Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Cake

Well, it is the end of the school year and I decided I wanted to make one last goodie this year to share with my colleagues. As I was looking through my Facebook feed today I came across a recipe from Cooking Panda that caught my eye, Blueberry Cheesecake. But it wasn't actually a cheesecake... instead a pierced cake with blueberry compote and a cream cheese topping. If you have read my recipes before you know that I can't just copy a recipe...I have to bump up the flavor. So here is what I came up with:

When I think of blueberry, the next flavor that comes to mind is lemon. So I decided that I would see if I could lemonize this blueberry cake.

*a sugar-free yellow cake mix
*3 eggs
*1 c. 2% milk
*1/3 c. vegetable oil
*a box of lemon sugar-free gelatin
*1 1/2 c. Fresh or frozen blueberries
*1/2 c. Splenda
*juice of 1/2 lemon
*2 shots of citrus vodka (optional)
*a box of lemon sugar-free pudding mix
*1 1/2 c. 2% milk
*8 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
*1/2 c. fat-free half and half
*1/2 c. Splenda

Start by mixing up the cake. Follow the package directions, adding the eggs and oil, substituting the milk for the water and adding in the dry gelatin mix to add the lemon flavor to your cake.

Bake in a sprayed 13 x 9 pan. My directions were to bake it at 325° for 35 minutes. It came out perfect.

While the cake was baking, I worked on the blueberry compote. You know...I am becoming a great fan of compote, especially as a topping. You can make one out of almost any fruit or combinations of fruit. In a small skillet, add your fruit, Splenda and lemon juice. Cook on a medium heat. The time depends on your fruit and how much you want your fruit to break down. It really is a personal preference. But even if you like your fruit really soft, it shouldn't take more than about 15 minutes. Just stir from time to time.

 If you like the flavor, add a little citrus vodka or maybe some lemoncello, just before you take it off the heat.

Remove the skillet from the hear and set aside allowing it to cool.

In a mixer with whisk attachment or in a medium bowl, add your pudding mix and milk and whisk well. Allow pudding to set up while waiting for your cake to come out of the oven. The pudding will be a little thicker than if you had made it according to package directions.

Once the cake is done, allow it to cool for about 5 minutes. Then take something with a small handle and poke holes all over the cake.

Pour/spoon the pudding on top of the cake and spread it around with a spatula. Spread it evenly making sure the pudding seeps down into the holes you made.

Allow the cake to cool even further. Once the cake and your compote have both cooled, spread the compote on top and place the cake in the fridge while you make the final topping.

Add your softened cream cheese and Splenda into your mixer with a whisk attachment. Turn your mixer on and slowly add the half and half.

(Note: the recipe from Cooking Panda called for heavy whipping cream. I think that would be absolutely wonderful, rich, thick and creamy. But, I didn't have any and so I substituted the half and half. Use what you have and experiment.)

You will probably need to scrape down the sides of the bowl to be sure and get the cream cheese and half and half well incorporated.  Once they are mixed, turn the speed up to medium high and mix for a couple of minutes.

If your mixture seems a little thin, you might want to put it into the fridge for a little bit to allow it a chance to thicken.

Spread the cream cheese mixture over the top, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

• This was a super easy dessert to make. At this time of year... what could be better than blueberries!

Also, just take note of this process and then let your imagination combine any number of flavors at different times throughout the year. This could be 20 desserts in one.

Peach Cobbler

I have to admit that one of the main reasons why I go to the trouble of freezing peaches in the summer is so that I can enjoy wonderful, warm peach cobbler in the winter.  So I know that technically it isn't winter yet, but it has been cold here and this weekend just felt like I needed a decadent dessert.

Now we could have a debate here about exactly what cobbler is... I know that are several definitions, but I'll just be real honest here:  I am from Oklahoma and a cobbler is basically a pie in a square or rectangular dish.  End of my discussion... ya'll can discuss further if you want to.

First you start with a pie crust, you will need one for the bottom and one for the top.  This will make enough for an 8 x 8 dish.  If you want to double this recipe as far as the fruit is concerned and make one in a 9 x 13 pan, you can make 3 pie crusts and use 1 1/2 for the bottom and 1 1/2 for the top.




For one crust:
*1 1/4 c. flour
*3 T. Shortening
*1/2 t. salt
*3-4 T. cold water

Use a pastry blender or a fork and work the shortening into the flour and salt.  Add 3 T. water and mix together with a fork, incorporating all of the flour.  If needed, add the additional T. of water.  Empty out onto your counter or board dusted with a little flour.  Roll out just as you would for a pie, but don't worry too much about the shape.  A cobbler is supposed to be rustic, and remember this is going into a square dish.

For this size you are going to use:

4 c. fruit  (thawed and drained, if you are using frozen)
3/4 c. Splenda
1/3 c. flour
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg

Now I will be the first to admit that I used to be a purist and if I was making a peach cobbler, it was going to be peach... period.  But lately I guess my taste buds have gotten more sophisticated, or maybe just more open-minded.  I still had some blueberries in my freezer from this summer, so I decided to add a few to my peaches.  Mix together to coat the fruit.

 Pour the fruit into the cobbler dish.  Dab a few dots of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter on the top of the fruit.  Roll out your other crust.  Again, don't worry too much about the shape, but you may want to trim it so that it doesn't hang over the edge too much.  You don't want to have super thick crust along the edges.

Cut some slits into the top of your crust to let the steam escape and sprinkle with a little Splenda just to make it sparkle.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.  You will just want to make sure that the crust begins to turn golden and becomes flaky.  If you decide to make a bigger one, it will probably take a little closer to an hour.
Now I don't know about you, but there is not much better than a warm cobbler, served with some vanilla ice cream!  If you haven't tried Blue Bunny's No Sugar Added ice cream, you should give it a try.

One of the things I remember from my childhood, is that when my mom made pie or cobbler, we got cinnamon crisps!
So when you trim off your top crust, give these a try just for a little snack.

Spray a cookie sheet and place your pieces of extra dough on the sheet.  Using a knife, spread a little I Can't Believe It's Not Butter on each piece.  Mix a quarter cup of Splenda with a teaspoon of cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle the tops with the mixture.  Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.  Careful... they are hot when they come out of the oven!

Blueberry Cheese Danish

My sweet tooth does not have boundries and it often finds its way into the morning.  Since I haven't found a donut shop that serves sugar-free donuts  (ha ha)  I will continue to look for some yummy breakfast pastries.

This recipe was shared through my news feed on Facebook from Jan Moore Griggs.

• 1 can crescent rolls (here we go again...)
• 4 oz. cream cheese (half a package)
• 2 T. Splenda
• 1/2 c. blueberries

As you can see, this is a super simple recipe, but don't be deceived...it is very delicious!  I was thinking this might be a completely sugar free recipe, but I double-checked the crescent rolls package and there is a trace of sugars in the dough...so  No Sugar Added  it is.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Divide your crescent roll dough into four rectangles.  Press the perforations back together.

In a small bowl, mix your softened cream cheese and Splenda.  Divide it into 4 portions and spread each portion onto one of the rectangles, staying about 1/2" from the edges.

 Put a handful of blueberries onto each rectangle of dough.  Then bring the four corners together on top and pinch together to seal and make a little pouch.

 Carefully move each danish to a sprayed baking sheet.  Bake for 13-15 minutes.  Enjoy!!



Even my husband commented that these were really good...must be something special.

Banana Blueberry Muffins

Several years ago, my sister, Trudi, gave me a basic muffin recipe.  This is a great flexible muffin recipe that you can add whatever kind of fruit you like or have on hand.  It doesn't have a large amount of sugar in the original recipe, so the substitution is fairly simple.  But, it is a  No Sugar Added  recipe, because there are natural sugars in the fruit and the milk.

What I have discovered as I have been making these with Splenda, is that the muffins will stay moist if you add a little more moisture in order to take the place of the moisture in the sugar.  Most of the time, a half cup of no-sugar-added applesauce is the perfect addition, since it doesn't really add any flavor to conflict with your other flavors of choice.

So in this case I had a couple of bananas that were on their way out, but plain banana muffins just didn't sound very exciting.  Then I remembered that I had frozen blueberries in my freezer that I had picked up at a local blueberry farm back in June.  Since I had two bananas and you really only need one for this recipe, I decided that I didn't need to add any applesauce.

Here's the basic recipe:

• 1 3/4 c. flour
• 1/3 c. Splenda
• 1/2 t. salt
• 2 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1 t. cinnamon
• 1/2 t. nutmeg
• 1/3 c. oil
• 1 egg
• 3/4 c. milk (I use 2%, just because that is what I have in my fridge on a regular basis)
• fruit and/or flavorings of your choice  (in this recipe, I used two bananas and about 3/4 c. frozen blueberries)

This is a very easy to put together batter; you just put everything in a bowl and mix with a whisk or a spatula.

 For my bananas, I just used a smaller bowl and mashed them really well before adding them into the batter.  Once they were well incorporated, I added the blueberries, straight from the freezer.  Voila....the batter is done.

In all the years that I have baked muffins, they have always come out a little on the small side.  So one morning when making muffins this last summer, I decided to do what you do in the 21st century when you want to know how to do something...I Googled it!  And I found The Prepared Pantry.  They had it layed out in three easy steps!  1)  Fill your muffin tins full; 2) Make sure that your batter is thick (this recipe does make a thick batter); and 3) Bake them at a high temp (425) for the first few minutes.  Great tips!  They work like a charm.

 So the next step is to fill the muffin tin.  Spray your cups.  Remember that we are going to fill the muffin cups full; so while this recipe would make 12 regular size muffins, depending on the amount of fruit you add, you will probably only get 9 or 10.  You may want to hold off on spraying the last few cups until you see how far your batter is going to go.  Add a little water to the empty cups.  Preheat your oven to 425.  This recipe calls to bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes.  I bake it at 425 for 7 minutes and then turn the temp down to 400 for an additional 10 minutes.

And this is what your muffins will look like...high tops, moist and fresh.  They look like you could buy them in a bakery.  I'm sure that I don't have to tell you that they taste amazing hot out of the oven, with a little I Can't Believe It's Not Butter melting into those hot, bursting blueberries...enjoy!

Note: There are so many choices for these muffins; blueberries, blackberries, apples, pineapple, dried cranberries, raisins, pecans, etc.  Start to think of some combinations and you can come up with your own original flavor of muffin.