Piña Colada Cake

1 yellow cake mix (mix as directed on box)

15.25 oz can crushed pineapple in juice

15 oz can cream of coconut

14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 small pkg vanilla pudding

8 oz Cool Whip, thawed

2 cups sweetened coconut flakes, (toasted in oven 350⁰ for 5-7 min)

Prepare cake mix & bake in a 9x13-inch baking dish.

While cake is baking, drain 15.25 oz can crushed pineapple into a bowl (saving the juice).

In a separate bowl, whisk together 15 oz can cream of coconut, 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk, pudding mix & the drained pineapple juice.

Once cake is done, take it out of the oven. While cake is still warm, begin poking holes in the top using the handle of a wooden spoon.

Then pour pudding mixture evenly over cake. It will look pretty saturated. But don't worry the cake is going to soak it all up. Refrigerate until cool.

Once cake is completely cooled, top it with drained crushed pineapple.

Then spread 8 oz whipped topping evenly on top.

Sprinkle toasted coconut flakes on top.

Slice and serve. Keep cake refrigerated.

Notes:

For the cake mix. you can use white, yellow, pineapple or coconut cake mixes. 

Blueberry Sauce

16 oz fresh or frozen blueberries (thawed), 2 cups

1/2 c sugar

zest of 1 lemon

1/4 cup lemon juice fresh, about 1 lemon

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Place 1 ½ c blueberries, granulated sugar, lemon juice & lemon zest in a food processor or blender to puree.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the pureed blueberry mixture & remaining blueberries. Cook while stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves completely, about 5–7 minutes. Whisk in the cornstarch and cook for a few minutes until it thickens a bit, stirring occasionally.

This should yield about 1 cup of puree.

Basic Cheesecake

Graham cracker crust:

1 ¾ c graham cracker crumbs

5  T sugar

6 T melted butter

For the cheesecake filling:

40 oz cream cheese, room temp (five 8 oz. pkgs)

1 ¼ c sugar

½ c sour cream, room temp

2 tsp vanilla extract

4 large eggs, room temp

Cheesecake toppings: Strawberry, Raspberry, blueberry, praline, ganache, peanut butter sauce

Place oven racks in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 350°.

In a medium sized bowl, stir graham cracker crumbs together with sugar and melted butter until well incorporated and mixture looks like damp sand. Using the bottom of a measuring cup, press crust into the bottom and half way up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake 8 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 325⁰.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix cream cheese 30 seconds until smooth. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and add in sugar, sour cream and vanilla. Mix again until incorporated. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix again briefly.

Crack eggs into a separate bowl and whisk until well beaten. With the mixer on low, slowly pour the eggs into the cream cheese mixture and stop stirring once eggs have been incorporated. Remove bowl from mixer and scrape the sides and bottom again, ensuring the entire mixture is smooth. If there are a few small lumps, try to fold in using the rubber scraper.

Once the batter is completely smooth and ready, tap the bowl on the counter for 30-45 seconds to remove as many air bubbles as possible. You should see them popping on the surface as you tap the bowl. Pour filling into the center of the graham cracker crust and gently smooth the top. It will be very full!

Bake for 30 minutes at 325°. Reduce temperature to 250° and continue cooking for 45 minutes more. Once this time has elapsed, turn oven off and keep cheesecake inside for another 30 minutes without opening the oven door. Crack oven door to let cheesecake cool slowly for one hour before removing. At this point, cheesecake should be slightly warm. Bring cheesecake to room temperature on the counter (3-4 hours) before covering with plastic wrap and transferring to the fridge.

Refrigerate until chilled completely (6 hours to overnight). To serve, open springform pan and remove collar. Decorate as desired. 

Dip a sharp knife into hot water, wipe off any excess water and slice. I like to dip my knife in water between each slice to get really clean-looking pieces.