Sweets for Your Valentine Sweetie

 

Valentine's Day is a day for treating your special valentine, and yourself, to a sweet treat. I think cheesecakes are one of the most special sweet treats. I recently made this cheesecake for a family birthday celebration and it was a favorite we'll have again. The strawberry-rhubarb compote is yummy and also tastes great with oatmeal, rice pudding, and even on raisin bread toast. The cheesecake recipe is one I adapted from a favorite applesauce cheesecake we usually have at Thanksgiving. I wanted a coconut flavor like our other favorite birthday treat - coconut cream pie. This cheese cake is sweet, but not too sweet. With fewer eggs and cream cheese than many recipes it isn't overly rich, but more mild and smooth. I hope you enjoy this as much as we did.

COCONUT CHEESE CAKE WITH RHUBARB-STRAWBERRY COMPOTE

 

Crust: 

1 ¼ cup (20 squares) graham cracker crumbs

½ cup toasted flaked coconut

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup milted butter

 

Filling:

3 packages (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons flour

3 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I may try coconut extract next time)

2/3 cup flaked coconut, toasted

 

Directions:

1.    Heat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, combine all crust ingredients; mix well. Press in bottom of 10-inch springform pan. 

2.    In large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, and flour; beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add sour cream and vanilla extract; beat until blended. Stir in coconut. 

3.    Pour into crust-lined pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until center is set. (To minimize cracking, place shallow pan half full of hot water on lower oven rack during baking.) 

4.    Cool. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. 

 

Compote: (I used frozen fruit)

2 cups of rough chopped rhubarb

2 cups of rough chopped strawberries

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup water or orange juice

 

Combine in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered 7-9 minutes or until thickened. Cool slightly and transfer to a covered container. 

 

To serve, carefully remove sides of springform pan from cheesecake. Slice into 16 slices, running knife under water between slices. Warm compote and drizzle over each piece. 

Rhubarb Crisp for Summer Dessert

Summer is time for fruit, flowers and favorite foods. I just learned that one of our favorite foods isn't a fruit like I thought, but a vegetable! I thought the tomato was the sole claim of that confusion. I used to tell the kids in the nutrition classes I taught that if we were talking horticulture it was a fruit, and if we were talking food it was a vegetable. Rhubarb is just the opposite, a vegetable that is mostly eaten as a fruit in pies, cobblers, and often paired with strawberries. Maybe it's tartness and need for lots of sugar is what pushes it into the fruit dessert category. 
Rhubarb stalks look like red celery with large leaves. Just remember the leaves are poisonous, so only harvest the stalks. A friend gave me about 20 stalks recently, just right for rhubarb cobbler. Here's my favorite recipe that could use fresh or frozen rhubarb. 

RHUBARB CRISP

Ingredients:

6 cups rhubarb (can add blueberries to make it to 6 cups)

3 tablespoons flour

2/3 cup sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Topping: 

¾ cup rolled oats

¾ cup brown sugar, packed

6 tablespoons flour

½ teaspoon cinnamon

6 tablespoons butter

Instructions: 

1.    Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

2.    Wash and rinse rhubarb and cut into 1/2” pieces.

3.    Toss rhubarb with flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Place in a 2qt. baking dish. 

4.    In a separate bowl, combine topping ingredients with a fork or pastry blender. Sprinkle over rhubarb mixture. 

5.    Bake for 35 minutes or until rhubarb is tender and topping is golden. 

6.    Cool 5-10 minutes before serving. Top with ice cream, cream, or vanilla yogurt. 

chopped rhubarb and blueberries with sugar, flour,
 and cinnamon. Ready for topping. 

With topping, ready for baking. 

Rice Pudding and Rhubarb Sauce - Trying new things..

I didn't think I liked rice pudding. Rice pudding seemed like such a bland, old fashion dessert. I usually prefer cakes and pies and fruit cobblers. But this recipe is wonderful! The secret? Arborio rice! Another Chef Alli recipe done in the electric pressure cooker.
Arborio rice is an Italian short-grain rice. It is also grown in Arkansas, California, and Missouri in the U.S., but the package I got said "product of Italy". When cooked, the rounded grains are firm, and creamy and chewy compared to other rices, due to their higher starch content. The higher starch content and slow cooking create a very creamy dish. It is also used in the preparation of risotto.
Our favorite topping for the pudding was the Easy Rhubarb Sauce that I've included the recipe for. I originally made this sauce as ice cream topping to take to a gathering of friends. I don't have a photo, but someone asked if I'd brought salsa for topping, so that is what it looks like!

EPC Rice Pudding

Ingredients:

I cup Arborio rice (only this type!)

1 ½ cups water

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup whole milk

1 cup whipping cream

½ cup sugar

2 eggs 

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¾ cup raisins or golden raisins

Directions:

In electric pressure cooking pot, combine rice, water, and salt. Lock the lid in place and select High Pressure for 3 minutes. When times sounds, unplug EPC (so pudding won’t scorch on the bottom) and use a natural pressure release for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, release any remaining pressure in EPC with a quick pressure release. 

Add 1 cup whipping cream and ½ cup milk and sugar to rice in EPC pot; stir to combine. 

In a small mixing bowl, whisk eggs with remaining ½ cup milk and vanilla. Pour through a fine mesh strainer into EPC pot. Select sauté and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil; turn off the EPC and remove pot; stir in raisins. 

Rice pudding will thicken as it cools. Serve warm or pour into serving dishes and chill. Serve topped with whipped cream, and a sprinkle of nutmeg. 

The rice will continue to absorb liquid as it cools. Stir in additional milk or cream until your desired consistency is achieved. 

We loved it warm soon after it was made. But it was also good cold, or warmed in the MWO. We served it by itself or topped with rhubarb sauce. 

Easy Rhubarb Sauce

Ingredients:

⅓cup sugar

¼ cup water 

2 ¼ cups sliced fresh or frozen rhubarb

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:

In a small saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil. Add rhubarb; cook and stir for 5-10 minutes or until rhubarb is tender and mixture is slightly thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in lemon peel and nutmeg. 

Puree mixture in a blender or with a submersion blender to make a smoother texture. 

Serve warm or chilled over pound cake, ice cream, or pudding. Refrigerate leftovers. 

Rhubarb Dump Cake/Cobbler Revisited

Do you follow the recipe or do you "ad lib"? Can you tell if you'll like a recipe or not by reading it? What's your pet peeve about recipes?
Its been said that baking is a science and cooking is an art. I mostly agree, baking depends on the interaction of ingredients to rise the dough, brown the cake, or set the custard. But I often find recipes that I think could use a bit of 'tweaking', maybe less sugar, or an added ingredient, or a different preparation method. And it is okay to try that! I usually save my trials for the close family unless I'm pretty sure about what I'm doing. My family is good about trying and eating the flops as well as the "save this recipe" dishes.

I'm always looking for quick easy ways to use the frozen fruit I buy in boxes from our UMW fund raiser. So when I saw this dump cake idea it seemed like a winner. Until I read further - a lot of sugar! The original recipe included 1 cup sugar and 1 whole box of jello (which also has sugar). And I usually think dump cakes are dry. So I've altered the recipe - less sugar and 1/2 box of jello and 1/2 cake mix, save the remaining half for the next dump cake. I like the ratio of more fruit and less cake layers.

RHUBARB DUMP CAKE

Ingredients: 

1 pound (3-4 cups) rhubarb, cut into ¼ inch pieces

       if using frozen, allow to thaw some and rough chop the slices

½ package (of a 3 oz package) strawberry jello 

½ package yellow cake mix

1 cup water

¼ cup butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish. Spread the rhubarb evenly in the bottom of the baking dish. 

Sprinkle the sugar over the rhubarb, followed by the jello, and finally the cake mix. 

Pour the water and melted butter over the top. Do not stir. 

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the rhubarb is tender and the topping is browned. 

Dump Cakes are just that - a dry cake mix 'dumped' on top
of fruit filling. Not so different from a cobbler, but even easier! 

Ready for the oven with fruit, then cake mix, water, and butter
'dumped' on top. 

Baked and wonderful. 

Strawberry Rhubarb Crunch

Strawberry ice cream from KSU Call Hall made this
extra, extra good!

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to eat heather - sound familiar? That, or a version of it such as lose weight, exercise more, etc, is the most common New Year's Resolution. So, including healthier types of desserts would be included in my plan. Since I have a new supply of frozen fruit from our church order, and strawberry-rhubarb is one of our favorite flavor combinations, this dessert was a popular choice. I like the texture and added fiber (healthier!) of the oats. It makes a large amount, but with more family members around after the holidays it was eaten quickly.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crunch

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup cold butter, cubed
2 cups quick-cooking oats
6 cups sliced frozen rhubarb and strawberries
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 package (3 oz) strawberry gelatin

crumb mixture on bottom

bottom crust topped with fruit

Directions
In a large bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter until crumbly (Next time I make this, I'll do this step in the food processor). Stir in oats. Press half into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish; top with fruit.
In a small saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; stir in water until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Stir in gelatin powder.  Pour over fruit. Top with remaining crumb mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until fruit is tender and topping is golden brown.
Serve with ice cream if desired (that negates the 'healthy' dessert!)
Yield: 12 - 15 servings.