Blue and Yellow Kitchen

Sunday, January 30, 2005

Strawberry Carousel Cheesecake


My dad likes buying fruits for us. And he spoils me rotten by buying strawberries whenever they're in season. These strawberries were bought for only P20 / tray in Quiapo. P20!! My dad knows the vendor, so the vendor sees to it that the strawberries are fresh and not lamog underneath. I'm the only one who eats strawberries in the family. And since I can only eat so much in one sitting, I used some of the strawberries to make cheesecake. Unfortunately, I was not able to take any pictures of the cheesecake, which was really pretty with the halved strawberries forming the wall of the cake. I got this recipe from Dorothy Ferreria's cookbook.

Ingredients:

Crust
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups crushed Marie biscuits

Filling
2 T unflavored gelatin
1/2 c water
500 g fresh strawberries
1 c sour cream
2-225 gram bars cream cheese
1/2 c granulated white sugar
1 c whipping cream

Topping
Sifted cocoa powder

Procedure:
1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat. Add the crushed biscuits and mix well with a wooden spoon. Set aside.

2. Cover the bottom of a springform pan or removable bottom pan with aluminum foil. Reassemble the pan. Place the pan on a plate for added support. Pour the moistened crumbs into the foil lined pan. Using the back of a spoon, spread the crumbs to cover the bottom of the pan. Press lightly with the back of a spoon to reinforce the crust. Set aside.

3. Combine the unflavored gelatin and the water in a saucepan. Set aside for 5 minutes to allow the gelatin to swell. Heat over low fire taking care that the mixture does not come to a full boil until the gelatin dissolves completely. Set aside.

4. Wash and hull the strawberries. Choose about 10 perfect berries and cut them in half vertically. Arrange them in the pan, with the pointed ends up and the cut side against the sides of the pan. Arrange the remaining whole berries inside the pan, with their pointed ends up.

5. Prepare the cheesecake mixture. Pour in a large bowl the sour cream, the cream cheese, the sugar and the whipping cream. Using an electric mixer, beat at medium speed until the mixtures is smooth and lump free. Pour in the gelatin solution, even if it is still hot, and beat until blended.

6. Carefully pour the cheesecake mixture into the prepared pan, making sure to fill all spaces. You may use a large spoon to transfer the cheesecake mixture from the bowl to the pan so that the berries will stay in place.

7. Dust a generous amount of cocoa powder over the cheesecake. Chill until firm.

Saturday, January 01, 2005

Mango Royale




Got this recipe from The Radical Chef's site. It is best to use overripe mangoes for this recipe. Plus, the next time I make this recipe, I think I will crush the graham crackers first.

Ingredients:

1 kg ripe mangoes
1-100mL can of condensed milk
2-250g pack of all purpose cream
10-15 graham crackers (depending on size of your container)

For the instructions, please click on the link above. =) This is a very easy recipe. I made some changes though, by using Elle & Vire all purpose cream and whipping it till it was thick. I then folded the condensed milk into the whipped cream before spreading it over the mangoes.