This recipe for Vanilla Cake Squares takes me back to my Advanced Foods class at Orleans High School. I loved that class. We studied the cuisines of different countries. For one particular assignment, one of my best friends and I interviewed a wonderful local German woman about some of her favorite recipes. I was particularly taken with her recipe for Vanilla Sticks. Hers WERE sticks. She had a special pan that made them long and narrow. I would later make them at home with a similar pan that my momma had, but they taste fantastic in any shape! They are not overly sweet, and I would say that the texture is somewhat less dense than pound cake. The best part….they only have SIX ingredients!

Vanilla Cake Squares

SIX ingredients…butter, sugar, eggs, flour, vanilla and baking powder (BTW…only 1/2 of the butter is shown! Don’t want to confuse you.) 🙂

To make the squares…first cream the butter and sugar. Now add the eggs one at a time. Then gradually add your flour. Lastly, add the vanilla and baking powder and mix until combined. SIMPLE!!! I discovered that I had the PERFECT pan for these. The Pampered Chef Brownie Pan ROCKS! I used Pampered Chef’s large cookie scoop to fill the little sections, and interestingly, my batter was the exact amount needed!! It was as if this recipe was made for this pan. 🙂 I am sure a standard muffin pan would also work great. I just happen to like the squares.

These popped right out! I didn’t even need to run my knife around the edges.

Mixed Fruit with Orange Glaze

The Vanilla Cake Squares are delicious on their own, but I decided to fancy them up. This fruit and glaze recipe is actually another one we made in Advanced Foods to fill tart shells. Who says you don’t ever use what you learned in high school?!? 🙂 The glaze only has FIVE ingredients….sugar, cornstarch, salt, orange juice and water….even easier than the cake!

Combine 1/4 C sugar, 1 T cornstarch and a dash of salt in a pan.

Add 1/3 C orange juice and 3 T water.

Cook the five ingredients over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir for 1 minute. It will be beautiful and shiny now. Allow this to cool and combine with about 3 cups of your favorite mixed fruit. This is what I used: green seedless grapes, a fresh peach, raspberries, strawberries, a small banana and blueberries. I know I have mentioned it before, but I think that fruit is one of God’s greatest creations. Check out my fruit “platter” ideas HERE.

The Presentation

This is always my FAVORITE part. I LOVE coming up with beautiful ways to present beautiful recipes. Target’s Hearth and Hand with Magnolia collection came through again with some gorgeous green glassware that I mixed with glass domes, a tablecloth and antique napkins that I already had. (I recently found my large embroidered white tablecloth at Goodwill for $1.50! SCORE!) I decided I needed ONE MORE THING, so I grabbed these edible flowers from Hobby Lobby’s cake decorating section.

Isn’t the little edible flower a perfect touch?

Whatcha think? I think this would be ideal for a bridal brunch or a ladies’ luncheon. Here are the recipes….combined on one card!

I hope you are having a wonderful summer. Don’t forget to subscribe to my email list to receive my new posts as they are written. You will receive a great Wonton Appetizer recipe when you do! God bless!