With warm weather comes the need to get out on the patio and spend time with friends. The best part of these gatherings? The dessert you’ve made with your Boulder culinary school skills! While cake is a popular sweet to end just about every dinner dish, we’ve found some alternatives that will feed your crew in a less sheet-like, frosted way.
Apple pie cake
What is more American than apple pie? Having your cake and eating it too. That’s where Betty Crocker’s apple pie cake recipe comes in. With the crust of a pie and doughiness of a cake, you’ll get the best of both worlds when you pull this tasty treat out of the oven. Plus, you can easily make a giant pan (or two) that will satiate even your most picky guests. Kiddos love it and so do adults. Plus, it’s sort of healthy. It’s full of apples, after all!
Waffles
We know you’re confused, but hear us out. What is the best meal of the day? Breakfast. How can you bring that special time into a dessert setting? With a waffle cake! Instead of layers of angel food, chocolate or carrot cake, stack up some crispy, beautiful waffles. You can add some whipped cream in between the individual waffles as a sort of frosting ( go homemade, as it tastes better and is less sweet). Top it off with some local fruits (berries, apples, mango) and save the syrup for the very last moment before cutting this cake alternative to serve it to your hungry guests. After a hamburger cookout, this will be one special dessert.
Raw cashew dream cake
My New Roots focuses on making healthy choices. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have an after-dinner sweet. The author was looking for a cheesecake alternative when she created this incredible recipe for raw cashew dream cake. It is layered and circular like one that you’d buy at the store, but with zero baking involved. The crust is made of dates, nuts and sea salt. As for the filling, you can get a little creative. The author uses honey, raspberries, vanilla bean, lemon juice and raw cashews. You could also add other berries and cocoa for some chocolate flavoring. This treat is frozen before served, so it’s perfect for those hot mid-summer get-togethers. Plus, it’s gluten-free and vegan so nearly every dieter can eat it – unless they’re allergic to nuts. So be sure to ask your guests if they have such an allergy before whipping up this healthy sweet.
Fruit cake
Before you get all weird and back away from the screen, this is not the Christmas fruit cake that is tossed in the trash the second the gift-giver leaves the room. Think of it more as a bunch of fruit, artfully stacked on top of each other to resemble a cake. Blogger Place of my Taste wanted to make a cake for her husband’s birthday but had to think outside of the sugary pre-made-batter box because he was on a diet. In came the fruit cake idea. Gather up your favorite fruits and be sure to have some larger options, like melons. The author used watermelon and cantaloupe as her hefty base layers. Cut the ends off of each melon so they are in the shape of a wheel. Now cut that in half horizontally, so you have two rounds, similar to that of an 8- or 9-inch cake pan. Remove the rinds and you have two portions of the base of your cake. Stack one watermelon and one cantaloupe and repeat. Top with smaller fruits like berries and kiwi. You can even get creative here and cut them into fun shapes and add them in between the melon slices like frosting. Make this “cake” for kids’ gatherings, tea parties and festive fancy backyard parties.
