raspberry cheesecakesicles

August 12, 2011 by 15 Comments
Remember in high school when you were forced to take a career aptitude test? You had to fill in little bubbles with #2 pencil, answering questions like “Do you enjoy completing the same task repeatedly?” and “Do you put others’ needs before your own?”
A few weeks later you were handed a list of possible careers. While my friends ooohed and aaahed at the prospect of becoming doctors and legal aides, I stared down at my own results list.
Jenny Puckett
Score: 0
Possible Career Matches: none
Likelihood of living in a van down by the river: 100%
“Well, shit,” I thought. “I guess I’m not suited to do anything.”
Yes, it’s a crap test. No, it won’t actually tell you what you’re going to do with your life. Because if it had any powers of prediction it would have said:
Jenny Puckett
Score: Awesome
Possible Career Matches: One Billion and a Half
Likelihood of crafting fabulous desserts: 100% 
Take my newest creation, for example. It combines the creaminess of cheesecake with the chill of ice cream. It has a crunchy graham cracker crust, requires no baking, and is so easy to make a toddler could do it (mine did).
All you’ll need are a few waxed paper cups and popsicle sticks, along with sugar, whipped topping (Cool Whip), raspberries, cream cheese, butter and graham crackers.

Place the graham crackers in the bowl of a food processor.

Pulse several times until fine crumbs form.

Melt the butter, pour it over the crumbs and squish together with your fingers until the crumbs are thoroughly moistened.

Scoop one heaping tablespoon into the bottom of each cup (or have a tiny helper do this part. It got messy but she was in seventh heaven).

Press the crumbs down firmly into the bottom of each cup. The more compact, the better. Lucy’s tiny pink “wine glass” was perfect for this step (yes, I find it weird that my 2 year-old has pretend wine glasses, too. I have no idea where they came from).

Stick them in the freezer for at least 15 minutes or until the crust is set.

In the meantime put the cream cheese, raspberries and sugar in a large bowl.

Blend with an electric mixer until smooth.

Fold in the whipped topping…

…and use a large freezer bag with the tip cut off to squirt the filling into each cup.

Insert the popsicle sticks into the center of the filling, careful not to push too far and break the crust. This is such a fun dessert to make with kids. Lucy was so proud of herself.

Stick ‘em all in the freezer for at least an hour before serving.

When you’re ready to eat, simply tear away the cup and you’re good to go.

These are so creamy and light, with fresh raspberry flavor and great texture from the crust. They’re such a fun, easy dessert—we’ll be making batches for the rest of the summer with blackberries, peaches, cherries and nectarines. They would be so fun for a party, too, as an alternative to cupcakes or ice cream cake.

Take that, career crap-titude test. I’m a dessert genius.

Raspberry Cheesecakesicles        printable recipe

This is a fun, easy summer dessert that’s great for parties. Substitute your favorite fruit or combination of fruits to make your own flavor! Makes 8 popsicles. 

Prep Time: 15 minutes Freeze Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

  • 7 graham crackers to yield 1 c graham cracker crumbs
  • 3 tbsp butter, melted
  • 8 waxed paper cups, 9 oz size
  • 8 popsicle sticks
  • 1 c raspberries
  • 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1/3 c sugar
  • 8 oz whipped topping (Cool Whip)

1. Pulse graham crackers in a food processor until fine crumbs form. Using your fingers, mix crumbs with melted butter until thoroughly moistened. Pour one heaping tablespoon of crumb mixture into each cup and press down very firmly. Freeze cups for 15 minutes or until crusts are hardened.

2. In a large bowl beat together raspberries, cream cheese and sugar using an electric mixer. Fold in whipped topping. Pour mixture into large freezer bag, cut off tip, and squeeze filling into cups. Insert popsicle sticks into center of filling, being careful not to pierce crust. Freeze for at least one hour before serving. Carefully tear away paper cups and eat.

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chocolate pie deluxe

October 18, 2010 by 8 Comments

I like to “borrow” things from my parent’s house when they are out of town. Toys for Lucy, the daily paper, $200, television sets—that sort of thing (just kidding, mom and dad!). So last week, when I went to take in their mail, I decided to borrow a few cookbooks. And I didn’t choose a James Peterson or Simply Classic, but this little well-worn, well-loved beauty.

Betty Crocker’s Cookbook, first printing, 1969. How could I resist a cookbook with fondue, a pimento cheese ball and an unidentifiable meat-looking round on the cover?

The recipe possibilities were endless. I could make Bavarian cream in a Jello mold. I would first, of course, have to locate a Jello mold.

An assortment of geometrically-shaped nibbles, perhaps?

Or how about corn bread with asparagus and cheese sauce on top? Served with canadian bacon and melon balls on the side, of course.

Maybe a creepy cat cake? Or my all-time favorite: a “Marshmallow Menagerie Cake,” replete with a variety of nightmare-induing marshmallow animals.

I kid, I kid. And although looking at a 40 year old cookbook was loads of sarcastic fun, there are actually some very timeless recipes within those pages that have allowed me to think back to basics. If you’re looking for a classic pot roast, pie crust or coffee cake, Betty is your gal.

Dave, upon flipping through the orange book, set his heart on her “Chocolate Pie Deluxe.” So off I went to try my first Betty Crocker recipe, circa 1969.

It’s a simple refrigerator pie with a filling of chocolate, marshmallow and whipped cream. Of course I had to tweak it a bit: more chocolate (and bittersweet, not milk, as the recipe suggests), dashes of salt here and there to enhance flavors, and some vanilla extract. Not huge changes, but changes nonetheless.

The result? Think of it as chocolate mousse in a graham cracker crust.

Betty had it goin’ on with this one: it’s insanely decadent. I’m glad I used bittersweet chocolate instead of milk chocolate, otherwise I’m afraid it would have been way too sweet.

And can we talk seriously about this crust? It is the most perfect graham cracker crust I have ever made. Her proportions were spot on, the butter-to-graham ratio close to godliness. It baked evenly and held together perfectly.

The mousse-like filling was dense but fluffy, although it left a little to be desired in terms of creaminess. It got me thinking that maybe using marshmallow creme instead of melting marshmallows might make a less gritty filling, but don’t quote me on that.

Overall, this flashback is a keeper. It may not have the nostalgia of a Jello mold or the intrigue of the Marshmallow Menagerie Cake, but it’s rich chocolate dreaminess is sure to stand the test of time.

And Mom, I’ve put your cookbook back. I know that the second you got home you were just itching to make an Olive Surprise Roast. I didn’t want to deprive you of that.

-RDG

Chocolate Pie Deluxe, adapted from Betty Crocker’s Cookbook

Makes one 9″ pie.

  • Graham cracker crust (see below)
  • 16 large marshmallows or 1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
  • 1/2 c milk
  • 12 oz good quality chocolate (I like Ghiradelli 60% Cacao for a richer, less sweet flavor)
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 c chilled whipping cream

Melt marshmallows, milk, chocolate and salt over a double boiler, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth. Transfer to an airtight container and chill until thickened.

Whip cream and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in the chocolate mixture. Pour into prepared crust. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours or until set.

Graham Cracker Crust, adapted from Betty Crocker’s Cookbook

Makes one 9″ pie crust.

  • 1 1/2 c graham cracker crumbs
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/3 c butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix together crumbs, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Pour in butter and mix with a fork until crumb mixture is evenly moistened. Press into pie plate and bake for 10 minutes. Let cool completely before filling.



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new york cheesecake with sour cherries

August 17, 2010 by 6 Comments

This weekend, I needed New York cheesecake. I craved it’s tall, creamy filling and crisp graham-crackery crust. I wanted it chilled and topped with tart fruit. I wanted to eat it with my feet soaking in Lucy’s kiddie pool, my sunglasses on and a glass of iced tea by my side. Trouble is, I don’t live in New York. And the most tolerable version I’ve found comes from a grocer who was out of stock. So I braved my 80° kitchen and set out to make my own version.

I’m terribly picky when it comes to cheesecake. For starters, it can’t contain any nuts in the crust—I don’t want a toothy crunch, although I’m okay with a small amount of hazelnuts crushed on top. It can’t use marscapone or ricotta or any other cheese other than cream cheese (marscapone seems to make it saggy, ricotta creates a grainy filling). It can’t be flavored, except for optional toppings. If it contains any amount of almond extract I will throw it out the window of a moving vehicle. But I suppose that goes for any baked good in my life—almond extract is my kryptonite.

So after much research and many recipes read, I was prepped and ready to make this version from Smitten Kitchen. It looked perfect: cream cheese only, a straight-up graham cracker crust, and a no-nonsense baking method that didn’t require a water bath. The only thing that could mess it up was me. And I did a superior job of fouling up this cheesecake.

I preface my follies by saying that the filling was simply perfect. Creamy and not at all fluffy. Dense but smooth. Cold, rich, and lightly (lightly) enhanced with the scent of lemon. For the topping, I used some sour cherries that I had left over in the freezer from this incredible pie and simply upped the sugar by 1/4 cup.

My troubles came with the crust. Deb’s recipe calls for 8 ounces of graham crumbs, and I had a fresh, unopened bag of 14.5 ounces. I thought I could estimate by simply pouring in a little over half of the bag. I overdid it and ended up with a bad graham crumb to butter ratio. It made the crust a bit too dry, harder to pry from the sides of the pan, and more prone to overcooking.

My other trouble was the spring-form pan I was using. For the most part, I adore my dark, nonstick bakeware. It generally allows you to shorten the baking time on most recipes. But on a few rare occasions I have cursed it and attempted to run it over with my Toyota. This was one of those occasions. The crust cooked more quickly than the filling, so I ended up with a perfectly baked filling and a burned crust. I could also blame my wonky electric oven, but a cheesecake pan is simply much easier to crush under the wheels of your car.

Crust issues aside, this cheesecake was unimaginably good. I will be making it again, over and over, to get it right. I hesitantly served it at our outdoor movie night to our best pals, where it was well received (after I warned folk to avoid the burned bits of crust). Deb, thank you for your perfect recipe. Self, try not to eff it up next time.

-RDG

You can find the recipe for Smitten Kitchen’s New York Cheesecake right here.

A few notes:

  • Use real graham crackers and a food processor. Don’t try to estimate ounces from a store-bought bag of graham crumbs (*kicks self in shin*).
  • If you use sour cherries for the topping, add an additional 1/4 cup sugar to the recipe. I cooked mine from frozen and they turned out just fine.
  • I omitted the orange zest and used slightly less lemon zest than called for, and I could still definitely taste the lemon. If you don’t like the hint of citrus, omit the zest(s).
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