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Baked Desserts for 50-100


Cheesy Apple Cobbler
Rozky- Traditional Slovak Raisin Pastries
Yellow Cake from Scratch
Date Bars or B'Nana Custard Bars

Cheesy Apple Cobbler

48 Servings, 4 9x13 pans
A great dessert, but also a fabulous winter breakfast dish served hot with cream or half and half and a side serving of crisp bacon or thinly sliced ham.

13 quarts apples (about 24 medium), peeled and sliced (see note)


2 cups water
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice
OPTIONAL 6 cups walnut, hickory nut or pecan pieces
8 cups all-purpose flour
8 cups sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
4 teaspoons ground nutmeg or cardamon
1 tablespoon salt, optional
3 cups butter or margarine
8 cups (2 pounds) Cheddar cheese, shredded, sharp preferred
OPTIONAL garnish, whipping cream or ice cream, 3 quarts

Core the apples, up to you whether to peel, but slice in flat slices of a uniform thickness, NOT wedges, to insure even cooking. Arrange the apples in four greased 13x9x2-inch baking pans.
Combine water and lemon juice; sprinkle apples and coat. Sprinkle on nut pieces if used.
Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt; cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in cheese lightly. Spread over apples. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until apples are tender and topping is crisp. For dessert, serve warm with a little whipping cream or ice cream if desired.

Variation: Serve warm for a winter breakfast or brunch with a serving of breakfast ham or bacon and milk or cream on the side.

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GOLDEN RAISIN NUT-FILLED ROZKY
Slovak Pastry

Recipe makes about 50 3 inch pastries
Inexpensive but time-consuming, this authentic specialty allows you to spend time instead of money, and smells wonderful while baking. The repeated folding and rolling of the layered dough results in many tender pastry layers. Decorticated cardamon just means the papery tan hull is removed, leaving little black or brown seeds whuch are then ground for use in the pastry.

Pastry
2 pounds butter, preferably European style unsalted
2 pounds (8 1/2 cups) self rising flour, divided
Juice of 2 lemons
6 egg yolks, well beaten
1 and 1/2 cups water

Raisin-Walnut Filling
1 cup soft butter
1 tablespoon decorticated cardamom seeds, crushed or ground
4 cups brown sugar
4 tablespoons evaporated canned milk
OR 1/2 cup whipping cream
3 cups golden raisins
2 cups chopped and crushed walnuts

Powdered sugar to garnish, about 2 cups

Take one half of the flour and cut in the butter as if making pie crust. This makes a buttery crumbly mixture.

Mix the remaining one half of the flour with the water, lemon juice and egg yolks. Knead for a full 20 minutes, or until it looks like blistery bubbles are forming under the skin.
Roll out on floured board to a rectangle of one-half inch thickness. If it is too springy to roll, let it rest 20 minutes and it will cooperate (the gluten relaxes).
Spread the crumbly mixture of flour and butter across 1/2 of the rectangle. Fold the other half over, capturing all the butter mix in a layer inside a dough "pocket", lightly pressing the sides together to keep the crumbs in. Then fold in half again. It will be almost 2 inches thick. Cover and place in refrigerator for 2 hours to relax the dough and firm the butter. I use a dish towel which I have wetted and wrung out as a cover.
While the dough is resting, make the raisin nut filling. Place the raisins in a sauce pan, add just enough water to cover. Simmer the raisins in water until puffed soft, stirring once or twice. Drain off the liquid. Let cool. NOTE: The raisin water is sweet and can be saved to cook oatmeal or as the liquid in a cookie or yeast bread recipe.
Finish the filling by melting the butter and mixing the cardamom into it. Then stir in the brown sugar and enough evaporated milk or cream to enable you to spread mixture easily. Next mix in the cooked, cooled raisins and the chopped nuts and blend well. Set aside.
Take the dough out of refrigerator and roll out once to 1/2 inch thickness, fold, cover and put back in refrigerator for 1 hour. It will be about 1 inch thick.
Repeat rolling and folding and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Remove the dough from refrigerator, place on floured board and cut into six flat parts. Roll out one part at a time to a rectangle of 1/8 inch thickness about 6x12 or 9x9 inches. Cut into 3 inch squares.
Spread some raisin-nut filling near the top edge and center and roll top edge to bottom. Press open corners together, so the filling will not leak out. The cookie looks sort of like a fat bed pillow. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet seam side down.
Bake on cookie sheets or thin baking pans in a 400 degree F oven for about 10 to 15 minutes. They should be just golden, not dark brown.
When cool and just before serving sprinkle some powdered sugar across the tops.

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Plain Old Yellow Cake from Scratch for 100
or 200 if you skimp...

2 18x26 inch "full sheet" pans, cut 6x9 for 108 large thin squares of cake
OR 5 9x13 pans cut 4x5 for 100 thicker squares
OR 9 dozen cupcakes
375 F. Oven
Warning: You need a commercial size (5 quart or larger) mixer that will beat the whole recipe at once to succeed. If you do not have a commercial mixer, make 1/2 or even 1/4 recipe at a time.

4 pounds (17 cups) all purpose flour
4 pounds (8 cups) granulated sugar
2 1/3 tablespoons salt
6 2/3 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/4 cup dry nonfat milk powder

1/4 cup vanilla extract OR imitation vanilla
3 1/3 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups water

4 1/2 c water
22 eggs, large (4 1/2 cups)

Variations:
Sift in 2-4 tablespoons apple pie spice, ginger, etc for a spice cake base.
Sift in 1 to 1 1/2 cups cocoa and add 2 additional eggs for light chocolate layers.

Grease and flour pan(s) and set aside. Preheat oven.
Sift together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and dry milk into mixer bowl. If using dehydrated eggs (see below

), they are added to the dry ingredients here.
Place the shortening and 1 1/2 cups water in the mixer bowl on top of the dry ingredients. Beat one minute at low speed, scrape down sides, beat 2 minutes longer.
Combine eggs, 4 1/2 cups water and vanilla. Add slowly to wet mixture while beating at low speed.
As soon as completely mixed, stop beater, scrape down bowl, then beat at medium speed 3 minutes.
Pour 1 gallon (about 7 pounds, 7 ounces) of batter into each 18x26 pan.
Bake thin sheet cakes 26 to 35 minutes, until done. Cool, frost if planned, cut each 6x9.
Bake 9x13 pans 35 to 45 minutes, until done. Cool, frost if planned, cut each 4x5.



To substitute dehydrated egg mix, sift 11 ounces (2 3/4 cup) canned dehydrated egg mix in with dry ingredients. After the shortening is added, beat together vanilla and 4 1/4 quarts water and add as if adding the egg mixture.

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Brown Sugar Frosting (Large Batch) Recipe

1 batch frosts two full sheet cakes or six 9-inch (2 layer) cakes or 6 9x13 cakes:
Spread about 1+3/4 cups (1 lb) frosting on each cake.
OR 13 dozen cupcakes thinly, spread about 1 tablespoon frosting on each cupcake; OR 9 dozen thickly.

2 cups water
1/2 pound butter or margarine
2 ounces dry nonfat milk
2 pounds powdered sugar
3 3/8 pounds brown sugar
1 ounce vanilla extract

Combine brown sugar, butter or margarine and water. Heat to boiling; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat; pour into mixer bowl.
Sift together dry milk and powdered sugar; add slowly to cooked mixture while beating at low speed. Add vanilla, mix at medium speed 5 minutes or until smooth and of spreading consistency.
Pour and spread immediately on cool cakes.

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More about cake serving sizes

When you see several numbers or different numbers for the number of pieces in a certain size cake, the lower number is a generous “party serving” (such as a birthday cake) or dessert size piece, while the highest number is what to expect for the little pieces cut from a wedding cake. It is up to you, depending on your plans, to choose to “round up” or “round down” your cake servings. Consider the rest of the meal, whether or not you expect all your guests to eat cake, or if other desserts will also be served.

Number of servings
Number of servings
Size of sheet cakeNumber of servings
full sheet
18x26
70-110
96 2x2" wedding cake size pieces cut 8x12 or 48 dessert size cut 6x8
half sheet
12-13x18
single layer
40-60
48 2x2" wedding cake size pieces cut 6x8 or 24 dessert size cut 4x6
half sheet
12-13x18
double layer
Typical groom's cake,
AKA"kitchen cake
80-120
quarter sheet
9x13
24 2x2" wedding cake size pieces cut 4x6 or 12 dessert size cut 3x4 or 15 dessert size cut 3x5
Commercial cake layers Number of servings
Layer shape
and depth
6"8"10"12"14"
3" deep round6-910-1516-2422-3330-45
4" deep round8-1415-2530-3945-5665-77
4" deep petal6-89" 14-20 32-3815" 48-62

Date Bars OR 'Nana Custard Bars

18x26 baking tray- cut 8x16= 124 pieces or more
Baking the bottom layer first gives a toastier taste and crunch, You may omit this step unless you are using the banana custard filling.
These bars will keep, tightly wrapped and refrigerated, for up to 4 days. They can also be individually wrapped and frozen tp pack in lunches.

4 pounds of dates (pieces or chopped)
2 cups sugar
4 cups water
1 cup lemon juice
2 cups chopped walnuts
6 cups sifted flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
3 cups butter or margarine
OR may substitute 1/2 applesauce for half the fat
4 cups packed light brown sugar
6 cups quick oats

Cook first 4 ingredients until slightly thickened. Add walnuts. Set aside.
Mix crust ingredients well. Spread 2/3 of the mixture onto the baking tray. Bake approximately 15 minutes, until the bottom layer just sets.
Spread with date filling. Top with remaining 1/3 oatmeal crust.
Bake at 375 degrees until golden brown (approximately 20 minutes) or until set in the center.
Let stand in the pan on a rack until warm, then cut into squares.

Variation: May use any combination of finely chopped dried fruit and raisins to make the filling.

Variation: Banana Custard filling:
4 cups coarsely chopped dried apple or pear
4 cups hot water
16 large bananas, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (a great use for over-ripe bananas)
8 large egg
16 large egg whites OR 6 additional whole eggs
1 to 1 1/2 cups honey
1/2 tablespoon ginger or nutmeg

Soak the apple or pear in the water for just 15 minutes, then drain. The water is sweet and can be saved to make hot cereal.
Place the bananas, egg, egg whites, honey, and ginger or nutmeg in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the apples and pulse just until combined.
Pour the banana mixture onto the hot crust, sprinkle the remaining oat mixture evenly over the top, pat gently.
Return to the oven and bake 20-25 minutes more or until set in the center. Let stand in the pan on a rack until warm, then cut into bars. Remive from pan. Store custard bars airtight and refrigerated.

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