Saturday, July 23, 2011

Low Fat No Bake Cheesecake (Reduced Guilt)


I know, I know... Low fat no bake cheesecake! Really? I'll be the first to admit that I despise no bake cheesecake, it's like a sin to not have a real cheesecake. But my husband happened to surprise me one day by making a tasty dessert for dinner one Friday, and to say the least... it wasn't bad, it was good. So after that day I decided to give it a go myself. Here is what you need. Not a whole list of ingredients and not a lot of time to waste either. And, my husband did say it was 10x better than the one he made. :)


Ingredients:
  •  1/2 to 1 Cup Powdered Sugar( taste before adding the full cup)
  • 2 8oz Cream Cheese either light or 1/3 fat (softened)
  • 1 8oz whipped cream(fat free)
  • Graham crackers(enough to cover the bottom of your bowl) you may also use a pre-made pie crust. As you can tell I used Trader Joe's Cat cookies for people.

Directions:
  1. Place your cream cheese in a mixing bowl and mix until fluffy. About a minuet. 
  2. Add your whipped cream and mix until well incorporated.
  3. Add 1/2 C powdered sugar and mix together. Taste and see if you need the other half of sugar. (This all depends on your pallet)


     4. If making your own crust. Grab your cookies and mash them up well until  you're happy with the consistency of the crust. 


        5. Pour your cheesecake mixture over the crust.


     6. Place in the freezer for about 30 minuets, then transfer to the refrigerator until ready to eat. And seriously, enjoy without having the guilt. 

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Sparkling Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes

Found this wonderful recipe on  http://thecupcakerecipes.com/ and thought, now that sounds yummy.
So, I decided to go ahead and try them out. Made these cupcakes and shared them with my co-workers,
what a hit! Everyone loved them. And the fact that they didn't last more than 20 minuets around the department I work at, that had to mean something, right? These are really nice, and refreshing. Not to sweet and not overly done with all the strawberry flavoring.



Sweet Pink Strawberry Champagne Cupcake Recipe
  • 1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® strawberry cake mix
  • 1 1/4 cups champagne, (I used Andre Champagne -) it will compliment the fruity strawberry flavor.
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 egg whites
Champagne Frosting
  • 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup champagne
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 4 to 5 drops red food coloring
Garnish
Pink decorator sugar crystals
Edible pink pearls
Halved Strawberries ( I skipped on the crystals/pearls. The strawberries added a lot more color and flavor)
Directions:
  • Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups.
  • In large bowl, combine dry cake mix and champagne. Add oil, eggs.  Beat with electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
  • Bake 17 to 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
  • In medium bowl, beat frosting ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Frost cupcakes.
 Beat butter until nice and fluffy, gradually add 2 cups of sugar and whisk with electric mixer until combined. Add the teaspoon of vanilla and continue to mix, add remaining sugar, then slowly add the 1/4 cup of champagne. Add 3 drops of  Red food coloring to give it the pink factor. Mix until nice and smooth.

Champagne is a sparkling wine, and while many expensive champagnes are available, this is one time you might choose less expensive champagne. Have the champagne at room temperature when preparing the cake.