Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake

This recipe comes from Driscoll's (the company that sells strawberries etc) I made this for a church auction and it sold for $130 which I thought was pretty good AND the buyer said it was really worth it! This is a no bake cheesecake which makes it nice and light for summer. It is so great having the strawberries all throughout the cheesecake and that yummy shortcake bottom! Mmmm.

Seems like lots of steps but it's worth putting this yummy dessert together!

Ingredients

Cheesecake Filling and Whipped Topping:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 pkgs (16 oz each) Strawberries

1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided

3/4 cup powdered sugar, divided

1 3/4 tsp vanilla extract, divided

24 oz cream cheese (3 bricks) room temperature and cut into small cubes.

Strawberry Sauce:

1 Tbsp water

1/2 pkg Strawberries, about 7-9 strawberries (I used frozen cut up strawberries for this part)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 tsp cornstarch

Shortcake

5 Tbsp unsalted butter (1/4 cup +1 Tbsp)

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp heavy cream

Directions

Shortcake:

- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place a circle of parchment paper into the bottom of a 9 inch springform cake pan and grease the sides. 

 - Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the bowl of a food processor. 

 - Add butter and mix in food processor until combined and mixture resembles coarse crumbs. 

 - Slowly add heavy cream and pulse in food processor until just moistened. 

 - Gather dough into a ball. Mixture will still be crumbly and loose. 

 - Gently knead dough on a non-stick surface until just smooth, about five turns. 

 - Press dough into an even layer in the springform pan. 

 - Bake for about 20 mins or until edges are golden. 

 - Remove cake from oven and remove from cake pan. Allow to cool on cooling rack. 

Cheesecake filling and Whipped Topping: 

 - Put metal bowl and whisk (or beaters) in freezer for about 15 mins to get nice and cold, then remove. 

 - Add 1 cup of heavy cream and whip on med high speed until cream just starts to thicken. 

 - Add 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract. 

 - Continue whipping until soft peaks form. Set aside. 

 - In another bowl add cream cheese and beat until smooth, scrapping sides several times as you go. 

 - Add 1 tsp vanilla extract and the granulated sugar and beat again until smooth.

 - Fold in whipping cream until well blended and set aside. 

 - Place another metal bowl with beaters in the freezer for 15 mins until cold. 

 - Whip remaining 1/2 cup whipping cream as done before adding 1/4 cup powdered sugar and 1/4 tsp vanilla extract. (You can do the whipping cream all at once if you really wanted to and just kinda eyeball how much cream you want in the cream cheese and how much you want to save for the topping, generally heavy cream doubles when whipped in volume - I didn't measure the topping part I just threw a bunch in a bowl and whipped it up.)

Strawberry Sauce:

 - Put strawberries in a blender and blend up well to make a puree. (This is where you would add your Tbsp of water but I used frozen strawberries thawed them a little bit so there was lots of juice.)

 - Add sugar and cornstarch and blend a little bit more. 

 - Pour into a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and comes to a boil. 

 - Allow to cool. 

Assembly:

 - Wash and dry strawberries well. 

 - Slice about 6 strawberries into thin slices to use around the outside edges. 

 - Cut the tops off of about 18 - 20 strawberries to use in the middle. 

 - Line the same springform pan just used for baking with parchment paper on the bottom.  Also cut a strip to go around sides having the parchment sticking above the edges of the pan about an inch or two. 

 - Place the shortcake in the bottom of the pan. (I turned mine upside down so I had a smooth surface to work with on top)

 - Line the sides of the pan with the slices strawberries, using the prettiest slices. 

 - Add about 1/2 cup of the cheesecake filling on top of the shortcake and spread into a thin layer, filling any gaps around the shortcake and slices berries. 

 - place the whole strawberries, thick side down, on top of the cheesecake. Leave some space between each of the strawberries so that they aren't touching and cheesecake can be added to fill in the space. 

 - Drop remaining cheesecake filling on top of the strawberries in spoonfuls, making sure it fills in all the spaces. Spread the remaining cheesecake evenly over the strawberries. Depending on the size of the berries , they might poke through the top of the cheesecake a bit. 

 - Spread whipped cream topping on top of the cheesecake. 

 - Cover loosely and refrigerate until firm, about 4-5 hours. 

 - Once firm, remove cheesecake from springform pan and top with remaining strawberries, cut into quarters. 

 - Drizzle with strawberry sauce and refrigerate or serve. 

YUM!

Cinnamon Buns

So I've never really been a big cinnamon bun person, mostly I think because a lot of them are dry or heavy. But lately I've been craving them and wanting to make a batch.  I've made different ones before...I have one for sticky rolls that are so very yummy....but couldn't remember which I had made of this kind, so I found some new recipes and did my own thing. These turned out so soft and yummy. Like Cinnabon quality if you like those. I like my cinnamon buns so soft they are almost gooey in the middle and with the warm icing on top....oh my word! The key to good cinnamon buns is warm ingredients not straight out of the fridge. You can make these and put them in the fridge over night as well to bake up in the morning. 

Yes these are worth a try. Recipe adapted from Lovely Little Kitchen. 

Ingredients

2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast (1 packet)

2 Tbsp warm water

1 cup warm milk (warm up in the microwave but don't let it get too hot)

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg beaten

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

6 tbsp butter or margarine melted (but not too hot)

Approx. 1 1/2 cups flour (in addition to previous)

For Filling: 

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2-3 Tbsp cinnamon

For Frosting: 

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup or 4 oz (half a brick) or cream cheese softened

Approx 3 cups of powdered sugar 

add enough milk or half and half to make it a creamy spreadable consistency. 

(this does make lots so you might have left over frosting if you don't like a lot)

Directions

1. Pour the yeast into a large bowl, (I used my kitchen aid with the bread hook attachment). Pour warm water over the yeast and stir to dissolve with a hand whisk. 

2. Pour warm milk over the yeast. You want all your liquid ingredients to feel warm but not hot. 

3. Stir in the sugar and beaten egg. 

4. Add 2 cups of flour and salt, and then mix well but not too much. 

5. Pour melted butter in, and mix. 

6. Add another cup of flour in and see how the dough is. You don't want it too dry and stiff, It should be a little bit sticky and just pulling off the sides of the bowl. Add flour a little at a time until it is like this. 

7. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise for 1 1/2 hours. (I put my dough in the over with the proof setting. If you don't have this just turn the oven on for a little bit while mixing the dough then turn it off cooling a bit and putting bowl inside -make sure the oven is not too hot though or simply cover and put somewhere warm in your home. 

8. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Be careful not to use too much flour but enough to keep from sticking to surface. 

9. You can use a rolling pin and roll the dough out if you wish making sure to use flour as needed. Or I just use my hands flattening and grabbing the edges and pulling carefully into a rectangle so dough is about a 1/4 inch thick. 

10. Smear your softened butter all over the dough getting right to the edges. Mix the sugars and cinnamon together in a small bowl and sprinkle onto of buttered dough. 

11. Starting with the long edge of the rectangle, roll the dough up. 

12. Holding the ends of a piece of sewing thread in each hand carefully scoot it  under the rolled up dough placing it in the centre. Then coming up and around the dough cross your hands and cut the dough. I like using this method better than using a knife which is tricky when you have soft dough. You'll want to make 12 pieces so cut each half in half and then 3 pieces on each half of that. (hope that all makes sense..haha) 

13. Place each piece into a greased 9x13 baking dish. 

14. At this point you can cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge overnight or raise for another hour in your warm place again. If you do the overnight thing, when you take them out in the morning you'll need to place them somewhere warm and raise for about an hour. They will raise a bit overnight as well. 

15. Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Place the baking dish on the center rack and bake for about 24-27 mins. The tops will be golden brown. 

For Frosting: Put softened butter and cream cheese in a bowl and mix with beaters well. Add powdered sugar half cup at a time mixing well in between, scrapping the sides when needed. Once you get most of the sugar in add some half and half to get a creamy spreadable consistency. You can add sugar or half and half to your liking of sweetness. You can add a tsp of vanilla as well if you would like. 

Spread over warm (not hot) rolls. Enjoy!