The year is going by so quickly. This month was our month to host our dining out group we call the Tasty Bunch. One couple is still in Florida for the winter so it was just six of us. We had a delicious meal at a locally own restaurant, BC Bistro, and then came to our house for dessert and more conversation.
I had seen a recipe on Facebook that looked interesting and thought I would make it for dessert. As is common, Wayne asked me if I was going to try it out first and as is common, I told him that I hadn't planned to.
Well, I surprised him by giving it a try first. I had planned to make it several days in advance, but something kept me from accomplishing that. Well, I'm so glad I did decide to try it out, because even though it tasted great, I wasn't happy with my results in appearance.
By the time I made it for our friends, I had come up with several changes. All of them I was very happy with them.
One of my changes was with the cream cheese mixture. The problem with the recipe is it made too much cream cheese mixture and I was determined to use all of it for the cake and that was a BIG mistake. I rewrote the recipe with less amounts and that was so much better. The thing is I still had too much cream cheese mixture that I'm not sure what I am going to do with. Right now it is in a plastic container in the refrigerator.
The thing is I think I could reduce the amounts even more and it will be enough and I won't have leftovers. If you want to try this make these substitutions...*4 ounces cream cheese, 2 cups powdered sugar, 4 tablespoons (half a stick) butter, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract for the amounts in the recipe.
This Strawberry Cream Sweetness is a recipe I am sure I will be making again. I had to freeze quite a bit of the two attempts I ended up with since there was no way we could eat it all in a few days. I cut generous pieces for us for the Tasty Bunch so only had half of the 9 x 13 - inch cake left.
With the first attempt since I was making it just for us, I used a Zero Sugar yellow cake mix so that helped to reduce the sugar amount. When I decided to use a strawberry cake mix for the second one, that made the finished cake really pretty and pinkish red. If you wanted to use a Zero Sugar cake mix, just add some red food coloring to make the cake more like a strawberry looking cake.
I did use the white baking chips for the first cake, but since I didn't have a full half - a - cup left, I used some cream cheese chips I had just bought last week. I had never seen them before in the stores. That helps since I reduced the amount of the cream cheese mixture.
STRAWBERRY CREAM SWEETNESS
1 box strawberry cake mix + water, oil and eggs as directed n the box
1 cup fresh strawberries, chopped
6 ounces cream cheese, softened (I used 1/3 less fat Neufchatel)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 cups powdered sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup cream cheese chips or white baking chips
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or spray a 9 x 13 - inch pan. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
Set aside.
Prepare the cake mix according to the directions on the box.
Pour the batter in the pan.
Drop teaspoonfuls of the creamed cheese mixture over the cake batter. (I didn't use all of the mixture so I just stored the rest in the fridge. See notes above.*)
Sprinkle the coconut flakes first and
then the cream cheese chips or white baking chips over the top.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the cake is set and the edges are turning brown.
Allow the cake to cool completely before serving.
I added some fresh sliced strawberries that I had sweetened with some sugar and allowed to chill in the refrigerator
along with a scoop of ice cream when I served my friends.
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