A celebration calls for cakes and cookies

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/03/2025 (187 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

This week’s Homemade theme is admittedly self-indulgent.

My birthday is in March (happy Pisces season to all who observe!) and I’ve pulled together a selection of sweet, celebratory reader recipes for the occasion.

While I’m partial to a Dairy Queen ice cream cake and have happily eaten my share of Jeanne’s cakes, it’s fun to see the different kinds of desserts that have become family birthday traditions in other households.

Enjoy recipes for Mrs. Cookie’s Chocolate Chip Cookies from Irene Rajfur, Cheesecake with Lemon Jell-O from Donna Dzydz and One-Bowl Chocolate Cake from Barbara Larkin.

And thanks to everyone who’s sent in a dish to Homemade, past and present. Finding your recipe submissions in my inbox is a year-round gift.

Have a recipe you’d like to share for a future column? Fill out the submission form at winnipegfreepress.com/homemade.

Mrs. Cookie’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 625 ml (21/2 cups) all purpose flour
• 5 ml (1 tsp) baking soda
• 5 ml (1 tsp) salt
• 250 ml (1 cup) butter, room temperature and cubed
• 175 ml (3/4 cup) granulated white sugar
• 175 ml (3/4 cup) brown sugar
• 5 ml (1 tsp) water
• 5 ml (1 tsp) pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 500 ml (2 cups) Hershey’s Chipits chocolate chips

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix cubed butter until smooth. Gradually, add white sugar followed by brown sugar and mix until well incorporated. Add vanilla and water, mix until combined. Add eggs one at a time, mixing each egg in for approximately 40 seconds until smooth.

Gradually add the dry ingredients 125 ml (1/2 cup) at a time until the dough is blended and smooth.

Turn off the mixer and add the chocolate chips, stirring manually until incorporated. Let cookie dough chill in the refrigerator for an hour.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Grease cookie sheets and place generous tablespoons of dough 2-3 inches apart — you can press cookies down slightly if you wish.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the edges of the cookies are just starting to brown. Let cool on the pan for 10 minutes.

“This recipe came to us from a neighbour who generously made them for us as a gift. Our young child at the time named them Mrs. Cookies. The neighbour graciously shared her recipe and I began gifting my nieces and nephews with them for each of their birthdays, Easter and Christmas. They became well-loved and one of my nieces would try and save them to always have one until the next bunch came. The joy that it brings my family is worth making them over and over!”

— Irene Rajfur

Cheesecake with Lemon Jell-O

• 500 ml (2 cups) graham cracker crumbs
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) margarine, melted
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) sugar
• 85 g (1 pkg) lemon Jell-O
• 250 ml (1 cup) water, boiled*
• 500 g (2 pkg) cream cheese, room temperature
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) sugar
• 473 ml (1 carton) whipping cream
• 453 g (1 lb) frozen strawberries or blueberries
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) cornstarch
• Water
• Note: Replace 60 ml (1/4) cup of boiled water with 60 ml (1/4) lemon juice for a more lemony flavour.

Directions

For the crust, combine graham cracker crumbs, margarine and sugar in a bowl. Press mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 8 x 12-inch cake pan. Bake at 350 F for 10 minutes and let cool.

For the filling, stir the lemon Jell-O powder into the boiled water and let cool. To speed the process, place the container into an ice bath, stirring the Jell-O occasionally.

In a large bowl, stir the cream cheese and sugar until smooth.

In a separate chilled bowl, beat the whipping cream until stiff peaks form.

Add the cooled Jell-O to the cream cheese and mix well. Fold in the whipped cream. Pour mixture over the crust and refrigerate until set. (I usually make this a day before the event and refrigerate overnight so I can make the topping the next morning.)

For the topping, bring the strawberries or blueberries to a boil and reduce heat. If using blueberries, add 15 ml (1 tbsp) lemon juice and 30 ml (2 tbsp) sugar to the pot.

Mix cornstarch with enough water to create a slurry and add to the berries. Continue cooking until thickened. Let cool and spread over the cheesecake. Refrigerate until set and ready to serve.

“I first made this recipe in the ’90s. I don’t recall the source, but I’ve been tweaking it over the years. It quickly became a family favourite and I make it for special occasions. My two youngest children have birthdays in March. My son was a winter baby. My daughter’s birthday is five days later (as well as a few years), in the spring. When I would ask what cake they wanted for their birthdays, they both wanted the cream cheese with lemon Jell-O. One prefers the strawberry topping and the other prefers the blueberry topping, of course. I’ve probably made this cake for their birthdays for more than 20 years. It’s a lot of work, but worth the effort.”

— Donna Dzydz

One-Bowl Chocolate Cake and Frosting

CAKE

• 375 ml (1 1/2 cups) white sugar
• 425 ml (1 3/4 cups) white flour
• 5 ml (1 tsp) salt
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) cocoa powder
• 7.5 ml (1 1/2 tsp) baking soda
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) margarine or butter, softened but not melted
• 2 eggs
• 375 ml (1 1/2 cups) buttermilk*
• 5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla
• Note: To make buttermilk, add 22.5 ml (1 1/2 tbsp) vinegar to milk and let sit for 5 minutes.

FROSTING

• 250 ml (1 cup) brown sugar, not packed
• 1 egg white, unbeaten
• 45 ml (3 tbsp) cold water
• 2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) baking powder
• 5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla
• Raspberry jam, optional

To make the cake batter, combine all ingredients in the order listed in a large bowl or a stand mixer. With an electric hand or stand mixer, beat for 30 seconds on low, scraping the bowl. Increase speed to medium or medium-high and beat for 3 minutes, scraping the bowl once.

Preheat oven to 350 F and divide batter between two round cake pans. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove cakes from pans and let cool on a wire rack.

To make the frosting, add brown sugar, water and egg white to the top of a double boiler. While water is boiling, beat mixture with an electric hand mixer until thick and peaks form. Remove from the heat and add baking powder and vanilla, continue beating until just combined.

To assemble, place one cake, bottom up, on a platter. Spread raspberry jam or frosting (or both) over top. Place second cake, bottom down, on top and spread frosting over the entire cake.

“This recipe is from my mom. She used to enter baking in our local fair every year, winning 20 to 30 items each year. This recipe won many times and has become a constant at birthday celebrations. It is also a great recipe for starting cooks with always great results!”

— Barbara Larkin

eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com

Eva Wasney
Reporter

Eva Wasney has been a reporter with the Free Press Arts & Life department since 2019. Read more about Eva.

Every piece of reporting Eva produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.