Pillsbury Orangesicle and Key Lime! (Giveaway)

The winner of the Pillsbury Funfetti Giveaway who will be receiving an array of Funfetti cake mix and colorful frostings and a $50 gift card is commenter #14  Katie H. Congratulations Katie! Please email me with your mailing address.  

For everyone else, you have another chance to win below. Keep reading to see how!

Pillsbury has introduced new seasonal flavors just in time for warmer weather- Orangesicle and Key Lime! I was so excited to see these fresh and bright new flavors on the grocery store shelves because I am a citrus lover and so is my mom. She would put orange flavoring in everything if she could :-). Pillsbury kindly sent me a package consisting of Orangesicle and Key Lime cake mix, cookie mix and creamy frostings. I wanted to make a special cake for my mom, so I chose to bake the Orangesicle cake mix first. 

My mom is not a huge fan of frosting so I wanted to make a recipe that was simple and fuss-free, but bursting with orange flavor. And because chocolate and orange compliment each other so well, I added in a healthy handful of mini chips in the batter and on top. This cake smelled so good baking in the oven! When I tasted it, I was expecting it to taste like I was biting into a fresh orange, but it didn't. It tasted just like an Orangesicle, just like the box promised! It had a mellow orange and creamy vanilla taste and was so moist. Delicious. I still need to whip up a batch of key lime cupcakes and I'm so looking forward to it. 

Pillsbury is celebrating Spring with these new flavors in order to make your everyday occasions even more special. I started thinking about ways I could do the same with my family. I've been so busy in the kitchen baking and trying to wrap up this cookbook venture that once I'm done we're heading out on a picnic! I'm going to get Hayden to help me whip up a batch of Pillsbury cookie sandwiches (he's becoming a pro at working the KitchenAid!) then we're going to enjoy some fresh air and play at the park. I can already hear his giggles as he goes down the slide. The whole idea behind this celebration is to spend time together, relish in everyday moments and enjoy premium baked goodies. Thank you Pillsbury for helping us make lasting memories!

Orangesicle Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake

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• 1 box (15.25 oz) Pillsbury Orangesicle Premium Cake Mix
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan and set aside. 

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, sour cream, eggs, oil and juice. Beat til all the ingredients are well mixed; about 2 minutes. 

Using a rubber spatula, stir in the mini chocolate chips. 

Scrape batter into the prepared pan and bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan before serving. 

Pillsbury wants you to join in on all the citrusy fun. They are generously offering one lucky reader a Summer Seasonal Celebration Kit including: Pillsbury Moist Supreme Orangesicle and Key Lime Premium Cake Mix, Pillsbury Orangesicle and Key Lime Premium Cookie Mix, Pillsbury Creamy Supreme Orangesicle and Key Lime Frosting as well as a $50 Visa or American Express Gift Card (total value ($60). 

To enter the giveaway: 

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me which flavor you're most excited to try. Please be sure to leave an email for me to contact you if you win.

2. For a second entry "Like" Pillsbury Baking on Facebook

3. For a third entry "Like" Lick The Bowl Good on Facebook. Leave a separate comment for each entry. 

A winner will be selected at random and announced by May 15, 2013. 

To learn more about Pillsbury's new fresh flavors please visit Pillsbury on Facebook. Also visit PillsburyBaking.com and Pillsbury on Pinterest. 

**The J.M. Smucker Company sent me free product samples and other compensation and asked me to promote it's new Orangesicle and Key Lime products. 

Lemons, Limes and Oranges. Oh My!

I made these a few weeks ago and I forgot to share them. Forgive me. I got wrapped up in Hayden's birthday extravaganza that they got lost in the shuffle. I realize Fall is officially upon us but when you have a dessert with this much citrus zest, you just have to share them. Am I right? Besides you have all season long to bake with apples, pumpkins and comforting spices, so today it's all about lemons, limes and oranges. Hooray!

I got this recipe from my friend Memoria of Mangio da Sola. She made these over two years ago and they've been in the back of my mind ever since (Hi Memoria! We miss you!). I love key lime pie and could eat a whole pie by myself, as embarrassing as that is to admit. While I was pregnant with Hayden, I craved it all the time so I was pleased to discover that these bars were very similar. But these are a little different because they have a touch of cream cheese in them that makes these a bit more like cheesecake. 

Busted! Someone discovered toilet paper roll!

Part key lime pie, part cheesecake bar, all goodness. They were creamy, tart, tangy and loaded with flavorful citrus zest atop a buttery golden crust. I misread the directions and baked them in a 9x13-inch pan instead of a square dish so mine were thinner than expected but still great. If you want a thicker, taller bar to sink your teeth into just use a smaller pan. Either way, they're sure to satisfy. Thanks for sharing the recipe with us Memoria. I hope you're enjoying Italy! 

Triple Citrus Bars adapted from Mangio da Sola via Cook's Illustrated

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Crust:

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

3 Tbsp packed brown sugar 

5 Tbsp. butter, melted

pinch of salt

Filling:

2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 1/2 tsp grated lime zest 

1 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest

1 1/2 tsp grated orange zest

1 14-oz can of condensed milk

1 egg yolk, room temperature

6 Tbsp lime juice 

2 Tbsp lemon juice 

2 Tbsp orange juice 

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Butter an 8x8-inch pan (for thicker bars) or a 9x13-inch pan (for thinner bars) and set aside. 

To make the crust: In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar and salt. Drizzle butter over crumbs and stir until crumbs are evenly moistened with butter. Press crumbs evenly and firmly into bottom of prepared pan. Bake until deep golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack while making filling. Do not turn off oven.

To make the filling: While the crust cools, in medium bowl, stir cream cheese with the lemon, orange and limes zests with a rubber spatula until softened, creamy, and thoroughly combined. Slowly add sweetened condensed milk and whisk vigorously until incorporated and no lumps of cream cheese remain; whisk in egg yolk. Add juices and whisk gently until incorporated (mixture will thicken slightly).

To assemble and bake: Pour filling into crust; spread to corners and smooth surface with rubber spatula. Bake until set and edges begin to pull away slightly from sides, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temperature. Cover with foil and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours.

Cut into squares and serve chilled. Will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. 

A (No-Bake) Cheesecake Redux

Mother's Day is a week from Sunday. That's only 10 days away- can you believe that?! Last Mother's Day, I took my mom out to lunch and a day of shopping when I felt a strange movement in my lower abdomen- a tickle that I hadn't felt before. It happened a couple more times then it finally donned on me that it was Hayden kicking me! It was such an awesome feeling and a moment I will never forget. I love that that was the first time I felt him moving inside me. From then on, he just kicked, kicked, kicked and he still does. He loves moving his little feet. 

This Mother's Day will be a special one too because it's the first one as a mother to a living, breathing, beautiful baby boy. I don't care if I get breakfast in bed, whether or not we go out to eat or if I get any gifts wrapped in bows. Hayden is my gift and he's all I need. Well, him and his Poppa. I need him too :-)

I made this no-bake cheesecake a couple years ago with lemon curd and I made it again last month for Easter, only this time I used a jar of Key Lime Curd that I picked up from a Williams-Sonoma Outlet awhile back. You can certainly make your own from scratch if you prefer, I just think a jarred curd is easier. This cheesecake would be a welcome addition to any Mother's Day menu. You bake the crust to set it, but the cheesecake filling is set up with gelatin in the refrigerator so you don't have to worry about overbaking it which means no cracks! and there are no water baths to fool around with. It's also ultra creamy and fluffy and it can be made a couple days in advance. It was light and mousse like and reminded me of key lime pie, but without all the pucker. 

Make this cheesecake for a special Momma in your life, or heck, treat yourself for being so awesome. You could also pass this recipe onto one of your kids and have them make it for you. Yup, that's what I'd do :-). 

 Lime Curd Icebox Cheesecake adapted from HERE
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Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3 Tbsp. sugar

Filling:

• 1/3 cup prepared lime or lemon curd
• 1/4 cup fresh lime or lemon juice
• 1 envelope (2 3/4 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
• 24 oz. (3 bricks) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1 teaspoon grated lime or lemon zest
• 3/4 cup sugar
• pinch salt
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream, room temperature

Garnish: 

• 1/3 cup prepared lime or lemon curd (more or less depending on your preference)
• whipped cream

For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and adjust an oven rack to the middle position.

In a medium bowl, combine graham crackers, sugar and butter. Mix until combined. 

Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan. Bake the crust until it is lightly golden brown, about 8-10 minutes. Cool the crust completely on a wire rack before filling.

For the filling: In a small bowl, put the 1/4 cup fresh lime or lemon juice. Sprinkle the gelatin over the top and let it stand until the gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Microwave the mixture until it is bubbling around the edges and the gelatin dissolves, about 30 seconds. Set aside.

In a large bowl with a handheld mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese, lime or lemon zest, sugar, and salt until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. 

Slowly add the cream and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the gelatin mixture and 1/3 cup of the prepared lime or lemon curd. Beat until the mixture is smooth and airy, about 3 minutes. Pour the filling into the cooled crust and smooth the top.

For the decorative topping: Using a teaspoon, dollop the remaining curd on top of the cheesecake and lightly drag a pairing knife or skewer through the lines to create a marble appearance. Alternately, you could pipe the curd (I put the curd into a Ziploc bag, snipped the corner and piped) into lines or swirls and drag a skewer through it to make other decorative patterns.

Refrigerate the cheesecake until set, at least 6 hours. Remove the sides of the pan, cut into slices and serve.

Serves 12

I mentioned that I made this cheesecake for Easter but I also wanted to show you what my Mom made. She made a Pineapple Angel Lush and served it with fresh berries. It was really light and tasty. Click HERE for the recipe if you're interested. 

Pie Party Recipes: Key Lime Pie

Here's one of the recipes I made this past weekend at my Pie Party. I can't decide if I liked this key lime pie or the banana cream pie best. I think I need another slice of each in order to decide. I chose this pie to make because I craved it while I was pregnant with Hayden. I had several slices while pregnant with him and I never tired of it. For some reason though, I never made it, I just ordered it out at restaurants. And at $5 a slice, it's much cheaper to make your own!

This pie could not be simpler to make either. The filling is made up of 3 ingredients- sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks and lime juice. That's it! The combination is like magic. I think it's a great recipe to start out with if you're a beginner baker or just want to get into baking pies because it is so easy and fast. You can purchase your own premade crust or make one like I did. Of course, homemade tastes better, but do what you like. The end result will still be creamy, tangy and delicious.

Key Lime Pie from Nellie & Joe's

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• (1) 9-inch graham cracker pie shell (recipe below)
• 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup key lime juice

Combine milk, egg yolks and lime in juice in a medium bowl. Blend til smooth, then pour filling into prepared pie shell.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes.

Allow to stand at room temperature 10 minutes before refrigerating. Refrigerate until completely chilled. Just before serving, top with freshly whipped cream and garnish with lime slices.

Graham Cracker Crust from Keebler

• 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, melted

Combine crumbs and sugar in medium sized bowl. Stir in the melted butter until thoroughly blended.

Pack mixture firmly into a 9-inch pie pan and press firmly to bottom and sides, bringing crumbs evenly up to the rim.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 8 minutes, cool, fill and chill.

Get Your Green On

The kind folks at Duncan Hines contacted me a couple weeks ago and asked if I'd like to try one of their recipes using their mixes. I, of course, said yes and a few days later a package arrived on my doorstep! I had the choice of two recipes and I chose to make their Leprechaun Key Lime Cake just in time for St. Patrick's Day.

This cake starts off with a Lemon Supreme Cake Mix, then you add a box of lemon pudding and key lime juice. I didn't have key limes, but I had a bag of Persian limes so that's what I used. This cake was so simple to put together-- you combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix then into the oven it goes. After the cake has baked and is still warm, it's soaked with a buttery lime glaze while it's still in the pan. That glaze penetrates the cake throughout and makes it's ultra moist and a little sticky. After it cooled I opted to glaze the top of the cake with a lime glaze that I came up with that tasted like a limeade. You don't have to glaze it a second time but that glaze was so good, I could drink it!

This cake is really equal parts lemon and lime flavor but it's not too tart and it's not too sweet. You could always use lemon juice in place of the limes if you prefer. It's light in texture and fluffy on the inside, while the outside develops a sugary crust on it from the glaze.

I really liked this cake and so did my neighbors. Even Mr. H, who isn't a huge fan of citrus, ate it and didn't complain :-) It's refreshing and easy enough to make anytime of year, not just on St. Patrick's Day. Would be great for Easter and you can call it Lemon Lime Cake if you prefer. Might also be good for breakfast....I'm just saying.

Lemon Lime Cake adapted from Duncan Hines

Cake:

• 1 pkg Duncan Hines® Moist Deluxe® Lemon Supreme Cake Mix
• 1 (3.4 oz) pkg lemon instant pudding
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup lime juice

Glaze:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup lime juice
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 10-inch Bundt or tube pan.

For cake, combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil, 3/4 cup water and 1/4 cup lime juice in large bowl. Beat at low speed with electric mixer until moistened. Beat at medium speed 2 minutes.

Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool in pan 25 minutes. Remove cake from pan onto cooling rack then immediately return cake back to pan. Poke holes in top of warm cake with toothpick, wooden skewer or long-tined fork.

For glaze, combine 2 cups powdered sugar, 1/3 cup lime juice, 2 tablespoons water and melted butter in medium bowl.

Pour slowly over top of warm cake and allow it run along the sides of the pan. Cool completely while still in pan.

Invert onto serving plate. Dust with additional powdered sugar or glaze (recipe below). Garnish with lime slices, if desired.

Lime Glaze by Monica H

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• zest of 1 lime
• juice of 1 lime

In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and zest. Squeeze lime juice into bowl a little at a time. Stir until there are no lumps and continue to add more lime juice until the glaze is thin enough to drizzle. Pour over cooled cake and allow to set.

Be sure to stop by Duncan Hines and check out their recipe index. You may find a new recipe to make for your family that starts off with a mix you already have in your pantry.

Thank you Duncan Hines and Happy St. Patty's Day to you all!

Because They're Worth It

Ahh, key limes! It's just starting to cool down here but it's still rather humid and in the 8o's. I'm not complaining. I'll take it. But to cool down I made these key lime frozen yogurt sammies for Labor Day while it was much warmer. Don't you want to catch that drip with your tongue?

Yes, key limes are cute but they require a little elbow grease. I have a juicer but these little suckers are so tiny so you really need to juice them by hand. To get the full effect and to yield the most juice use a wooden reamer.

Your shoulders may burn a little and you develop a little sweat on your upper lip, but it will be worth it in the end. I promise. Besides I couldn't pass up this great photo op. These key limes were lovely and tangy!

This frozen yogurt couldn't be simpler. It only has 3 ingredients that you mix together and throw in the ice cream maker til frozen. Mine took a little while to freeze so I just poured it into a freezer container and plopped it in the icebox.

I wanted to make homemade graham crackers but I just haven't had the time. In the meantime I used packaged ones and they worked just fine. Any cookie or biscuit would work here. Just place a scoop of the yogurt on one cracker, sandwich with the other and refreeze.

Key Lime Frozen Yogurt from Southern Living

• 1 (32 oz.) container whole milk French vanilla yogurt
• 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup key lime juice (about 1 bag of limes)

Whisk together all ingredients in a large mixing bowl until well blended. Refrigerate overnight (see note). Pour mixture into the freezer container of a 1 1/2-quart electric ice-cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. (Instructions and times will vary.) Cover and freeze until desired firmness.

Makes about 6 cups.

NOTE: It's best if you refrigerate this mixture overnight even if it is cold. It will speed up your freezing time in the ice cream maker.

I used fresh key limes but regular limes or bottle key lime juice would work just as well.

I used Horizon Organic Whole Milk Vanilla Yogurt and full fat sweetened condensed milk. Fat free can be substituted.

I made about 10 graham cracker sandwiches then I ran out of graham crackers. I found a box of Nilla wafers in the back of the pantry and improvised. I liked these because they were easy to pop in your mouth (which I did several times!) and because the vanilla was a nice compliment to the key lime, but my sister loved the graham cracker version.

I can't get over their cuteness!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway, if you haven't already!