Two Strawberry Desserts: A Good One and a “Bad” One
It’s strawberry season! You may not realize it’s that time of year based on the conditions outside. In some places there’s still snow falling. In Florida the heat has played a terrible game of hide-and-go-seek. I’m hoping the warmer trend is here to stay even though I have nothing to complain about based on the fact that some people need a shovel to leave home.
Anyhoo!
This post will hopefully help you think positive that spring is coming.
Little known Julie fact: My favorite fruit is strawberries. I love strawberries so much that even when another fruit is suggested I still go with strawberries. Hence the recipes you’ll see in this post.
Also, I miss the strawberry festival in Ponchatoula, LA. There’s a strawberry festival not far from Jacksonville in Bradford County, Florida this weekend and I’m hoping I can make it. I need a flat! Yes, a flat. Yum!
On to the recipes!
I actually made this Strawberry Upside Down Cake at the end of last summer to bring to small gathering of friends. I hadn’t started my blog just yet but I knew I wanted to go in that direction so I took pics. The inspiration came from a recipe on Tasty.
What I did differently:
- Instead of using kiwi, oranges and pineapple I used all strawberries instead.
- The recipe calls for “castella”. I have no idea what that is so I used an Entenmann’s pound cake.
Other than that, everything else is the same.
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (300 mL) heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¾ cup (215 g) greek yogurt
- 1 castella, rectangular Japanese pound cake
- 4 kiwis, sliced
- ½ cup (125 g) pineapple, chopped
- 1 orange, chopped
Instructions
- On a cutting board, cut the castella into ¼-inch (6 mm) slices.
- In a bowl, use a hand mixer to combine the heavy cream and sugar.
- Add the Greek yogurt and blend until stiff peaks form.
- Line a 7x7 inch (18x18 cm) bowl with plastic wrap and add the sliced kiwi to the bowl.
- Add a layer of whipped cream to cover the kiwi. Place the castella on the cream.
- Add half of the chopped orange and pineapple. Cover with a layer of whipped cream, and top with castella. Add the remaining half or orange and pineapple, top with whipped cream, and remaining castella.
- Cover the top layer in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 3 hours.
- Place a plate on the opening of the bowl, and gently turn the bowl over, removing the plastic wrap.
- Slice the cake, and serve.
- Enjoy!
Even though this recipe would be classified as the “bad” recipe it’s not because it’s too sweet. It’s only due to the pound cake. But it’s very light and going back for seconds won’t seem wrong.
Now let’s talk about the “good” recipe
This recipe is Honey Drizzled Yogurt Covered Strawberries.
I saw a variation of this first recipe on Pinterest. Instead of strawberries the person used blueberries. I understand why they used blueberries. The smooth outside and small ball-like shape of the blueberry makes it easier to work with.
The recipe I saw used Greek yogurt as did I and again I believe Greek yogurt probably would work well with blueberries. Here’s the thing, I don’t eat blueberries so that wasn’t happening at all. This is a great dessert or snack on a hot summer day.
The other recipe also suggested adding in sugar or a sugar-substitute but I didn’t want the added calories so I decided to just drizzle a little honey over the strawberries to add the sweetness.
I used 3 ingredients:
- 15 strawberries, halved
- Greek yogurt
- Honey
Instructions:
- Cut strawberries in half
- Cover strawberries the yogurt
- Freeze for 1 hour
- Drizzle with honey
- Enjoy!
Issues:
- It’s possible that you will get frustrated with the Greek yogurt. It does not “stick” to the outside of the strawberry very well. If I would’ve stirred the yogurt to manipulate the consistency this possibly would not have been an issue.
- The strawberries are cold when you take the out. Duh! Yes, I know. Let them sit for just a few minutes to “lose” the chill.
FYI: This is not a very sweet snack but it does fulfill the need for something “extra”.
I have another strawberry recipe that’s a hack on a restaurant dessert, it’s the Applebee’s Strawberry Cheesecake Dessert Shooter. Check it out!