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Saturday, April 7, 2012

Strawberry Deliciousness

Strawberry deliciousness is the new dessert of Spring 2012.  Don't believe me?  Well it's got fresh berries, whipped cream, cream cheese and angel food cake.  Believe me now??   You should cause it's good people.  Really good.  Like push your Mom down to get the last slice good.  I know this because last weekend the Witch and family were at a dinner party at a good friends home and dessert was this:  Strawberry Deliciousness, and instantly, as soon as the 13x9 pan entered the house 6 adults and 3 children, all swarmed in on the bearer of said dessert, oohing and aahing and asking when dinner was done so we could eat the deliciousness.  After dining on our delicious meal everyone was ready for dessert.

As the Deliciousness was being doled out I got the recipe from my friend who brought it.  The original recipe used Cool Whip in lieu of whipping cream.  The Witch doesn't use Cool Whip normally and ok, I'll be honest, I forgot to get a tub while at the store.  Imagine my delight when I remembered that I had heavy whipping cream in the fridge.  Problem solved with out a return trip to the store.  Yay!  The original also calls for strawberry syrup or ice cream topping to be poured over the berries.  Well, again my brain forgot that at the store, so I decided to macerate my berries in sugar and allow them to make their own syrup.  Easy and no HFCS!  I did go with a store bought angel food cake, however if you have a favorite recipe feel free to use it.  Pound cake would be a great alternative to angel food cake, too.

The rest of the dessert is simple assembly, cake, cream cheese whipped cream and berries.  The flavor is that of a cheesecake topped with berries, but not as heavy.  This dessert is rich and yet light all at once.  It is dangerous, too, cause you really could eat the whole pan yourself, it's that good!!  Strawberry Deliciousness really IS the dessert of Spring 2012!  I hope you enjoy it!

Strawberry Deliciousness
makes 12 servings 
Source: Inspired by Gail
1 lb strawberries, cleaned, hulled and diced
1 1/4 c sugar, divided
2 (8 oz ea) packs cream cheese
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 angel food cake

Begin by washing, hulling and slicing berries.  Put into a medium bowl and sprinkle 1/4 c sugar over berries.  Stir well and cover with plastic.  Allow berries to macerate (sit in the sugar) at room temperature for 1 hour.  This will draw out the berries juices and make it's own syrup.

Once the berries have sat for 1 hr you'll notice there's a lot more liquid in the bowl than you started with.  Using a potato masher smash berries.  You'll want to squish about half of the berries, releasing more of the juices, leaving some in larger chunks for texture as well as visual interest.

Using a mixer cream the cream cheese and remaining 1 cup of sugar.  Scrape down sides often and mix until cream cheese is lighter and fluffy.  Remove from mixer and reserve.

Whip the whipping cream with your mixer.  Once you have stiff peaks change to the blade beater (if using a stand mixer) and add the cream cheese mix to the whipped cream in thirds.

Get a 13x9 pan.  Cut the angel food cake into chunks about (1 inch) and put in the bottom of the 13x9 pan.  Using your hand press the cake into the bottom, compressing it somewhat.  Spread the cream cheese/whipped cream mix on top of the cake.  Pour berries and syrup over top of the cheese mix.  Cover and refrigerate until serving.


Nutrition Facts calculated at SparkPeople Recipe Calculator Amount Per Serving Calories 385.9 Total Fat 17.2 g Saturated Fat 10.6 g Polyunsaturated Fat 0.8 g Monounsaturated Fat 4.8 g Cholesterol 55.2 mg Sodium 368.8 mg Potassium 182.7 mg Total Carbohydrate 53.9 g Dietary Fiber 1.0 g Sugars 38.0 g Protein 6.3 g

6 comments:

  1. Your version (no coolwhip!) sounds much better than the original!

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  2. I love it "push your mom down" good. Too funny. Anything with Angel Food cake and strawberries gets my attention and throw in cream cheese? Move over Mom! :)

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  3. This so reminds me of a dessert my grandma used to make when I was growing up. Simple and perfect for the summer! I'm so making this very, very soon!! YUM!!!

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  4. I love desserts like this! So easy & so good! And it is strawberry season.

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  5. I have 2 questions...
    1. Why do you refer to yourself in the 3rd person. No offense but I've always found that annoying.
    2. Is there a reason you don't have a print button for your recipes? It makes it so much simpler than having to highlight the actual recipe, copy it, open Microsoft Word, paste it, then print it.
    **If you decide to update your website to make it easier for your subscribers, (I am actually one, even though it doesn't sound like it), maybe you could also add a recipe serving cutter. Probably not the actual technical terminology, but I mean if your recipe is for 12 servings, but you only want 3 servings, there's a slider you can use that cuts down all the ingredients to the amount you would need for that many servings. That way no one has to do any math equations! I'm going to try the strawberry, banana and pineapple salad with a few changes and see what comes about. I apologize, but I never used a recipe as it's written. I immediately like to make it my own.
    Thank you for the recipes. You may be the Kitchen Witch, but I'm a real WITCH... or you can substitute that W for a B. It wouldn't be the first time I've been called that!

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