Coconut Torte Day 2025 is on Thursday, March 13, 2025: No bake healthy desserts recipes suggestions for cooking fest?

Thursday, March 13, 2025 is Coconut Torte Day 2025. National Coconut Torte Day, March 13 - Food. National Coconut Torte Day

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Seems just 51 weeks ago we were last commemorating Coconut Torte Day with a delicious, damp, coconutty coconut torte. But no, apparently it's been an entire year! Say thanks to goodness it's rolled around again so soon. What could be much more stimulating compared to the scent of a birthday cake in the stove?

Not simply any birthday cake either. This will certainly need a minimum of 3 layers of sponge. However it's not regarding the sponge. It has to do with the filling. Creamy. Coconutty. Close your eyes, and act you're in Mexico ...

You intend to go all out? Good! So a regular birthday cake mix will probably do for the sponge. Since, keep in mind, it's not about the sponge. If you've a great dish of your own, wheel it out. For the dental filling, you'll require bunches of sour cream, scaled coconut and sugar. Whip all of it together, and smother the sponge in it, on all sides, and between. After that, devour.

The last thing you want to do on a hot Summer day is bake — cranking on the oven when it's already hot out sounds so unappealing. That's where no-bake desserts come in; they easily satisfy a sweet tooth, no oven required. And, because there's no baking involved, they usually take minutes to make and omit the need for overly processed ingredients. Whether you follow a raw, vegan, or gluten-free diet, one of these desserts will surely satisfy. And many of these treats are healthy to boot!

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Chilled Double Chocolate Torte: The No-Bake Version

No Bake Chocolate Crust:

2 cups pecans

1/4 cup cocoa powder

2 tbsp coconut oil (other light taste oil may work)

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp kosher salt

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Chocolate Avocado Mousse:

2 cups avocado flesh (approx 3 small avocados), pitted and scooped out

1/3 cup almond milk

2/3 cup pure maple syrup

1 tbsp smooth peanut butter (or other nut butter)

1 tbsp arrowroot powder

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup + 2 tbsp chocolate chips, melted

1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted if clumpy

Directions:

1. Crust: Oil a 7-10 inch springform pan and line it with a circle of parchment paper. In a food processor, pulse the pecans until crumbly. Be careful not to over process them as you still want them a bit chunky. Now add in the rest of the crust ingredients and pulse until just mixed. Scoop mixture onto prepared pan and press down firmly and evenly with slightly wet fingers or a spatula. Pop into freezer to set while making the mousse.

2. Chocolate mousse: Place all mousse ingredients (except chocolate chips) into food processor. Process until smooth. In a small bowl, melt your chocolate chips in the microwave and scoop melted chocolate into food processor mixture. Process until smooth.

3. Remove crust from freezer and scoop this mousse on top of crust. Smooth out as much as possible and then place in the freezer for 2 hours to firm.

4. Once firm, remove from freezer and allow to sit on the counter for about 5-10 minutes before serving chilled. Place leftover torte in the freezer wrapped and placed in a seal container.

Note that this torte should be served chilled as it gets soft at room temperature.

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Peanut Butter and Banana Smudgies.A healthy treat that's easy to make, has only 3 ingredients and is perfect for Summer.

Ingredients

2 ripe bananas

2 heaping tablespoons of all natural crunchy peanut butter

8 graham crackers rectangles (which makes 16 squares)

Directions

Yields: 8 Smudgie sandwiches

1. Peel the bananas and place them in a bowl.

2. Put two tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter in the bowl and mash the two together with a fork until creamy.

3. Place 8 graham cracker squares on a piece of foil. Use the fork to smear the banana and peanut butter mixture onto the crackers.

4. Then place a plain graham cracker on top to make 8 sandwiches.

5. Stack them so you have a row of four and then wrap them in the foil.

6. Place them in the freezer for at least six hours and enjoy.

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Peanut Butter and Honey Balls.Chock-full of protein, iron, and fiber, these tasty treats are delicious sources of healthy nutrients, but they're also bursting with flavor. I also love that these no-bake peanut butter and honey balls are made without the help of any processed foods.

Peanut Butter and Honey Snack Balls

Ingredients

1 cup peanut butter (an all natural PB is recommended — the only ingredient necessary is crushed peanuts)

1 cup honey

3 cups rolled oats (oatmeal)

1 cup of nuts or dried fruit (or whatever your heart desires)

Crushed nuts, granola cereal, or unsweetened coconut

Directions

Mix the first four ingredients together thoroughly. Form them into balls (makes about 10-12 depending on size) then roll them in the crushed nuts, granola cereal, or unsweetened coconut. Serve or refrigerate.

How do I turn regular chocolate cake batter into German choclate cake?

OK, Coconut-pecan frosting is not German. I should know, I am German. And neither is Schwarzwälder Kisch-Torte the only chocolate cake in Germany. Ergo, adding Kirsch/Cherry liquor to the batter mix won't get you anywhere, either. And adding Sauerkraut to the mix is (sorry I have heard it before promoted as THE genuine German recipe, but...) is totally unacceptable. We do not eat Sauerkraut every hour every day, and we do not depend on it to be added to everything we prepare in the kitchen. It certainly has nothing to do in a chocolate cake batter!

*ok, my little rant is over now, and I sincerely apologize to everyone!*

What I know, or perceived as the main difference in German vs American recipes for chocolate cake was that the American versions usually used cocoa powder, whereas the German recipes use molten chocolate. And the German chocolate, that is. When I was living in the US, I usually used the "German sweet Baking chocolate" or "German Bakers chocolate" or however it was called, I forget. I got it at Kroger's in the Bakery aisle. You can, of course, use any kind of German chocolate you can find, and if a store close to you has "Milka" chocolate or "Ritter Sport", try with those. I'm sure the results are worth it. You would also use "Vanillezucker", sugar that has vanilla-aroma in it. In Germany, it comes in small paper satchels, I think its 15g, or about three teaspoons/ 1 tablespoon. I could not get that at Kroger's, though, so I substituted two to three drops of vanilla aroma for it.

Oh, I usually got two packs of chocolate, melted one for the batter and chopped half of the other to get chocolate chips. And I usually baked the cake in a loaf-form and covered it with molten chocolate (yep, that's where the other half of the second bar went) when it had cooled out.

Germans don't usually use the American kind of "frosting". We either use icing, or some kind of really hard jello (Tortenguss) for biscuit cakes with fresh fruit on top, or we use butter creme, whipped cream with or without flavor, marzipan as a cover, or any kind of molten chocolate.

Other than that: We all bake with sugar, flour, eggs and the usual stuff. Germans don't eat as sweet as Americans (in general), so you might take half a cup of sugar out of your recipe or use bittersweet chocolate.

I hope this helped, and again, I didn't want to step on any ones toes. Just some thoughts from a German who has lived in the US, and knows the differences and the difficulties.

Making cake from a box mix however I would like to jazz it up, anyone got any ideas?

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cake

=Prep Time: 20 min

Total Time: 50 min

Makes: 24 servings, one piece each

1 pkg. (2-layer size) devil's food cake mix

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 pkg. (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

6 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate

PREPARE cake batter and bake in 13x9-inch baking pan as directed on package; cool completely.

BEAT cream cheese and powdered sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium-low speed until well blended. Add peanut butter; mix well. Blend in 1 cup of the whipped topping. Spread over cake.

PLACE chocolate in medium microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 2 min. or until completely melted, stirring with wire whisk after each minute. Add remaining 2 cups whipped topping; stir until well blended. Spread evenly over frosted cake. Refrigerate until set. Store in refrigerator.

HAWAIIAN SUNSET CAKE

4 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1 1/2 cup milk

small vanilla instant pudding

small box orange jello

1 box Orange Supreme Cake Mix

Mix all ingredients together. Beat on med. for 3 min. pour into 3 9" greased and floured cake pans. Bake at 350 for 30 min. or until knife comes out clean. Cool layers before adding filling and topping.

FILLING

15 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained well

12 oz. frozen coconut

8 oz. sour cream

2 cups sugar

Remove as much liquid as possible from pineapple. Mix all ingredients. Take out 1 1/2 cup mixuture and reserve for topping. Spread filling between each layer and on top.

TOPPING: Mix together reserved filling mixture with 8 oz. COOL WHIP. Spread on sides and top of cake. Refridgerate overnite (or Even better if you could make a day ahead).

Black Forest Torte

Makes 12 to 16 servings

Ingredients

1 package DUNCAN HINES® Moist Deluxe® Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix

2-1/2 cups whipping cream, chilled

2-1/2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

1 (21-ounce) can cherry pie filling

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.

2. Prepare, bake and cool cake as directed on package.

3. Beat whipping cream in large bowl until soft peaks form. Add sugar gradually. Beat until stiff peaks form.

4. To assemble, place one cake layer on serving plate. Spread two-thirds cherry pie filling on cake to within 1/2 inch of edge. Spread 1-1/2 cups whipped cream mixture over cherry pie filling. Top with second cake layer. Frost sides and top with remaining whipped cream mixture. Spread remaining cherry pie filling on top to within 1 inch of edge. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Tip Chill the cherry pie filling for easy spreading on cake. Also, garnish the cake with grated semisweet chocolate or white chocolate curls.

Cookies ´N Cream Cake

Prep Time:

25 minutes

Ready In:

2 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients:

CAKE

1 (18.25-oz.) pkg. Pillsbury® Moist Supreme® White Cake Mix

1 1/4 cups water

1/4 cup oil

4 egg whites or 3 eggs

1 cup coarsely crushed creme-filled chocolate sandwich cookies

FROSTING

1 (16-oz.) can Pillsbury® Creamy Supreme® Vanilla Frosting

Preparation Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray bottom of 13x9-inch pan. Prepare cake as directed on package using water, oil, and eggs. With spoon, stir in cookies. Pour batter into prepared pan.

2. Bake at 350°F. for 32 to 36 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 1 hour or until completely cooled.

3. Frost cake with frosting. If desired, garnish with additional cookies.

Yield:

12 servings

Tips:

* Cake can be baked in two 9 or 8­inch pans; grease and flour. Bake at 350°F. for 25 to 35 minutes. Cool 15 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool 1 hour or until completely cooled.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

Makes 12 to 16 servings

Ingredients

1 package DUNCAN HINES® Moist Deluxe® Yellow Cake Mix

1 package (4-serving size) vanilla-flavor instant pudding and pie filling mix

4 eggs

1 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

1-1/2 cups finely chopped pecans

Confectioners' sugar for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 10-inch Bundt pan.

2. Combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water and oil in large mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed with electric mixer for 2 minutes. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 25 minutes. Invert onto serving plate. Cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired.

Fudge Ribbon Cherry Cake

1 (18.25 ounce) box chocolate cake mix

3/4 cup maraschino cherries, chopped

1 to 1 1/3 cups maraschino cherry juice, or as needed

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Confectioners' sugar, as needed

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Prepare cake mix with cherry juice instead of the water it calls for in the directions. Use rest of ingredients stated on the box. Fold in chopped cherries. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10-inch fluted tube pan.

In small mixer bowl beat cream cheese, margarine and cornstarch until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk, egg and vanilla extract; beat until smooth. Pour evenly over cake batter. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan, cool. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

Makes 12 servin

Special Filled Cake

1 Duncan Hines Lemon Cake Mix and fill between the layers with the

following:

1 pound ricotta cheese

2 Tbsp. chocolate bits, roughly chopped

1/3 cup sugar

1 Tbsp. grated orange peel

Combine and mix well the above ingredients. Use it as the filling between

the two cake layers. Of course it is too much filling, but it's universal

and keeps well. You can fill creme puff shells with it.

Peanut Butter Cake

1 pkg. yellow cake mix

1/2 c. creamy peanut butter

1/2 c. chocolate syrup

6 oz. chocolate chips

2 c. peanut butter

1 box powdered sugar

A little milk

Mix cake mix as directed then add 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter. Bake

in 2 layers for 20 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

--ICING:--

1/2 c. chocolate syrup

6 oz. chocolate chips

2 c. peanut butter

1 box powdered sugar

A little milk

Mix well and spread on cake

CREAM CHEESE TURTLE CAKE

Cake

1 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted

1 cup chopped pecans, lightly toasted

1 18.25-ounce box German chocolate cake mix

1 1/4 cups water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, cut into pieces, room temperature

Icing

1 3/4 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

5 tablespoons whole milk

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup purchased caramel-flavored topping or dulce de leche topping

For cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 13x9x2-inch metal cake pan.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup almonds and 1/2 cup pecans over bottom of pan.

Combine cake mix, 1 1/4 cups water, oil, and eggs in large bowl.

Using electric mixer, beat at low speed until mixture is moistened,

about 30 seconds. Beat at medium speed 2 minutes. Pour batter into

pan.

Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Gradually stir

in powdered sugar (mixture will form clumps); stir in cream cheese.

Whisk until smooth, about 1 minute. Pour cream cheese mixture in

large ribbons atop cake batter in pan. Using knife, swirl mixture

into batter (do not overmix).

Bake cake until tester inserted into center (in cake part only) comes

out clean, about 50 minutes (bottom of cake will be very moist). Cool

cake in pan on rack. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup almonds and 1/2 cup

pecans over cake.

For icing:

Mix sugar and cocoa in medium bowl. Bring milk and butter to simmer

in heavy medium saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low; add powdered

sugar mixture and whisk until melted. Add chocolate chips and whisk

until smooth. Mix in vanilla.

Drizzle warm icing over cake. Let stand until set, about 2 hours.

Drizzle caramel topping over. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; store

at room temperature.)

Makes 12 to 16 servings.

Mountain Dew® Cake

Serves : 8

Prep. Time : 1:00

18.25 oz. box lemon OR butter cake mix

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup Mountain Dew® - divided

4 eggs

3.4 oz. box coconut cream instant pudding mix

1/2 tsp. lemon extract

1/2 tsp. coconut extract

1/2 cup real butter

1 cup granulated sugar

-Beat together cake mix, oil, water, 1/2 cup soda, eggs, and pudding mix.

-Pour into a greased and floured bundt cake pan.

-Bake in a 325 degree oven for 1 hour.

-Simmer extracts, butter, sugar, and 1/4 cup soda for 5 minutes.

-Pour glaze over cake as soon as it comes out of the oven.

-Allow cake to cool completely before cutting.