Recipes

[ciao_bella]

Right up front, I'm not the gardener and definitely don't have a green thumb, but my son does and enjoys his garden every summer.  I will cook or bake anything he grows, though!  Here is what I decided to make with the bumper crop of strawberries that are being harvested right now.

FRESH STRAWBERRY ANGEL FOOD LAYERED DESSERT 

(made with a layers of angel food cake, whipped cream, cream cheese and fresh garden strawberries and topped with strawberries in glaze) 

[tends2dogs]

Can you share your recipe, @ciao_bella ?  It looks beautiful!

[FastDogWalker2]

Yes, please share the recipe - yum!

[On It]

@ciao_bella  Your strawberry dessert looks like a breath of summer and mighty tasty as well. One of my favorite desserts uses the strawberries in a glaze as well. It is super fast to put together. I use a frozen deep dish pie shell (brown and cool), sliced strawberries, cover with glaze, top with whipped cream, and ready to serve. (Variation: My grandmother alternated layers of strawberries and bananas and poured Jello over the layers, refrigerated until the Jello set, and served with a dollop of whipped cream.)

I recently read about a trick for those of us who have to buy strawberries. If the berries are shiny, they are fresh. If they are dull, they are not so fresh.  

[SloopJohnB]

@ciao_bella Wow, those look beautiful.  When we go to the U PICK EM place near me I usually end up making jam, strawberry shortcake & shakes.  They look delicious.  Enjoy!

[ciao_bella]

@tends2dogs  It's such an easy and light tasting dessert and doesn't require any baking.  It's great to serve for any summer time BBQs, picnics, potlucks or just because.   (For this recipe I used fresh whipped cream instead of Cool Whip because I had a container of heavy cream I needed to use.  I also used a can of Comstock Strawberry pie filling instead of glaze because I wasn't able to find strawberry glaze in my grocery store.) 

STRAWBERRY ANGEL FOOD LAYERED DESSERT

(Angel food pieces are topped with sweetened cream cheese, strawberries and whipped topping, then covered with strawberries in a glaze)

 1 10” store bought angel food cake

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup white sugar

1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed or freshly whipped cream recipe below.

1 quart fresh strawberries (2 16 oz containers), slice ALL the strawberries BUT reserve 1 cup in another small bowl.

1 (14 ounce) container of strawberry glaze (found in the produce section of the grocery store) OR If you can’t find glaze you can use 1 can of strawberry pie filling like Comstock.  

Directions:

• Tear the cakes into small pieces and place evenly into a 9x13 pan.  I prefer using a glass Pyrex 13x9 inch pan.

• In the small bowl with just the one cup of sliced strawberries, add just a little white sugar to sweeten them, a teaspoon or so of sugar, then set aside. 

• In a medium bowl, cream the cream cheese and the 3/4 cup of sugar until light and fluffy.  Fold in whipped topping and fold in the one cup of sweetened sliced strawberries. Lightly mash the cake down with your hands and spread the cream cheese mixture on top of the cake layer.

• In another bowl, combine the remaining sliced strawberries and glaze (or strawberry pie filling) until strawberries are evenly coated.  Spread over the cream cheese layer.  Chill until serving.  

** I’ve also used a combination of strawberries and blueberries with the strawberry glaze for the top layer and it  was delicious made this way too!

or  MAKE YOUR OWN WHIPPED CREAM instead of using Cool Whip:  

 Use 8 ounces of heavy whipping cream  with 2-4 Tbls of powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla.. add all to a cold metal deep bowl and whip to stiff peaks. Will yield about 3 cups of whipped cream 

[CrazyKittyLvr2]

@ciao_bella  That looks great. Thank you for the recipe.

DD isn't a fan of angel food cake, there is no reason I couldn't use pound cake or make a white cake and use that, is there?

I have got to make this soon.

[wagirl]

OMG----a gift from heaven!!! I would freeze those things in a nano second and use them in EVERYTHING

[skatting44]

You can preserve the strawberries  by  adding them to a homemade  sugar syrup  and adding vodka or brandy  that can be added to make a sangria later  or topping for a  pound cake.

[Still Raining]

For me, I eat them until I pop and then start freezing.

They make a nice topping for yoghurt in the dead of winter.