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Garden Cakes
Garden Cakes with edible “dirt” make indulging in desserts so much fun! And when made with freshly-picked Wish Farms berries served up during this year’s 100-year anniversary of delivering sweetness from our fields to your homes, it adds the punctuation of berries in the cake to the berry on top!
Prep Time: 20 minutes 
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 26 flower pots; 4 – inch plastic cups
Ingredients
Garden Cakes:
- 1 (8 inch) round angel food cake, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 ¼ cups whole milk
- 2 (2.8 ounce) boxes of vanilla instant pudding
- 1 orange juice and zest
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups heavy cream, whipped with 2 tablespoons of sugar to between soft and firm peaks
- 2 pints Wish Farm berries, rinsed and tops removed
- 1 cup sugar; more to taste
- 2 lemons, juice and zest
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 (16 ounce) oreo* style cookies
Garnish:
- 13 each Wish Farm Strawberries, rinsed and halved
- 26 sprigs of mint or any herb/edible flowers
- 26 plants tags, optional
Directions
Make the pudding: In a mixer bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth, then add the milk, pudding powder, zest, and vanilla and mix. Transfer to a bowl and chill for a few minutes until it gets a bit firm. Then, gently fold the whipped cream with the chilled pudding. Scoop into a piping bag and reserve for assembly.
Make berry layer: Set aside ½ the Wish Farm berries. In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine Wish Farm berries, sugar, lemon juice and zest, and spices. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat, stirring frequently until very soft and juicy, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Taste and add lemon juice and more sugar, if necessary. If not using immediately, cover and refrigerate. When ready to serve, reheat the blueberry sauce until very warm and stir in the reserved Wish Farm berries.
Make “dirt”: Place the cookies in a food processor and grind until finely crumbled and looking like dirt.
Assemble the cakes: Put a couple of cubes of angel food cake in the bottom of the cup (or, canning jar or flower pot), spoon a few spoonfuls of spiced berries, pipe a layer of pudding cream on top, and then top with a layer of cookie crumbs. Repeat with the other cups.
Decorate with half of the Wish Farm strawberry a sprig of mint, herbs and/or flowers, and the stick with a plant tag.
Serve with a smile!
