Whipped Cheesecake Strawberry Fool

I really like whip cream, especially when it’s mixed with cream cheese.  It kind of reminds me of cheesecake – another dessert I adore.  And there’s nothing I like better on cheesecake than strawberry topping.

This would be the perfect dessert to serve on Valentine’s Day!

Whipped Cheesecake Cream

8 ounces cream cheese, full fat

1 – 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 cups heavy cream

Whip the cream cheese and the powdered sugar on low in a medium mixing bowl.  When it’s creamed together, slowly add the cream while continuing to beat to loosen the consistency of the cream cheese.  Continue to beat until fluffy and thick.

I sample the whipped cream at this point and determine if it’s sweet enough for me, if not, add more sugar until desired sweetness.

Strawberry Topping Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

dash of salt

1/3 cup water

4 cups fresh or frozen strawberries

Place the sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan and whisk together to break up any lumps.  Then add the water and stir well.  Add in the strawberries.

Over medium heat, cook and stir until the sauce is thick and just starting to boil.  Stir for 1 to 2 minutes more, then take off the heat and let cool.  Store in the refrigerator.

To Assemble: Simply scoop whipped cheesecake into serving dishes, top with strawberry topping, and continue layering!

I was able to make the “heart”* with the strawberry topping by first layering in the whipped cheesecake, then spooning two small teaspoons of topping next to each other against the glass.  I then added another layer of whipped cheesecake.  I took a skewer (flush against the glass) and pushed it through the middle of the two teaspoons of topping inside of the glass and pulled the skewer back through the middle of the dessert to take it out.  This only worked for me once!  So it’s a bit tricky, but makes for a stunning presentation.  Good luck if you try it!

*I saw this technique in Woman’s Day magazine in 2006.  They used pudding and seedless jam (for the hearts).  I may have to try that next time and see if I get better results.

Linking to Tidy Mom, Chef In Training, Something Swanky, Thirty Handmade Days, Crumbs and Chaos, Inside BruCrew Life

Blueberry Banana Scones

I set out to help my sister create this recipe after my mom and her raved about having blueberry banana scones at a local tea shop.  I thought the flavor combination was so unique that I was up for the challenge.

Top these with Meyer Lemon Curd, like they do at the tea shop!

Blueberry Banana Scones

3 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon baking powder

pinch of cinnamon

1 stick of chilled butter, unsalted – cut into Tablespoons

1/2 cup mashed ripe banana

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 – 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

Heat the oven to 350.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment and dust lightly with flour; set aside.

Mix the first 5 ingredients together in a medium bowl.  Cut in the butter until crumbly.  Toss in the blueberries to coat with the butter/flour mixture.  Set aside.

In a blender, puree the banana, vanilla, and buttermilk together until smooth.  Pour into the flour/blueberry mixture.

Next, add 1 cup heavy cream to the mixture.  Stir gently – the dough should be moist, but not sticky, and all of the flour should be moistened.  Add more heavy cream if necessary.

Turn the dough out onto the parchment-lined cookie sheet.  Gently roll the dough into a ball and lightly dust the top of the dough with flour, then flatten and pat it into the shape of a square (about 1 1/2 inches thick).

Cut the dough into squares with a sharp knife.

In a small bowl, beat 1 egg and 1 Tablespoon of cream together until well combined.  Brush the egg wash on the tops and sides of the scones.  Place the scones into the oven for 40-45 minutes until golden brown.

Check for doneness by slicing into the cuts (previously made) with a butter knife – if the knife comes out clean, they’re done!

Slide scones (and parchment) onto a cooling rack.  Eat scones plain, or top with Meyer Lemon Curd.

Linking to Tidy Mom

Meyer Lemon Curd

This lemon curd is really delicious.  You can eat it straight from a spoon, in large mounds on top of pound cake sprinkled with berries, spread on toast, scones, or biscuits, or sandwich it between soft layers of white cake.  It’s really versatile!

At the Tea Party ladies were spreading the curd on Blueberry Banana Scones (recipe coming soon). . .yum!

Meyer Lemon Curd  Adapted from here

6 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup fresh meyer lemon juice (about 3-5 lemons)

2 Tablespoons lemon zest (using zester, if possible)

1 stick of cold unsalted butter, cut into Tablespoons

Before you start on the curd, you’ll need to set up a separate saucepan with a sieve propped on top so that you’ll be able to strain any cooked egg pieces and the zest.  Set this aside.

For the Lemon Curd:

Whisk the egg yolks and the sugar together in a medium saucepan over medium heat for 2 minutes (set the timer!).  Then whisk in the lemon juice and zest; continue whisking (constantly) for 10 minutes.

Remove from the heat and pour through the sieve (into the clean saucepan).  Gently stir the curd and zest around in the sieve to push most of the curd through.  Then remove the sieve and add the butter 2 Tablespoons at a time to the lemon mixture – whisking (with a new, clean whisk – you really don’t want chewy bits in your smooth, creamy lemon curd!) until completely combined.

When the butter has been completely incorporated, spoon into jars (with lids).  Keep in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks.

Linking to I Heart Naptime, Tidy Mom

New Year’s Birthday Tea Party

Happy 2012 – I’m behind on the whole welcoming the New Year thing, but what else is new!  I’m either early or late – I just can’t seem to just simply be timely.

After the hustle and bustle of the Christmas Holiday, then New Years, my siblings and I got set to celebrate our mother’s “milestone” birthday with a surprise tea party.  It was quite the big to do since we all live in separate states, but (if I do say so myself) it seemed to go fairly smoothly.

I’ve included some of the food pictures (I know it looks sparse, but there was more food – I promise!) and if there’s a asterick (*), I’ll be sending out a future blog post with the recipe!

Here I am with my sister and sister-in-law, hosting the tea.  Hats or fascinators were mandatory.

My husband even pitched in and made his famous Chicken Cordon Bleu.  To let you in on a little known secret about my husband - he’s a phenomenal food stylist.  You wouldn’t think so by looking at him, but he is.  It’s his dirty little secret - just between us.

My sister makes a really great quiche*.  Miniature ones were prepared for the party, but I was only able to snag a picture of the larger one that was made with the leftover crust and filling.

My sister-in-law made these really pretty pinwheels with crescent rolls, boursin cheese spread, ham, and spinach.  Yum!

The dessert shots* are layers of vanilla pudding and Nilla Wafers topped with whipped cream.

Turtle Brownies, Sugar cookies with Buttercream, and Forgotten Meringue Cookies.

Queen of Hearts decorated sugar cookies served as party favors for the guests.

Meyer Lemon Curd*.  This one I was especially excited about.  See I live in a really small town – we basically have a Walmart Supercenter.  So when I discovered Meyer Lemons in the produce section, I broke into a dance.  Seriously, it wasn’t pretty.  So I grabbed two bags, made a batch of Meyer Lemon Curd, then shamelessly returned to the store for another two bags of Meyer lemons.

You might be wondering (at this point) what’s so exciting about Meyer Lemons?!?!  Well wait no longer, I’ll tell you!  They are a delicious cross between a lemon and mandarin orange, so they’re sweet and tart, without the mouth-puckering tartness of regular lemons.

Just That Kind of Week

I know I’ve been MIA lately.  But it’s just been that kind of day, week, . . .month.  You know what I mean, because I’m sure you’ve been there too.  To sum it up I’ll just tell you about my Wednesday.  I ran a few errands, then returned home to my son vomiting on my bedroom carpet (on his way to the bathroom).  He finally made it to the bathroom and continued his business in there.

I was hoping that was it, but it wasn’t.  To spare you the minute by minute details, he vomited the rest of the day – I cleaned the floors no less than five times.  He just couldn’t make it to the bathroom in time, so my husband mentioned that I should give him a trashcan (why didn’t I think of that?).  While that greatly reduced my cleaning, my boy still couldn’t even hold down water - it went in and shortly thereafter it made a return trip back out.

I took him to the doctor – they insisted due to hydration issues.  We got some anti-nausea medicine and went on our way.  More vomiting.  I got the other kids ready for church class and then realized that one of them had to return a square of fabric with a drawing, embroidery, or some kind of picture detailing what gives them peace.  Talk about ironic.

Needless to say (being the super mom I am), I got the kids mixed up, wrote the wrong name on the fabric square, ranted and raved about it.  Then set off to make it right in the ten minutes I had to fix the problem I caused.  Well, you’ll be happy to know that I found a cupcake square I had cut out of an old kids shirt (which works because she said that baking cupcakes gives her peace) and sewed it over the wrong name I’d written (in sharpie, sigh).

I thought I was home-free and that another crisis had been averted, until I flipped it over and realized (miraculously) I’d somehow stitched another piece of fabric to the other side at the same time.  This could only be happening to me!  And I’m not proud of this, but I’m just trying to get by (you understand, right?) so I did what any desperate, tired, overworked mother would do and I just cut out the obtrusive fabric as best I could and sent it on its way.  Shameful (head hanging in defeat), I know, but who’s ever going to see the back of it, right?  Who am I becoming?!  Sigh.

This is what I ended up with. . .

I’ll be back in a few days with food, fun, and a few recipes!