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Chocolate Cloud Pie…Oh My!
guten free dessert
Cherry Sunrise Pie…an Easter Tradition
In a few days it will Easter, the day of baked ham, chocolate candy and dyed or decorated eggs…. For any holiday meal, I want dessert to be special yet not too heavy: an attractive fruit-based pie, but easy to construct and yummy: a tall bill to fill but this cherry sunrise pie checks off all those requirements. The last time my sisters came for Easter Karen asked me to make it for the big meal and she melted my heart when she said it felt like Easter when we ate that pie! They chow down as they are cherry lovers plus my sisters especially like how light it tastes and how it doesn’t land like a heavy chunker in your tummy. I share it so you can make it anytime you want an easy company dessert. You should make it the night before, so it is chilled enough to eat by 1 pm.
It has to have a gluten free crust for me and I have one we bought at Wegmans or if you are making it for the wheat eating public there are redi-made crusts out there that will make this so simple yet so delightful. I usually make gf scratch graham crackers ahead of time, so they set a couple of days before I crush most of them into crumbs for the crust; homemade is pretty easy and cheap and they taste phenomenal compared to store bought gf graham cracker crumbs. Just saying! I love eating the leftover crackers as cookies; so yummy.
Cherry Sunrise Pie
One pie crust: you can make it from an 8 oz box of gluten free graham crackers crushed and mixed with 1/3 cup melted butter and pressed gently into a 9-inch pie pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 9 or 10 minutes. Let cool completely before filling. Or buy one; they sell them at holiday times in the gluten free area in my local supermarket and at the local natural food store. Will save time to buy one…
Ingredients for filling
18 or 19 oz can crushed pineapple in own juice
1 21 oz can of cherry pie filling
1 8 oz pkg light cream cheese, room temp.
½ tsp vanilla
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup powdered sugar
Directions
Drain the pineapple for 20 min; save the juice! I used my microwave to gently warm the cream cheese; it has a softening setting for cream cheese which works perfectly. I unwrapped it and placed the cold slab on a small plate and warmed it on a very low heat until supple and smooth. Dump in a mixing bowl, add 2 tbsp pineapple juice, the vanilla, 1/3 cup crushed pineapple, ½ cup cherry pie filling. If you are smart you will mostly use the goopy stuff and not too many cherries. Save them for on top! Next, stir this all together really well.
Then whip the chilled heavy cream in a separate bowl with an electric
mixer until soft peaks form, add powdered sugar and mix well with the mixer; be careful not to over beat it. If it gets clumpy you went too far. Fold this into the cream cheese mix until it isn’t streaky with white areas.
Gently spoon the filling into the pie shell, spread it out to fill the entire bottom. I used a spoonula (blend of spoon and spatula) and smooth the top with a flat cake spatula. I like to leave a sort of tiny ridge on the outer edge to keep the pineapple from spilling out onto the crust. Then carefully pour the rest of the cherry pie filling in the center spreading it to cover ¾ of the top from the center out. Finally, use a spoon to put pineapple around the outer rim of the cherry filling. Chill at least 2 hours, preferably 4. Cut and slice. No adornments are needed. It has a light fluffy consistency, and it isn’t that sweet. Great to top off a big meal; not too filling and the fresh fruity taste is a spring treat. Try it soon and you will be giving the recipe out afterwards! 
I have no pictures of creating this pie; maybe this Easter I will take the time to snap a few and add them to this post at a later date.
This is about the seventh time I have blogged this recipe; first was in 2014. Been making it for like 20 years!
Authentic Strawberry Shortcake…The Best!
Strawberry shortcake is a classic and no one turns down a slice of it at at a family gathering. I am not sure where I got the gf shortcake recipe; maybe my old Bette Hagman Gourmet Cookbook. I used to make a fantastic shortcake when I could still use all purpose flour but my gf biscuit version is pretty dang tasty especially if you sprinkle the shortcake with sugar before baking! But there is one thing, you gotta make it with the best freaking strawberries you can find. None of those ultra firm ones with whitish cores that are shipped in from far away. You need juicy ripe scented red berries that are served over a gluten free short bread. My local season is peaking now so try for local grown berries – the riper the better and it will taste great!
My mom always made a gorgeous version of strawberry shortcake. When I was a kid, she would serve it as an entire meal. I have done that, and it is kinda cool. Pre gluten free I generally made a huge oval biscuit with a smaller topping biscuit that I split off and buttered the split area before topping with berries and the smaller biscuit and topped with more ripe berries and a pillow of softly whipped heavy cream. Oh, berry perfection! Now I bake it in two separate pans, but the construction of the final product is the same otherwise. The pictures on construction are a couple of years old but the process is the same and the results are consistently heavenly….
Mom’s Strawberry Shortcake, GF2.3
Biscuit dough
1 cup white rice flour
2/3 cup potato starch flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tbsp. sugar
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. xanthan gum
6 tbsp cold butter
1 medium egg
2/3 cup buttermilk
2-3 tsp. sugar (optional)
2 tsp. soft butter
————————–
Other ingredients:
2 quarts ripe strawberries
½ cup sugar
2-3 tbsp. Karo light syrup
1 cup heavy whipping cream
½ tsp. real vanilla
2 tbs. powdered sugar (if you like your cream sweet)
Directions
Heat oven t0 400 degrees. Mix the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Cut in the cold butter until it is small pebbles. Add the egg and most of the buttermilk. Mix with a spoon; add rest of buttermilk if you need it. It should be a bit sticky, don’t over mix; just until dry is blended in. Spray the inside of an eight inch cake pan and a 6 inch cake pan with cooking spray. If you don’t have a small pan just use two 8 inch ones. Pat ¾ of the dough into the 8 inch; make it about ¾ to 1 inch thick and try to smooth the top and side edges a bit. Put the rest of the dough in the smaller pan and do the same smoothing. Make that one ½ to ¾ inch thick. Optional: take 2-3 tsp. of granulated sugar and sprinkle it over top of them. I think it gives a great tender flavor to the shortcake. Bake them about 20 to 25 min; the smaller one should be done in 20 minutes; a golden light brown. Set on a cooling rack for a few minutes.
While it bakes, get the berries ready. Hull 2 quarts of fresh ripe berries. Place them in a glass mixing bowl; chop through them a few strokes with a sharp knife. Add ½ cup sugar and about 2-3 tbsp. Karo light corn syrup to the berries. Stir well and refrigerate until the shortcake is baked. You could do this berry preparation up to two hours in advance. No more or they will start to disintegrate.
Place the fairly hot bigger layer on a large platter, one big enough to hold the shortbread and still have room for a generous overflow of strawberries. Butter lightly if you wish. Top with several big spoonfuls of berries. Don’t worry if there is juice in the berry bowl; there should be; melted down sugar and Karo syrup with berry juice will give you a delish berry liquid. Top with the second smaller biscuit and then more berries. Cut into chunks. Top with freshly whipped cream; beat a cup of heavy whipping cream until it is softly whipped. Add ½ tsp. vanilla and ¼ cup sugar if you wish it sweet. Be sure to pour the berry juice over your shortcake; it soaks in and adds to the strawberry experience.
My dad liked to pour unbeaten cream over his shortcake. My mom usually set out the whipped cream, a jug of cream and some whole milk so we could choose how to finish off your personal shortcake. I might add that I grew up on a farm, so this was raw milk from grass pastured cows; fantastic cream equaling a freaking perfect shortcake topper. We also grew our own berries; no chemical sprayed on them ever.’
Notes: Karo is sugar syrup; I know, I know it’s not very healthy, but it is only a bit, and it greatly improves the berries’ flavor and gives more juiciness to the berries to add some. Just do it. And while I am being bossy: please use real whipped cream. So easy to make and if you are going to the trouble of a scratch shortcake you need the real deal topping. It is hugely worth it. I actually stored some whipped cream in the fridge overnight and it was still decent the next day although the texture is a bit softer than it originally was. Strawberry shortcake is a decadent treat but honestly no more so than a sundae you get at an ice cream place. SO go ahead and indulge. Enjoy!
If there is any left over it makes a great breakfast the next morning!
Originally published in June 2014.
Cherry Sunrise Pie…an Easter Tradition
In a few days it will Easter, the day of baked ham, chocolate candy and dyed or decorated eggs…. For any holiday meal, I want dessert to be special yet not too heavy: an attractive fruit-based pie, but easy to construct and yummy: a tall bill to fill but this cherry sunrise pie checks off all those requirements. Last time my sisters came for Easter Karen asked me to make it for the big meal and she melted my heart when she said it felt like Easter when we ate that pie! They always fork it down as they are cherry lovers plus my sisters love how light it tastes. I share it so you can make it anytime you want an easy company dessert. You should make it the night before, so it is chilled enough to eat by 1 pm.
It has to have a gluten free crust for me but if you are making it for the wheat eating public there are redi-made crusts out there that will make this so simple yet so delightful. Actually, I am making gf scratch graham crackers today, so they set a couple of days before I crush most of them into crumbs for the crust; homemade is very easy and cheap and they taste phenomenal compared to store bought gf graham cracker crumbs.
Cherry Sunrise Pie
One pie crust: I made mine from an 8 oz box of gluten free graham crackers crushed and mixed with 1/3 cup melted butter and pressed gently into a 9-inch pie pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 9 or 10 minutes. Let cool completely before filling. I made mine the night before. Or buy one; they sell them at holiday times in the gluten free area in my local supermarket and at the local natural food store. Will save time to buy one…
Ingredients for filling
18 or 19 oz can crushed pineapple in own juice
1 21 oz can of cherry pie filling
1 8 oz pkg light cream cheese, room temp.
½ tsp vanilla
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup powdered sugar
Directions
Drain the pineapple for 20 min; save the juice! I used my microwave to gently warm the cream cheese; it has a softening setting for cream cheese which works perfectly. I unwrapped it and placed the cold slab on a small plate and warmed it on a very low heat until supple and smooth. Dump in a mixing bowl, add 2 tbsp pineapple juice, the vanilla, 1/3 cup crushed pineapple, ½ cup cherry pie filling. If you are smart you will mostly use the goopy stuff and not too many cherries. Save them for on top! Next, stir this all together really well.
Then whip the chilled heavy cream in a separate bowl with an electric
mixer until soft peaks form, add powdered sugar and mix well with the mixer; be careful not to over beat it. If it gets clumpy you went too far. Fold this into the cream cheese mix until it isn’t streaky with white areas.
Gently spoon the filling into the pie shell, spread it out to fill the entire bottom. I used a spoonula (blend of spoon and spatula) and smooth the top with a flat cake spatula. I like to leave a sort of tiny ridge on the outer edge to keep the pineapple from spilling out onto the crust. Then carefully pour the rest of the cherry pie filling in the center spreading it to cover ¾ of the top from the center out. Finally, use a spoon to put pineapple around the outer rim of the cherry filling. Chill at least 2 hours, preferably 4. Cut and slice. No adornments are needed. It has a light fluffy consistency, and it isn’t that sweet. Great to top off a big meal; not too filling and the fresh fruity taste is a spring treat. Try it soon and you will be giving the recipe out afterwards!
I have no pictures of creating this pie; maybe this Easter I will take the time to snap a few and add them to this post at a later date.
This is about the seventh time I have blogged this recipe; first was in 2014. Been making it for like 20 years!
Limoncello Tiramisu Teacups
I wanted a special dessert using some leftover ladyfingers. I only had 4 but honestly, I wanted to try making lemoncello tiramisu and a whole big dish of said tiramisu would destroy what is left of my waistline! I cannot resist tiramisu so making a small test version for a lunch dessert for someone’s birthday treat seemed like a good idea. This will make 3 full-sized desserts. I put mine in antique teacups, so fun and gives me a good shape to create it within. Use whatever cup you have; in 4–7-ounce size.
I used homemade Limoncello using Meyer lemons my brother sent me from Texas. I altered the recipe I liked to make less of it and because it doesn’t have whipped cream and I wanted some of that in there.
Be sure to chill it about 3 hours, bare minimum of 2.
My World Without Wheat 