Strollerderby : whipped cream

Kitchenista: Sundae School

KeriF — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 14:00:00 GMT

Here's an idea for a super sweet dessert you can give your kids before lunch.

Fruit sundaes. My 7-year-old niece, Erika, taught me how to make these, and they've become a big hit in our communal household.

Here's how to make them: Fill dessert bowls with fruit (last week we made them with bananas, raspberries, grapes, and clementines). Top with (a little) whipped cream and drizzle with chocolate syrup. Serve!

Okay, it's not rocket science. And it does walk that fine line between "healthy" and "crap." But sometimes, walking that line is the best I can do.

I'm actually not really opposed to sweets at all, as long as I know what's in them. Since the chocolate syrup has way too many ingredients in it I can't pronounce, I only give them a drizzle. But as far as I'm concerned, real sugar is fine in moderation. Actually, it's more than fine. It's important. We've all heard the stories: deprive your kids of anything and they'll only seek it out elsewhere.

So we're a dessert family. My brother-in-law makes homemade ice cream (heavy cream + sugar + ice cream maker = ice cream), I make cookies all the time, and my husband can occasionally be persuaded to make rice pudding.

But fruit sundaes are the only ones we serve before lunch. I swear.

Kitchenista: 20-Minute Strawberry Log Cake

Madeline Holler — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 17:55:00 GMT

Sometimes, you just need cake.

My go-to easy cake, especially during strawberry season, takes no more than 20 minutes and is just so good. It's one of those foods that tastes great the next day, too.

This strawberry cake is like angel food cake, without the wasted egg yolks. And without the wait. It's also pretty (rolled up), delicious (containing whipped cream as it does), and hard to ruin (it's thinner and more golden than the cake in the picture). Did I mention it's fast?

Here's what you need:

3/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 eggs, separated

1/2 cup sugar

Another 1/2 cup sugar

Another 1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Another teaspoon vanilla

Powdered sugar

1 pint heavy cream (or a container of Cool Whip ... if you go this route, don't worry about that last 1/4 sugar and the second teaspoon vanilla listed in the ingredients)

2 pints strawberries, cut into bite sized pieces

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Line with wax paper or parchment if you feel like it (I frequently don't).

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

In the bowl of an electic mixer, beat egg whites until foamy (high speed). Add 1/2 cup of sugar a little at a time and beat until you have stiff peaks.

In another bowl, beat egg yolks and another 1/2 cup of sugar. Beat in 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Then fold the flour and yolk mixture into the egg whites using a rubber spatula until just blended (don't go crazy with the mixing here -- just make sure everything looks fairly evenly distributed.)

Spread this in the cookie sheet. Bake 15 minutes.

Spread a clean dish towel on the counter and dust with powdered sugar. When the cake is done and cooled for a few minutes, slip a knife around the edge of the cookie sheet and then turn the cake out onto the dish towel. (Peel off the paper if you used it.) Roll the cake and the dish towel together and let it cool the rest of the way. (This is so it holds its form and also so it doesn't break apart, as it would if you rolled a completely cooled cake.

Whip the cream and 1/4 sugar and teaspoon of vanilla until peaks form. (Or break open the Cool Whip.) Stir in the strawberry pieces. Then unroll the cake gently, spread the cream and strawberries and reroll it. Sprinke the whole thing with more powdered sugar.

Slice into thick pieces. It's kind of messy, but who cares, right? You have cake!

Photo: HappyHomeBaking.blogspot.com

Kitchenista: This Dessert Will Take You Back

Karen Murphy — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 19:03:00 GMT

When I was a kid there were six possible desserts served at my house: pudding from a box; jell-o with canned fruit cocktail suspended in it (with mini marshmallows if we were very lucky); strawberry shortcake made with odd spongy supermarket cake things; some dessert involving vanilla pudding and Nilla wafers; and this dessert. Oh, and the sixth dessert was nothing, which was what we usually got.

One bite of this one takes me back to kidhood instantly. And it involves nothing more than whipped cream and chocolate. Need you know more?

Oh, and even better, it's totally easy and quick to make. All you need is a box of the proscribed chocolate cookies and some fresh whipped cream (don't try making this with Cool Whip). Oh, and even easier (and quicker) than making tedious stacks of cookies/cream into a 14-inch log (and if you don't have a 14-inch platter) is layering the whole thing into an 8x8 baking dish. We usually have this about once a year, and I think we're about due. I'm hungry.

CHOCOLATE WAFER WHIPPED CREAM ICE BOX CAKE

2 Cups heavy cream
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract

19-ounce package Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers

Chocolate curls or chocolate sprinkles

Whip cream, add sugar and vanilla and continue whipping until stiff peaks form. Spread one-half tablespoon whipped cream or topping on each wafer. Begin stacking wafers together on end (on a long serving platter) and stand on edge on the platter to make a 14-inch log. Frost with remaining whipped cream. Refrigerate for four to six hours. Garnish with chocolate curls or chocolate sprinkles and slice at a 45-degree angle so each serving shows the chocolate and white layers.

You may freeze this cake, covered with plastic wrap; thaw in refrigerator for one hour before serving.

Oh, and here's a bit of history on the recipe.