine the Condensed milk, sour cream and zest in a bowl. Dissolve the gelatin by heating the lime juice in the microwave 30 sec. If it doesn’t dissolve easily, heat it an additional 5 sec. or so, but be sure it is completely liquid before proceeding. Add the lime juice with gelatin to the bowl with the milk, sour cream and zest. Wisk well to incorporate. Pour the filling mixture into the pie shell and chill at least 2 hours until well set. Serve topped with whipped cream.

Wonton Fruit Cups:

Serves 12
24 wonton wrappers
2 Tbs. melted butter
1/3 cup fruit preserves—flavor complimentary to fruit filling
1 cup lemon yogurt or instant pudding-pie filling, flavor optional
1 ½ cups diced fruit
Line a 12 cup or (2) 6 cup muffin pans with a wonton wrapper. Brush with ½ the butter. Place a second wrapper diagonally across the first and brush with remaining butter. Bake in a preheated 350 deg. oven 10 min. or until golden. Remove and cool. Spread 1 tsp. fruit preserves in each cup. Fold yogurt or pudding with 1 cup fruit and spoon into cups. Garnish with remaining fruit.

Dump Cake:

Serves 12
4 cups blueberries or strawberries, halved if large or 2 cans pie filling (other chopped fruits can be used later in the season)
½ cup sugar-if using fresh fruit
½ cup melted butter
1 tsp. cinnamon
(1) 18.5 box of cake mix-flavor optional
Place fruit in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan and mix with sugar and cinnamon. Scatter dry cake mix over the top and pour melted butter evenly over it. Do not stir! Bake in a preheated 350 deg. oven about 30 min. until golden on top. Serve with ice cream or whipped topping.

Pan Cake:

Makes 16 brownie sized squares from a square pan ** or 8 full slices from a round one
1 ½ cups flour
1 cup sugar
3 Tbs. baking cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
Sift these ingredients into an ungreased 8 inch cake pan. Using the back of a spoon make 3 well in the flour mix. Into each of the wells pour:
3 Tbs. vinegar-I like white
3 Tbs. oil
1 tsp. vanilla
Pour 1 cup water over all
Stir with a fork until very well mixed. Bake at 350 deg. for 35-40 min. Cool and remove from pan or bake and serve from a baking dish. Can be iced or sprinkle 2 Tbs. powdered sugar over the top. Can also be served with whipped topping or ice cream
*NOTE: This is a treat for those watching their calories. Only 116.5 per square (with sugar topping=197) per slice=233 calories (with sugar topping 394)
*NOTE: Doubled this recipe makes a wonderful sheet cake. I baked it for several years for the birthday and also graduation of a relative allergic to eggs. I took it to a local supermarket to be professionally iced and no one ever guessed that it was a diet recipe.

Easy Berry Cream Cake:
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Serves 6-10
This a quick, elegant answer to the problem of providing a nice dessert when there isn’t time to prepare one from scratch, and a tasty end to a meal anytime. Any berry will work, as would peaches, but blueberries tend to discolor the cake, and peaches offer a rather bland appearance. The best options are strawberries or raspberries.

The full recipe below uses a whole angel food cake:

A) Quicker version can be made with:

1 lb. loaf pound cake (commercially made is fine)
the same amount of berries
(2) 8 oz. containers whipped topping
Cut the cake in 2 or 3 layers, depending on size, spread with topping and scatter with berries-See directions below for treatment of berries.

B) Full Recipe:

1 Angel Food cake – purchased or made from a mix
2 pkgs. frozen strawberries – with juice
1 box Vanilla Pudding mix
1 pt. whipping cream
Cut the cake into 3 layers using toothpicks, a ruler and a knife. (See Tips this week) Select, and put aside a few choice berries to use as garnish. Combine the pudding mix and berries with juice in a saucepan and bring just to a boil. Remove from heat and chill.
Whip the cream and fold into the chilled berry mixture. Spread on the three cake layers. Garnish the top one with the reserved berries.

Brownie Torte:

Serves 8-10
9 oz. chocolate brownies-crumbled
11 oz. white or milk chocolate broken in pieces
2 ½ cups heavy, whipping cream
Unsweetened cocoa for dusting
Line the base of a spring-form pan with waxed paper. Sprinkle the brownie chunks over the bottom and slightly up the sides pressing to form a dense base. Melt the chocolate gently with 2/3 cup of cream, stirring until smooth. Pour into a bowl and cool. Whip the remaining cream and fold into the chocolate then pour into the base. Tap gently to level, cover and freeze overnight. Remove from pan, plate and transfer to the refrigerator about 30 min. before serving. Just before serving dust top with cocoa.

cream. Repeat layers ending with the caramel. Tap to level the surface and freeze for at least 6 hrs. To serve, dip pan in hot water, invert onto a plate, remove wrap and slice.

Java Torte:

Serves 8-10
2 packages Ladyfingers – separated
1 rounded Tbs. instant coffee
½ cup water
(1) 1 lb. bag mini marshmallows
1 ½ pints whipping cream
¼ cup toasted slivered almonds – see Recipe # 6
In a bowl, microwave coffee and water until coffee is dissolved. @ 1 min. Add marshmallows and stir until melted and mixture is smooth. Stand Ladyfingers around the sides and cover the bottom of a 10 inch spring form pan, leaving no spaces. Whip cream and fold into the coffee mixture, making sure it is fully incorporated. Pour the cream mixture into the prepared pan. Freeze until firm. Remove sides of pan and top with almonds to serve.
Tip—If the marshmallows cause difficulty dissolving in the coffee mixture, gently microwave the liquid in 15 sec. intervals until they do. Add up 1 Tbs. water, by the teaspoon, if and as needed.

Easy Go-Litely Tiramisu:

Serves 8-10
(2) 3oz packages of Ladyfingers = 21 pieces required*

(2) 8oz containers frozen non-dairy whipped topping

(2) 8oz containers of whipped cream cheese Or Mascarpone**

½ cup Cream Sherry – Kahlua, Amoretto, or Rum may also be used***

2 Tbs. sugar dissolved in – –

½ cup triple strength coffee = 3 tsp. instant to ½ cup water microwaved 30 sec.

4 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder

Shavings of semi-sweet chocolate about 2 Tbs. curls****

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

Plastic Wrap

Line a Loaf Pan 9 inches x 5 inches x 3 inches with plastic wrap leaving several inches of overhang. Separate the ladyfingers lengthwise into 42 pieces. Make coffee syrup of sugar and coffee. Soften the gelatin in ¼ cup of the liqueur. Heat the other ¼ cup in the Microwave and combine the two to dissolve the gelatin. If not completely dissolved, return to the Microwave for 5 sec. intervals until it is. Beat the whipped topping, and cream cheese in a large bowl until smooth and fluffy, add the gelatin mix and beat until well incorporated. There are 42 Ladyfinger halves, 18 will be used for the bottom of the pan and to divide the layers. Line the pan bottom with 9 ladyfinger halves. Stand the remaining 24 upright to line the sides of the pan using 4 on each end and 8 along each side. Reserve 9. Brush half the coffee syrup over the ladyfingers on the bottom of the pan, then fill the pan half way with the cheese filling, and sprinkle it with 2 Tbs. of the cocoa powder. Next, place the reserved 9 ladyfingers in the pan, brush with the coffee syrup and sprinkle the other 2 Tbs. of cocoa powder over them. Fill the pan with as much filling as will fit leaving only the tips of the ladyfingers exposed. Chill for several hours until firm, then using the plastic wrap edges; carefully remove from the pan to a plate. Do not invert. Remove the plastic. Cover with chocolate shavings.

*Cut up, purchased, lightly toasted pound cake can be used in place of the ladyfingers, but the dessert is heavier and left-overs can become soggy

.

**Italian Mascarpone Cheese is the correct way to make Tiramisu, but it isn’t always available. If you can get it, wonderful, but if you can’t soft cream cheese will do.