Strawberry Cheesecake Icecream

Be it summer or winter icecreams are always welcome at home. Pappu loves 'iceseem' to the core. And whenever he wants a scoop he goes to the refrigerator and says "kadaa thora iceseem kudu". Thats open the door and give me icecream in our native language. Thats how much he loves his icecream. Well, I am no less. Now coming to this flavor, I love icecream, hubby loves cheesecake and pappu loves strawberries. So combining the three into an icecream for the season sounded just right.

To say that I am totally in love with this icecream is an understatement. I am mad about the flavor pairing. I steal a scoop whenever I pass by the refrigerator and I steal from the kid's share too. The icecream is creamy, slightly tangy and the itsy bitsy white chocolate graham crackers adds to the texture... 

~*What U Need*~ Strawberries - 8 oz, hulled, sliced Cream cheese - 5 oz Heavy Cream - 1 cup Lemon juice - 1/2 tbsp Sugar - 1/2 cup Strawberries - 2 oz, Hulled And Finley Diced Sugar - 1 tsp Honey Graham crackers - 3 sheets White chocolate - 1/4 cup Heavy cream - 1 tsp How I Made it: In a blender, puree the strawberries, cream cheese, cream, lemon juice, sugar and salt. Pour into a stainless bowl and place in the freezer. After 1 hour, take the container out and whisk to break all the ice crystals. Repeat this for every half an hour till the icecream is frozen. For the mix-ins: In a small bowl combine the strawberries and sugar, mix well and place in the refrigerator. Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler with the cream. Cover the graham crackers with melted chocolate and place in the freezer. Once completely frozen, chop into pieces. Before the final cycle of whisking the icecream add the strawberry and graham cracker pieces. Freeze till completely frozen...

Scoop and serve!!!

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Fruit Trifle | Leftover recipes

I like putting together dishes from leftovers. You never know what would be the end product. You add whatever your heart tells with the mouth leading you in every step. This trifle happened just like that. I had some cake slices and about a cup of cool whip and that made me come up with this trifle. Pappu went totally gaga over the trifle when I took it for our after-dessert. He loves "staaawberry" and every bit of staaawberry on the trifle had to be his. The trifle tastes best when chilled overnight.

~*What U Need*~ Leftover cake - 1 cup Strawberries - 1/2 cup Nectarine - 1 Sugar - 2 + 2 tbsp Cook whip - 1 cup How I made it: Slice the strawberries and nectarines. Add the sugar to each and mix well. Refrigerate for 30 mins. To layer the dessert, arrange the cake slices, spoon the strawberries followed by the whipped cream. Layer the next set of cake slices. This time spoon over the nectarines. Repeat and finally spoon over the fruits.

Serve chilled!!!

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Strawberry Yogurt Sorbet

With summer at its full swing, our evening coffees have been replaced with glasses of chilled juices and homemade frappes. Not that we are complaining. We are loving this change in weather. No need to hide under truck loads of winter jacket and the evening walks are so refreshing and comforting. Welcome Summer, we have been expecting you for a really really long time.
While I love icecreams with all my heart, I love sorbets too for their pure fruity taste. And so I make an occasional tub of sorbet ~ to relish, appreciate and savor every bit of the fruit. So here is my first one for the season. A simple tangy and berrylicious sorbet for you.

~*What U Need*~ Strawberries - 2 cups Sugar - 1/2 cup or agave syrup - 1/4 cup Hung curd - 1/4 cup Water - 2 tbsp Lemon juice - 1 tbsp How I Made it: Clean and hull the strawberries. Chop and pat dry. Spread in a cookie sheet and leave in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, in a food processor, add all the ingredients and blend till you get a smooth puree. Store in airtight container in the freezer.

Scoop and serve!!!

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Whole Wheat Strawberry Bread

With the temperatures spiking every other day I am trying to include as much fruits in our diet as possible. And since strawberries are rich in Vitamins and antioxidants, I never forget to pick a box whenever I go grocery shopping. However last week was something different. The whole family was down with cold and the strawberry pack laid untouched. I had to make something before they were to rot and this bread was what happened. Perfect with some milk for breakfast. The bread comes out so soft and moist and you would never stop with one slice. Believe me when I say that, cos we finished the entire loaf in one sitting.

Adapted from here Prep Time: 15 mins; Cook time: 45 mins; Serves: 10 slices ~*What U Need*~ Whole wheat flour - 1+2/3 cups Light brown sugar - 1/2 cup White sugar - 1/4 cup Cinnamon - 1 tsp Salt - a pinch Baking soda - 1/2 tsp Vegetable oil - 1/3 cup Unsweetened applesauce - 1/3 cup Eggs - 2, room temperature Fresh strawberries - 1 cup, diced How I made it: Preheat oven to 350°F and grease and flour a 9x5 bread pan. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugars, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. In a medium bowl, combine oil, applesauce, and eggs. Mix well. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix well and fold in strawberries. Pour finished batter into the prepared bread pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Serve with milk!!!

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Eggless Strawberry icecream | No Icecream machine

Strawberries have started cropping up everywhere in the market and they are big, bright and juicy to look at. I have never missed picking a carton for the past three weeks. Moreover pappu is a big fan of strawberries, he likes munching them for snack and so its a must in the grocery list. Last week he was down with a mild cold attack and the strawberries were left untouched. I had a whole carton of them and I wanted to put the whole box into use.

I knew the solution was icecream. We have never been big fans of strawberry icecream, its always been chocolate and so I was a bit hesitant. However I am happy that I made this. The tartness seemed to cleanse the palate with every bite making us to want more. I am totally in love with making icecreams at home and am sure gonna try more flavors.

Prep time: 20 mins; Cooking time: Nil; Serves - 8-10 Adapted from here ~*What U Need*~ Sliced strawberries - 1 cup Sugar - 1/2 cup Whole milk - 1/2 cup Heavy cream - 1 cup Vanilla - 1 tsp How I Made it: In a bowl, add 2 tbsp sugar and strawberries. Give it a good sir and let it sit for 2 hours at room temperature. After 2 hours, puree 3/4 th of the strawberries with the syrup and using a fork mash the remaining strawberries. Add the remaining sugar to the milk and melt it in low heat. Cool to room temperature. Whisk the cream to soft peaks. Mix the milk, strawberry puree and vanilla. Fold in the cream. Pour into a freezer proof container and chill for one hour. After 1 hour, take the icecream and whisk to break all the crystals. Repeat procedure 3 times and then chill overnight.

Serve with some chocolate sauce!!!

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Strawberry Cream Cheese Rolls

There are days when we like to indulge ourselves and then there are days when we like to go all healthy with only salads for lunch and guacamole with baked tortilla chips for snack. It was one of those days last Saturday. And by evening we wanted something sweet, something rich, something buttery and something delicious. The huss suggested cinnamon rolls. The suggestion was taken into consideration but I made my own changes.

I love the tang that cream cheese gives to frosting the favorite combo being with carrot cake. I had bought a pack of cream cheese promising the huss that I would make him a low fat version sometime soon. But as they say promises are meant to be broken and the day never came. Finally when he said cinnamon rolls, something else struck a chord in me and I took out the cream cheese block with a blurred image of how my rolls should look. I was not sure of the rolls, how to fill it nor how to call it, all I knew was that this instinct was pushing me hard.

I like more filling to dough with every bite and so I rolled the dough thin to accumulate more filling. But this is totally upto you. I got 8 rolls on the whole for the below recipe which was perfect for dinner and breakfast. Yeah, you heard that right we had dessert for dinner ~ 2 rolls each, a cup of milk and the job was done. I didn't frost the ones that we had for dinner but I totally regretted it when I took a bite of the frosted rolls in the morning. The frosting takes these rolls up a notch which is what you will want when you need to indulge in something rich and sugary.

~*What U Need*~ For the dough: All purpose flour - 1 1/4 - 1/2 cups Sugar - 1 1/2 tbsp Salt - 1/2 tsp Instant dry yeast - 1 teaspoon Water - 1/4 cup Whole milk - 1/8 cup Butter - 1 tbsp Egg yolk - 1 or 1/2 of an egg Filling: Strawberry preserve - 1/2 cup Sugar - 3 tbsps Cream cheese - 2 oz, softened to room temperature How I made it: Set the 1/2 cup flour aside. In a food processor, add the remaining flour and salt and give it a pulse. Heat the water, milk, sugar and butter together in the microwave until the butter is melted and the mixture is hot to touch. Add the yeast and set aside for 10 mins till frothy. Now add this to the flour along with the egg and pulse till combined. Add enough flour till you get a smooth dough. I added only 1/3 cup so it depends on your place. Give it a couple of more pulses till you get a smooth elastic dough. Place in a greased bowl and allow to double in size in a warm place, about 1 - 1 1/2 hours. Meanwhile prepare the filling. Mix the sugar and the cream cheese till smooth. Bring the strawberry preserve to room temperature. I used fresh homemade strawberry preserve by cooking 1 cup of strawberries with 3 tbsps of sugar till it reached a jam consistency. You could use store bought too. Once the dough has doubled, punch it down and roll out till you get the desired thickness depending on the number of rolls needed. Spread the cream cheese evenly followed by the strawberry preserve. Roll tightly and cut into 8 rolls. Place this in a greased pie dish. I placed 6 rolls in a 6-inch pie dish and the remaining 2 rolls in a mini loaf tin. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for another half an hour. After the rolls have doubled in size, preheat the oven to 375F. Bake for 25-30 minutes until lightly browned. To make the glaze dissolve 3 tbsps confectioner's sugar with 1 tbsp of cream cheese and desired amount of milk till you get a glaze of desired consistency and drizzle over rolls. This is purely optional but I would recommend you not to skip it.

Serve warm!!!

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Chocolate Strawberry Trifle | Leftover recipes

There are days at home when the cake that I bake becomes an overdose and it is left on its own to go stale. On those days I have to resort to other ways to feed the family that final piece and nothing can jazz up a humble piece of cake like a good trifle. I love a good trifle and I love surprising my huss with a good one too. That awed look he gives when he digs into the dessert exploring each layer as he goes deep into the trifle is precious to me. The huss loved the look of it and grabbed his share before I could take decent photographs and the one you see is my share standing alone with no company. :(

I generally make him some yogurt parfaits with granola for snack and add in chopped fruit to make it healthy. But at times I like giving him a treat too and that is when I make some easy leftover desserts like this. I had some frozen strawberries and it was time to take them out to give the dessert a tang. Strawberries add color and the needed tanginess to cut off the sweetness from the chocolate cake and pudding. The below mentioned quantity serves just two but it can be easily doubled or tripled for a larger quantity.

~*What U Need*~ Chocolate cake crumbs - 1 cup Strawberries - 1 cup Sugar - 2-3 tbsp Water - 2 tbsp Milk - 1 cup Cocoa powder - 1 tbsp Egg yolk - 1 Sugar - 3 tbsp Vanilla extract - 1/4 tsp How I Made it: Wash and hull the strawberries. Chop them up and take them in a pan. Add sugar and water and boil them till you get a chunky sauce of chutney consistency. Set this aside. Heat milk in a pan, add the sugar and whisk till hot and combined well. Pour this slowly into the egg yolk and whisk well tempering the egg. Return this to the pan and heat till thick and coating a spatula, whisking the whole time. Cool completely. Layer your serving bowl with cake crumbs, then the strawberry sauce and finally the chocolate pudding. Repeat till the dish is full ending with the pudding.

Serve chilled with a dollop of whipped cream!!!

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Fresh Strawberry Galette | Strawberry Mini Galette | Strawberry Crostata

The berry season has come to an end and it makes me sad. I have not enjoyed the berries to the fullest as I came here mid-season. However I had my fair share of cherries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries and not to forget the peaches, plums and nectarines. I had them in juices, milkshakes, smoothies, yogurts and then there were days when I simply popped them as a snack. Only when I saw them fading slowly from the market aisles, did I bother to browse for recipes.

The other day I bought some strawberries and when I was cleaning them I found that they were not that good. Some had gone bad and some were nearing that stage. I wanted to use them all in one go and was thinking of dishes when this galette struck the bell. Galette is nothing but a free form pie. You don't need a pie tin and so it is friendly. Making a galette has always been in my mind and the half-wilting strawberries was the perfect excuse.

Right from the time I started making the galette to the minute I put it into the oven, the kid was going haywire. He was restless every minute and was like a timer going on every minute. Whenever I left the oven unattended, he would be there by my side, pulling my hands to check the status. He wouldn't even let me take pictures, see there his baby hands sneaking to grab a piece. Only after he got a mouthful of this flaky tarty galette, was he under control.

Prep Time: 20 mins; Cooking Time: 30 mins; Serves - 3; Makes - one 6-inch Galette ~*What U Need*~ For the crust Unbleached all purpose flour - 3/4 cup Salt - a pinch Cold unsalted butter - 3-4 tbsp Yogurt - 2 tbsp, plain or flavored Ice cold water - 2 tbsp Lemon juice - 1 tsp Egg - 2 tbsp, crack open an egg, beat and use 2 tbsp For the Filling: Fresh strawberries - 250 gms Almonds - 1/4 cup Cornstarch - 1 tbsp Sugar - 3 tbsp Egg wash - as desired How I Made it: In a bowl, whisk together egg, yogurt, water and lemon juice. Put the almonds in a ziploc bag and bang with your rolling pin. Take the flour and salt in a largish mixing bowl and combine well. Dice the butter into smaller cubes and put this into the flour. Mix with a wooden spoon or with your hands till it resembles coarse crumbs. You could do this is in the food processor too. Add the egg mixture into the flour and gather to form a dough. Put this in a ziploc bag and freeze for 20 mins. Meanwhile clean, hull your strawberries and pat dry. Slice them and set aside. Combine the strawberries with the almonds, cornstarch and sugar. Set aside. Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Roll the chilled dough on the parchment paper into a 6-inch circle, trimming edges until smooth. Place the strawberry mixture in the middle of the dough leaving some space to fold the dough. Fold over the edges of dough, pleating to make it fit. Brush the sides with egg wash and bake for 30 minutes until puffy and golden brown.

Serve warm out of the oven with some whipped cream!!!

** My Notes:
** I used roasted and salted almonds, u could use slivered almonds too
** I used berry yogurt but you could use plain yogurt too.
** The recipe can be easily double for a 13-inch galette.
** It tastes best on the same day, the bestest when warm out of the oven with some vanilla ice-cream
** Take care to leave enough space when piling on the strawberries. I made the border thin and it started opening up when it was baking. So leave atleast 2-inch gap.

So thats it Folks...
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