Welcome to Keisha's Delicious Desserts

Serves 8

With a red filling so bright it hurts, berries big enough to be plums, and poufy whipped cream, diner-style strawberry pies always look inviting. But these no-bake desserts often taste more like plastic than pie. We wondered if better ingredients could deliver a pie that lived up to its looks. Here’s what we discovered:

Test Kitchen Discoveries

• We used 2 pounds of frozen berries (which worked well for cooking and cost less than fresh) and cooked them down in a dry saucepan until they released their juices and the mixture was thick, concentrated, and flavorful.
• Be sure that the reduced berries measure 2 cups exactly; if the mixture measures any more, the filling will be loose.
• Because strawberries are low in pectin, the natural thickener found in citrus fruits and many other plants, we added some lemon juice, which perked up the flavor and tightened the texture of the filling a little. To thicken the filling further, we added a bit of unflavored gelatin, which produced a clean-slicing, not-too-bouncy pie.
• After stirring in the gelatin—which we combined with the lemon juice and water—along with sugar and salt, we then stirred in fresh strawberries off the heat. This gave us the big berry flavor we wanted.
• Diner strawberry pies typically get a squirt of Reddi-wip, but we made our own. We whipped cream cheese into real whipped cream along with vanilla and sugar for a slightly tangy topping that balanced the sweetness of the berries.
• Use our No-Fear Pie Crust recipe or use your own.

STEP BY STEP

Don't Make This Mistake

In step 1, be sure to accurately measure the reduced strawberry mixture: You’ll need exactly 2 cups. Scrape the strawberry mixture into a large liquid measuring cup. If it measures more than 2 cups, return it to the pan to cook down. It may seem fussy to stop to measure, but the pie will not set or slice properly if you have more than 2 cups of the strawberry mixture.

MEASURE METICULOUSLY

Icebox Strawberry Pie

Serves 8

In step 1, it is imperative that the cooked strawberry mixture measures 2 cups; any more and the filling will be loose. If your fresh berries aren’t fully ripe, you may want to add extra sugar to taste in step 2. Use your favorite pie dough or use our recipe (related). Chill the heavy cream in step 4 to help it whip more quickly.

Filling
2	pounds frozen strawberries  (see related tasting)
2	tablespoons lemon juice
2	tablespoons water
1	tablespoon unflavored gelatin
1	cup sugar
	Pinch salt
1	pound fresh strawberries , hulled and sliced thin
1	(9-inch) pie shell , baked and cooled (see note)
Topping
4	ounces cream cheese , softened
3	tablespoons sugar
1/2	teaspoon vanilla extract
1	cup heavy cream

1. COOK FROZEN BERRIES Cook frozen berries in large saucepan over medium-low heat until berries begin to release juice, about 3 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently, until thick and jamlike, about 25 minutes (mixture should measure 2 cups).

2. ADD GELATIN Combine lemon juice, water, and gelatin in small bowl. Let stand until gelatin is softened and mixture has thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir gelatin mixture, sugar, and salt into cooked berry mixture and return to simmer, about 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

3. ADD FRESH BERRIES Fold fresh berries into filling. Spread evenly in pie shell and refrigerate until set, about 4 hours. (Filled pie can be refrigerated for 24 hours.)

4. MAKE TOPPING With electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth, about 30 seconds. With mixer running, add cream and whip until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes. Serve pie with whipped cream topping.

Article originally posted on Cooks Illustrated.  http://www.cookscountry.com/recipe.asp?recipeids=5546&bdc=66552&Extcode=L9FN3AA00

Serves 6.  

After cutting six perfect rounds of dough, you can reknead the scraps and repeat the cutting process to get one or two more rounds. These shortcakes will be a little tougher and less attractive than those from the first cutting. If you prefer to make the shortcake dough in the food processor, pulse the dry ingredients to combine them, then add cold butter that has been cut into half-inch pieces and continue to pulse until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal flecked with pea-sized bits of butter. Pour the mixture into a bowl; stir in the egg and half-and-half with a rubber spatula until the mixture comes together. Continue with step 4 of the recipe instructions.

Ingredients

Topping

3 pints fresh strawberries , hulled; 1 pint crushed with potato masher or fork, 2 pints quartered (see illustrations below)

6 tablespoons granulated sugar

Shortcakes

2 cups bleached all-purpose flour , plus more for work surface and biscuit cutter

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1  tablespoon baking powder

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 tablespoons granulated sugar for sprinkling

1 stick unsalted butter (8 tablespoons), frozen

1 egg , beaten

1/2 cup half-and-half

1 tablespoon half-and-half

1 egg white , lightly beaten

Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream , chilled (preferably pasteurized or pasteurized organic)

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. 1. Mix crushed and quartered berries with sugar in medium bowl; set aside while preparing biscuits (or up to 2 hours).

2. 2. Adjust oven rack to lower middle position; heat oven to 425 degrees. Mix flour, salt, baking powder, and 3 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl. Using large holes of box grater, grate butter into dry ingredients, (see illustration 2). Toss butter with flour to coat. Use pastry cutter to finish cutting butter into flour. Or scoop up coated butter with both hands, then quickly rub butter into dry ingredients with fingertips until most of butter pieces are size of split peas.

3. 3. Mix beaten egg with half-and-half; pour into flour mixture. Toss with fork until large clumps form. Turn mixture onto floured work surface and lightly knead until it comes together.

4. 4. Pat dough into 9- by 6-inch rectangle, 3/4 inch thick. Flour 2 3/4-inch biscuit cutter; cut 6 dough rounds. Place 1 inch apart on small baking sheet; brush dough tops with egg white and sprinkle with remaining sugar. (Can be covered and refrigerated up to 2 hours before baking.) Bake until golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Place baking sheet on wire rack; cool cakes until warm, about 10 minutes.

5. 5. Chill nonreactive, deep, 1- to 1 1/2-quart bowl and beaters for a handheld mixer in freezer for at least 20 minutes. Add cream, sugar, and vanilla to chilled bowl; beat on low speed until small bubbles form, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium; continue beating until beaters leave a trail, about 30 seconds more. Increase speed to high; continue beating until cream is smooth, thick, and nearly doubled in volume, about 20 seconds for soft peaks or about 30 seconds for stiff peaks. If necessary, finish beating by hand to adjust consistency. (Can be transferred to fine sieve or strainer set over measuring cup and refrigerated up to 8 hours).

6. 6. Split each cake crosswise (see illustration 3); spoon a portion of berries and then a dollop of whipped cream over each cake bottom. Cap with cake top; serve immediately.

Technique

Strawberry Shortcake Tricks

1. For best taste and appearance, crush one-third of the berries.

2. Grating frozen butter into the flour makes for easy mixing.

3. Split biscuits by hand before adding strawberries.

Originally Published on Notes From America's Test Kitchen

Serves: 12
Good as a side or dessert, this salad made from fresh fruit is naturally low in fat, saturated fat, and sodium. Plus, it's cholesterol free.
INGREDIENTS
Fruit salad:
1 large mango, peeled and diced
2 cups fresh blueberries
2 bananas, sliced
2 cups fresh strawberries, halved
2 cups seedless grapes
2 nectarines, unpeeled and sliced
1 kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced
Honey orange sauce:
1/3 cup unsweetened orange juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1-1/2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Dash of nutmeg
DIRECTIONS
1. Prepare the fruit (peeling, cutting, dicing, etc).
2. Combine and mix all ingredients for the sauce.
3. Just before serving, pour honey orange sauce over the fruit.
NUTRITION INFO (per 4-ounce serving)
Calories: 97
Fat: 0.6 g
Carbohydrates: 24.7 g
Protein: 1.2 g

Originally appeared on Spark People

This recipe was originally published in Cooks Illustrated May 1, 2000.

Makes Eight 2 1/2-Inch Biscuits.   Published May 1, 2000.

These biscuits come together in a flash and require no special equipment.

Ingredients

2
cups unbleached all-purpose flour , plus extra for the counter

2
teaspoons granulated sugar

2
teaspoons baking powder

1/2
teaspoon table salt

1 1/2
cups heavy cream

Instructions

1. 1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. 2. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Stir in the cream with a wooden spoon until dough forms, about 30 seconds. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and gather into a ball. Knead the dough briefly until smooth, about 30 seconds.

3. 3. Shape the dough into a 3/4-inch-thick circle. Following illustrations below, cut biscuits into rounds or wedges. Place rounds or wedges on parchment-lined baking sheet. (The baking sheet can be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 2 hours.) Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking.

Technique

Two Ways to Shape Biscuits

For Rounds: Shape the dough into a round and cut with a biscuit cutter.

For Wedges: Press the dough into an 8-inch cake pan, then turn the dough out.

For Wedges, Continued: Using a knife or dough scraper (bench knife), cut the dough into 8 wedges.

Technique

The Need to Knead

Unlike traditional biscuits, cream biscuits benefit from relatively rough treatment. This biscuit, which was kneaded for 30 seconds before baking rose higher than the next biscuit, which was handled gently.

This recipe was originally published in Cooks Illustrated May 1, 2000.

In life, we all have arch nemesis.  Wolverine has Sabertooth, Spiderman has the Green Goblin, and Captain Picard had the Borg.  Well, mine arch nemesis is meringue.  You know that fluffy white topping that is commonly found in desserts such as Baked Alaska, Floating Islands, Palovas, and of course its name sake Lemon Meringue Pie.  If you were to scan through the pictures of my photo albums, you will notice that none of the desserts are made with meringue.  That my friends is intentional.  You see, while I have so problems with making a foamy, or even soft peaked meringue, I have the most difficult time with getting my meringue to stiff peaks with a glossy finish. 

I used to blame it on the professional, heavy duty kitchen aid at work, but I see now it may be a personal issue.  It was always easy to blame it on the mixer.  After all, the whip attachment is  missing prongs.  So it can whip in air like it should.  Sometimes, I would even it blame it on the recipes.  Some would have you whip your eggs whites in the bowl, and adding the sugar once it is at soft peaks; others would have you whisk the egg whites and sugar over a hot water bath, and then whip it further in the mixture; while the rest would have you whip the eggs, and pour in a hot simple syrup.  But I now realize I am the culprit.

You see for every 10 attempts, maybe 2 will turn out perfect.  What is the difference, you may ask.  Well it's not the recipe, as all variations work.  The difference is my patience level.  Whipping egg whites takes time.  When I leave the egg whites alone, or get distracted while prepping another dessert, my meringue comes out perfect.  When I have nothing else to do but watch the mixer, I have to stop the mixture, make sure the sugar has been incorporated, and see what stage the meringue is in.  It is that kind of interference that causes the meringue to become a fluffy cloud, but never reach the point of stiffness need to make shells or to top desserts.

Meringue has taught me that patience is a virtue, and that planning is key to its successful execution.  So once that is mastered, there will be lest lemon cream pies, and more lemon meringue pies.