FOOD: Summer Pizza, Red, White & Blue Cake

Published 12:00 am Saturday, May 29, 2021

Summer Pizza

• 1 tube (8 ounces) crescent rolls
• 1 tub (8 ounces) low-fat cream cheese
• 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 3/4 cup sliced cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup sliced black olives
• 1/2 cup chopped broccoli florets
• 1/2 cup chopped cucumber

Heat oven to 375˚F. In 9-by-13-inch baking pan, spread out crescent roll dough. Seal seams together to form one large rectangle across bottom of pan. Bake 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on rack.
In small bowl, mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise and garlic powder. Spread evenly over entire cooled crust. Top with mozzarella, tomatoes, olives, broccoli and cucumber. Cut into 12 squares and serve.

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Red, White & Blue Cake

• 1 package (2-layer size) white cake mix
• 2 teaspoons McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 teaspoon Blue McCormick Assorted Neon Food Colors
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons McCormick Red Food Color
• Nonstick spray
• 1 container (16 ounces) white frosting
• 1 cup raspberries
• 1/2 cup blueberries

Heat oven to 350˚F. Prepare cake mix as directed on package, adding vanilla. Transfer 1 1/2 cups batter to small bowl and tint with neon blue food color. Tint remaining batter red by adding cocoa powder and red food color. Pour each color batter into separate 9-by-5-inch loaf pans sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.

Bake blue-tinted cake 20-25 minutes; red-tinted cake 30-35 minutes. Cool cakes in pans 10 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely.

Trim cakes to remove rounded tops and edges. Slice red cake in half horizontally to form two thin layers. Place one layer on platter. Slice remaining red cake layer in half lengthwise. Slice blue cake in half lengthwise. (Blue and red cakes should be same dimensions.)

Frost red cake layer on platter with 1/3 frosting. Top with lengthwise slices of red and blue cake side-by-side. Frost with 1/3 frosting.

Repeat cake layer and frosting. Garnish with raspberries and blueberries to resemble flag.