Raspberry Cheesecake

 

Chocolate crust, creamy cheesecake, sweet yet tangy raspberry sauce . . . yum! These flavors and textures match together perfectly. This cheesecake recipe holds a special place in my life because it was the very first cheesecake that I ever made 15 years ago. Holy cow, 15 years ago! Has it really been that long? My very first Taste of Home magazine (mailed to me 15 years ago) introduced me to this delicious dessert and while I have made other cheesecakes since then it is definitely one of my favorites. Enjoy!

Raspberry Cheesecake
Crust:
2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs, crushed
1/3 cup butter, melted
3 tablespoons sugar

Raspberry Sauce:
1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Filling/Topping:
3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 egg whites
1 cup whipping cream
2 to 3 tablespoons orange juice
1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed

Combine the three ingredients for the crust; press into bottom and 1-1/2 inches up sides of a greased 9-inch springform pan. Chill one hour or until firm.


Puree raspberries in blender. Press through a sieve; discard seeds. Add water if necessary to measure 1 cup. In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in raspberry juice; bring to a boil. Boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice and set aside.


In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, and vanilla until fluffy. Add egg whites; beat on low just until fluffy. Add egg whites; beat on low just until blended. Stir in cream. Pour half of filling into crust. Top with 3/4 cup raspberry sauce (cover and refrigerate remaining sauce). Carefully spoon remaining filling over sauce.


Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until center is nearly set. Remove from oven; immediately run a knife around pan to loosen crust. Cool on wire rack 1 hour. Refrigerate overnight. Add orange juice to chilled raspberry sauce; gently fold in raspberries. Spoon over cheesecake.


Makes 12-16 servings

Mini Lemon Chiffon Cake

Doesn't this cake just scream summer? To me it definitely looks like a dessert that should be eaten in the heat of a July evening. Red, white, and blue . . . fresh, summer fruits . . . light, airy cake . . . fluffy, slightly sweet whipping cream. Yum, yum, yum.

I made a lemon chiffon cake in a mini bundt size for individual portions. Strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries were our fruit of choice this time, but you could easily do another summer fruit and have it taste as equally delicious. The homemade whipped cream is just heavy whipping cream whipped to medium stiff peaks with a bit of powdered sugar and vanilla added in for flavor. Enjoy!

Mini Lemon Chiffon Bundt Cakes
Makes 4 mini bundt cakes

1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 + 1/8 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt, preferably kosher
1/8 cup vegetable oil
2 medium egg yolks
1/8 cup water
1/8 cup lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon lemon zest, grated
3 medium egg whites
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar


Preheat the oven to 325�F. Spray bundt pans with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder. Add in all but 3 tablespoons of sugar, and all of the salt. Stir to combine.

In a small bowl combine the oil, egg yolks, water, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Whisk thoroughly. Combine with the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly for about one minute, or until very smooth.

Put the egg whites into a stand mixer, and beat on medium speed using a whisk attachment, until frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat on a medium speed until the whites hold soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining sugar and beat on a medium-high speed until the whites hold firm and form shiny peaks.

Using a grease free rubber spatula, scoop about ? of the whites into the yolk mixture and fold in gently. Gently fold in the remaining whites just until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack.

To unmold, run a knife around the sides to loosen the cake from the pan. Invert the cake on the wire rack and cool completely.

Can be refrigerated for up to 4 days. Serve with whatever accompaniments you wish.

4th of July

Happy birthday, America!!!

Something light, fun, and festive for celebrating Independence Day. Strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries layered with homemade whipped cream. Red, white, and blue! Enjoy!

Brownie Trifle

Doesn't this dessert look amazing! I mean, if you are into brownies and chocolate pudding and whipped topping and strawberries and more chocolate that is. It tastes every bit as good as it looks! Not only that but it is so easy to make and yet it looks like you fussed and fretted for hours. Okay, maybe not hours, but it really is an easy dessert to throw together. Enjoy!


Brownie Trifle
Source: Wilton Brownie Fun!

1 box of brownie mix
eggs, water, and oil to prepare mix
1 package (5.1 oz) chocolate instant pudding mix
2 cups cold milk
6 cups thawed frozen whipped topping, divided
4 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1/2 cup chopped chocolate candy bars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray pan with vegetable spray. (Use an 8" or 9" square pan unless your mix is for a 9x13 pan size.)

In large bowl, prepare brownie mix following package instructions. Spread into bottom of prepared pan. Bake 20-25 minutes; set aside to cool completely. Cut into bite-size pieces.

In large bowl, prepare pudding mix according to package instructions using only 2 cups of milk. Chill 5-10 minutes or until slightly thickened. Gently fold in 2 cups of whipped topping.

In 3-quart trifle or other clear bowl, place 1/2 the brownie pieces. Top with 1/2 of the pudding mixture, 1/2 of the remaining whipped topping, and 1/2 of the sliced strawberries. Repeat layers with remaining ingredients. Sprinkle with chopped chocolate pieces.

Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

Makes about 12 servings

Mini Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

 
We don't typically celebrate half birthdays around here but on June 3rd we decided we would make an exception to the rule. You see, that was the day our little guy turned 4 1/2 years old and in the week before this momentous occasion we received our first foster care placement. While this has been a good thing it has also come with some adjusting. And since he has done such a great job with learning how to share his toys as well as his mom and dad we decided that we wanted to mark the date with something special just for him.

He was pretty excited! While you might not think a 4 year old palate would be refined enough for cheesecake you would be mistaken. This boy knows his cheesecake. I think this may be the first one I've actually baked since he was old enough to eat it, but he has eaten it elsewhere and it is a dessert that has stuck in his mind like glue!

While this is not my favorite cheesecake recipe, I like this particular one because it goes with our mini cheesecake pans and it is so easy to cut it in half and make only one little mini that is perfect (maybe still a bit much) for our little family. It is a bit on the sweet side for me, if you can imagine that, but I manage to muscle some down every time. Enjoy!

Mini Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
Makes one mini (5.5"/2 cup) cheesecake

Crust:
1/2 cup graham crackers, crushed
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:
12 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup + 1/8 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 medium eggs
4 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Brush bottom and sides of mini springform pan with a bit of melted butter.  Chill in the freezer until ready to use.

In a small bowl using a fork, mix crushed graham cracker, 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar, and butter. Press onto the bottom of springform pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 5 minutes. Set aside.

Using a mixer, mix cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time on low speed until blended. Add chocolate chips or any other mix-in at this time. Pour batter over the crust. Place pan on cookie sheet.

Bake at 300 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until centers are almost set. Cool before removing from ring of pan. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

**You can add any topping you would like. We chose to add fresh raspberries and a bit of chocolate syrup to this one.**

Chocolate Fondue

A post on a food blog that doesn't have much cooking or baking involved. Hmmmmm . . . sounds pretty good if you ask me.We love fondue for dessert! We like fondue for dinner as well, but we haven't ventured to make that at home yet and it's a bit too spendy to eat it out very often. The place where we typically have our dessert brings out a plate with pieces of pineapple, strawberry, banana, pound cake, brownie, marshmallow, and cheesecake on it. I know, over the top, right. You chose milk, dark, or white chocolate (if you eat dinner there you can pick from many more flavors) and you get to dipping. It is soooo good!

Well, one night a few weeks ago my husband and I were hanging out after our son went to bed and I suddenly got the brilliant idea of using the chocolate bar in our cupboard for a little impromptu fondue. We happened to have some pineapple (although it was pretty ripe by then), strawberries, a banana, and some pretzels. No cheesecake, pound cake, or brownie but who would have all three of those sitting around their house at the same time anyway. Not me, otherwise I'd be in some serious trouble.  

There really isn't a recipe per say. I just melted the chocolate in my fondue pot, cut up some fruits and grabbed some pretzels and got to dipping. I will say that I added in a bit (and I mean a tiny bit) of a chocolate bar with chili and that was a mistake for me. Oh my goodness, the fact that it was heated it made it so much hotter and the taste of the chili totally overran the chocolate. I'm all about the chocolate. I would not do that again. I guess you live and learn. Enjoy!

Don't you love the 1970's electric fondue pot! My friend picked this up for me 

at a garage sale for less than $2 when she heard how much I liked dessert fondue. 

Glorious, glorious chocolate!

Peeps S'Mores

 

Yes, that is a photo of the finished product! If you�ve ever had a S�more you know that they traditionally consist of graham crackers, a piece of a chocolate bar, and a toasted marshmallow or two. I have heard of others who change up an ingredient or two but not me. I am a traditionalist when it comes to S�mores. It has to be one whole graham cracker, � of a Hershey chocolate bar, and two toasted marshmallows. That has always been my recipe for S�mores. That is until now.

My friend (thanks, Sheila!) linked to a posting of someone who made S�mores using a Peeps chick in place of the marshmallows. Since we happen to be out camping while the Peeps are available I thought this would be a great opportunity to try it out.

 

Doesn�t it look like the chick is staring at me begging me not to put him in my S�more? 

 

He wasn�t so lucky, as you can see. After his toasting he almost looks a bit more like a rubber ducky, huh. I guess the caramelizing of his sugar gave him that look. And the poor guys� eyes are gone and his beak is a toasty brown.

Have I become a convert of Peeps S�mores? Nope, not a chance. I found that while they were certainly the same sugary sweet as a traditional S�more, the marshmallow peep either didn�t get hot enough or wasn�t big enough to even start melting the chocolate bar. And I have to say I love my chocolate bar oozing out of the graham cracker along with the toasted marshmallow. So, it was fun for a change of pace but we�ll be sticking with the traditional S�more around this campsite. Enjoy!

Trifles

These are actually trifles! What I mean by that is that they are trifles, as in the dessert, but they are also trifles, as in a small quantity of something. I kind of deconstructed my daring bakers challenge when the spongecake didn't work out to my satisfaction and decided instead to bring all the components to our dinner at our friends' house. I whipped up a quick batch of yellow cake as well as some made-from-scratch chocolate pudding. You can see I got my chocolate fix! Woohoo!

I used our friends' stemless wine glasses (which I then came home and promptly bought a set of) to create a layering of yellow cake, raspberry mousse, crushed almond cookies, more yellow cake, lemon mousse, more crushed almond cookies, and topped it off with a few slivered almonds. (My picture doesn't show the double layer of cake because my husband scarfed down the remaining cake before I could tell him I was trying to get a picture of the trifle. Oh well, that's technically what it's there for, right?)

For the chocolate version, I still used the yellow cake, then topped it with chocolate pudding, crushed chocolate cookies, more yellow cake, more chocolate pudding, and more crushed chocolate cookies. Magnificent! It was the chocolate fix I was looking for the other day. I found finally found it!

The yellow cake was just out of a box. I thought after spending so much time on the spongecake the day before and not having it be to my liking I would just go with something I was confident would give the taste and texture I was looking for. The raspberry and lemon mousse recipes can be found on my last post, click here. The almond cookie recipe is still coming so hold on just a little bit longer. That leaves the best for last, chocolate pudding! Enjoy!


Chocolate Cream Pudding
Makes 6 to 8 servings

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Combine sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt in a heavy saucepan; add milk and egg yolks. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils; boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat; blend in butter and vanilla. Pour into bowl or individual dessert dishes; press plastic wrap directly onto surface. Cool; chill until set.

Triple Berry Crisp

 
I always love a recipe that is easy to make, tastes great, and is healthy for you. This recipe for triple berry crisp is one that would fit in that category. I found it one day while reading the box of my Cascadian Farms granola, which then led me to their website, which then led me to this delicious recipe.

You can use any combination of berries that please your palate. I have used raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, tayberries, and blackberries. The website recipe uses frozen berries which I have used, but I love it when I have fresh berries instead. I just make sure that whatever I am using I have a total of 28 ounces of berries in my recipe.

I have also used vanilla ice cream as a complement, but my favorite is fresh whipping cream since I can control the amount of sugar and ingredients in it. Wow, typing up this post makes me really want a serving of it right now. Enjoy!

Triple Berry Crisp
Makes 6 servings

8 ounces blueberries, fresh or frozen
10 ounces strawberries, fresh or frozen
10 ounces raspberries, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups Cascadian Farms oats & honey granola, or another granola
ice cream or whipping cream, if desired

Heat oven to 375 degrees. In an ungreased 8-inch square baking dish, mix berries, sugar, and flour until fruit is coated (do not thaw if using frozen berries). Bake 10 minutes (20 minutes if using frozen berries).

Stir. Sprinkle with granola.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes longer, or until light golden brown and bubbly. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm with ice cream or whipping cream.

Daring Bakers - Ice Cream Petit Fours

The August 2010 Daring Bakers� challenge was hosted by Elissa of 17 and Baking. For the first time, The Daring Bakers partnered with Sugar High Fridays for a co-event and Elissa was the gracious hostess of both. Using the theme of beurre noisette, or browned butter, Elissa chose to challenge Daring Bakers to make a pound cake to be used in either a Baked Alaska or in Ice Cream Petit Fours. The sources for Elissa�s challenge were Gourmet magazine and David Lebovitz�s �The Perfect Scoop�.

Where to begin? The challenge this month was basically to brown butter and use it in a pound cake that was then used in Baked Alaska or Petit Fours. I have wanted to make both of these desserts for a while now and while I thought about making both I decided that our budget, waistlines, and sanity couldn't handle completing both. Therefore, since the Petit Fours could be divided easily between more people, leaving less for me to eat, I went with those.

I first made the ice cream which was easy enough because I used the same recipe I used last month, Toasted Almond and Candied Cherry from David Lebovitz. I fell in love with this ice cream last month and could literally feel myself biting into the chewy almonds just thinking about it. I didn't have any issues with this step because I felt like I had just whipped up a batch a short time ago and knew the steps, if not the measurements, by heart. (For that recipe, click here.)  

Next up, brown the butter and make the pound cake. I have to say that I have never specifically browned butter to include it in a dessert. I thought at first that this might be difficult for me since I wasn't sure at what point the butter would be browned, etc . . . However, upon making it I realized that I have indeed done this before in the form of making almond roca or toffee or any number of recipes for candies.

Yum! Doesn't that last picture look incredibly appetizing? It's almost like I just cleaned a grease trap or something. Believe it or not, that is my browned butter after sitting in the freezer for a bit. Mmmm, makes you want to stick a spoon in and eat it up. (Did you catch the sarcasm? I hope so.)

On to the pound cake. The batter mixed and baked up beautifully. I didn't exactly cut my cake evenly, but it worked well enough for its purpose.

Up until now I have followed the directions exactly. Notice I said, up until now. This is where I re-read the directions and realized that after reading them the first time about a week prior and then brushing up on the steps the day before I must have left out the middle. You know, the part that explained that you would be freezing and re-freezing overnight and re-freezing for at least an hour to get your Petit Fours to come out the way you want. Unfortunately, I couldn't follow those steps because I had guests who would be eating them a few hours later so I had to improvise.

I froze the cake so it was somewhat frozen when I slathered the ice cream between the layers. Instead of freezing the ice cream in the pan and then removing it and setting it on the bottom layer, I ended up just squishing scoops of ice cream between my hands and then patting them down in a somewhat even layer on the cake. I then put on the top layer of cake and stuck it back in the freezer to firm up before slicing.

I sliced half of the cake into skinny rows and made half of a batch of the chocolate glaze so that I could at least try to make Petit Fours for the guests I was having over for dinner. They were a bit rough around the edges but they still tasted good. The rest of the cake went back into the freezer to harden up overnight so I could play around with the look of the Petit Four the next day.

Ahhhh, the various stages of melting chocolate. Have I mentioned before that I love chocolate? While it was cooling, I was able to slice the cakes a bit more neatly and trim the rough edges away. I also was able to trim the top layer of cake a bit because that was thicker than the bottom layer.

When it came time to coat the cakes it wasn't a smooth process for me. There is a pun in there if you realize that I could not get a smooth coating of chocolate on the outside of those little cakes. It really didn't have so much to do with the ice cream melting and the cake sliding off, it was just that if the chocolate was thin enough to pour it was too hot for the ice cream and if it was cool enough for the ice cream it was a bit too thick to pour. After having some horrendously covered cakes, I made the decision to coat the top and have chocolate drizzle down the sides. Much prettier presentation and actually a nice amount of chocolate for the size of the dessert.

Although it was an interesting process, I love any excuse to make homemade ice cream, and it was on my Top 100 list of things to do, I probably won't be making these again, at least not the ice cream version. It was just a bit too much work, especially right now for our family. Who knows what the future holds though . . .

If you want the recipes for the Brown Butter Pound Cake and Chocolate Glaze, email me. Enjoy!

Strawberry Shortcake

Wow! Why in the world did it take me this long to get this post up? The bad thing is that it's been such a long wait and it wasn't even that great of a recipe. I know, kind of a let down, huh.

A while ago we had some fresh berries and some leftover whipping cream so I thought I'd whip up a quick batch of strawberry shortcake. I didn't have the time to peruse the internet for the best recipes out there so I went to my cookbook cupboard, grabbed out Betty, and flipped to page 143. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but in this particular case Betty definitely let me down. While I was whipping up the batter I was mulling over in my brain the fact that it really just sounded like plain old biscuit dough. I got past that and imagined the strawberries and whipped cream would somehow transform this blah dough into an amazing shortcake. Let's just say, it didn't. It tasted just like cut open biscuits with strawberries and whipped cream piled on top. I think there are definitely better shortcake recipes out there, in fact I've made them in the past. I'll post the recipe, but you can keep it mind that it will make better biscuits than shortcake. Enjoy!

Strawberry Shortcake (AKA Strawberry Biscuits)
Makes about 6 biscuits

1/3 cup shortening
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
----
1 quart strawberries
sugar
--------
sweetened whipped cream

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Cut shortening into flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, the baking powder and salt with pastry blender until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in milk just until blended. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Gently smooth into a ball. Knead 20 to 25 times. Roll 1/2 inch thick. Cut with floured 3-inch cutter. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Split crosswise while hot. Fill and top with strawberries and whipped cream.

Daring Bakers - Swiss Swirl Ice Cream Cake

The July 2010 Daring Bakers� challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita�s world � life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that�s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.

Isn't this cake the bomb? I mean, literally it is a bombe, and who can't fall in love with a cake that looks this delectable! Out of all of my Daring Baker's challenges this one probably took me the longest, but I think it just may have been the most fulfilling challenge I have completed as of yet. I absolutely adore ice cream, especially homemade, and if you pair that with cake and hot fudge then I'm over the moon.

I started by going to the library and checking out The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz. I was amazed at all the different flavors. Avocado, black pepper, basil . . . wow! But I have to say that as amazing as those flavors sounded I am usually drawn to something right away and no matter how hard I look I just keep coming back to that recipe or item. For me it was the toasted almond and cherry ice cream. I loved the look (as I've mentioned before I'm very visual) and the flavors and textures sounded fantastic. I knew that chocolate would be great paired with that so I knew I was going to make the swiss roll a chocolate flavor as well as the hot fudge for the center of the bombe. I kept wavering a bit on the second flavor of ice cream because I wanted to try something new but I also wanted a flavor to compliment the toasted almond and cherry. In the end I went with a chocolate with mini chocolate chips mixed in.

I first made the chocolate ice cream. It was a great experience and very easy since I had just made vanilla about a week ago. The process was pretty much the same. I chose to make a custard style because I wanted the ice cream to set well and for it to be rich and creamy like ice cream as opposed to ice milk. Once the ice cream was finished churning I mixed in the mini chips and stuck it in the freezer for the few days until I could assemble the whole cake. (See below for recipe) 

Next up was the toasted almond and cherry ice cream. Fresh cherries from the local farmer's market . . yum! Pitting them was an interesting process and a new one for me. After the cherries were candied and the almonds were toasted and chopped, it was time to make the ice cream. This recipe was also a custard style ice cream that required you to steep the almonds in the cream for about an hour. After they were finished steeping you were told to squeeze out the almonds to get all the cream and then discard the almonds. Who in the world is just going to discard over a cup of finely chopped almonds that have been steeped in a sweet, cream? Not me! Those babies went into a ziploc bag and into the fridge where they are waiting to become a crust to a pie or something equally delicious. I probably could have sat there with a spoon and just eaten bite after bite of these almonds. (See below for recipe) 

Never having made a swiss roll cake before I have to admit I was a teeny bit nervous. Especially with how many people were mentioning that their cakes cracked and fell apart. I really didn't want make more than one so I was hoping I'd get it right the first time. Thank goodness it went off pretty much without a hitch. I ended up using pillowcases to wrap the cakes in because I didn't have thin enough dishtowels. That, and you need about six hands: Two to roll the cake, one to hold down the pillowcase while the other is using a spatula to make sure the cake doesn't stick to the pillowcase, and two for taking a picture of it! (Click here for recipe)

The fudge sauce went together quickly. I don't know if mine thickened up quite as much as it was supposed to but it was thick enough once it sat in the freezer overnight. (Click here for recipe)

Although the process to assemble was quite lengthy if you waited for each layer to freeze it wasn't terribly difficult. The thing I wish I could have changed was making sure that the bottom layer of plastic wrap was smooth so that my cake and whipped cream didn't have little wrinkle lines. This was a fantastic challenge, and absolutely perfect for a hot summer's day! Enjoy!