Dennys Food and Recipes: Summer Food: Raspberry Almond Cheesecake Tartlets

                                             Photo: Helana Brigman

Dennys Food and Recipes: Summer Food: Raspberry Almond Cheesecake Tartlets: From Denny:  Do you enjoy cheesecake but want an easier way to make it?  Then this recipe is for you.  I like cheesecake too but find it too large for just two of us to eat and too time consuming to make unless I plan on entertaining a hungry crowd.

A springform pan is an absolute must to make a proper cheesecake - and the patience of a saint to leave the oven door cracked open as it slowly cools down for hours so you can hopefully avoid it cracking straight down the middle like an ugly scar.  Usually, I've been pretty lucky over the years.  Of course, when I wasn't lucky it was evident that a wonderful fruit topping like blueberry or strawberry could hide a multitude of sins just like gravy on a screwed up dinner. :)...

Dennys Food and Recipes: Summer Food: Raspberry Almond Cheesecake Tartlets

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Recipe: Chocolate Banana Coconut Cream Pie

What’s the tantalizing secret to this cream pie? A chocolate layer is spread over the pie shell like a hidden secret under piles of banana slices and fluffy coconut filling. This is a fast filling for the convenience oriented so this pie comes together quickly, chilling for about four hours.

Tomorrow: Romantic Chocolate Fondue for Two


Chocolate Banana Coconut Cream Pie


Yield: 8 servings

From: Kraft Foods


Ingredients:


2 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate

1 Tablespoon milk

1 Tablespoon butter

1 baked pastry shell (9-inch), cooled

2 bananas, sliced

1 ½ cups cold milk

1 package (4-serving size) vanilla instant pudding and pie filling

1 ½ cups coconut

1 ½ cups thawed whipped topping

Coconut, toasted


Directions: Microwave chocolate, milk and butter in medium microwavable bowl on HIGH for 1 to 1 ½ minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Spread evenly in pastry shell. Arrange banana slices over chocolate.

Pour cold milk into large bowl. Add pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes. Stir in 1 ½ cups coconut. Spoon over banana slices. Spread whipped topping over pie. Sprinkle with toasted coconut.

Refrigerate 4 hours or until set. Store leftover pie in refrigerator. Makes 8 servings.

Tomorrow: Romantic Chocolate Fondue for Two

Recipe: Strawberry White Chocolate Napoleons

Napoleons are a popular sweet in Louisiana and especially New Orleans. Even the restaurant chain of La Madaleine features them daily as do other pastry shops.

This recipe is easy to make because of the purchased frozen puff pastry. All you do after baking is fill them with an easy white chocolate mousse mixture and top with fresh strawberries. Of course, the final garnish is a lovely drizzle of melted semi-sweet chocolate.

Strawberry White Chocolate Napoleons

Yield: 12 servings

From: Kraft Foods


Ingredients:


1 sheet frozen ready-to-bake puff pastry

1 package (6 squares) premium white baking chocolate

1 ½ cups heavy or whipping cream, divided

1 1/3 cups sliced strawberries

2 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted


Directions: Thaw pastry sheet at room temperature 30 minutes. Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Unfold pastry sheet on lightly floured surface. Cut into 3 strips along fold marks. Bake on cookie sheet 15 minutes or until golden. Remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire racks.

Microwave white chocolate and ¼ cup of the cream in large microwavable bowl on HIGH 2 minutes or until white chocolate is almost melted, stirring halfway through heating time. Stir until white chocolate is completely melted. Cool 20 minutes or until room temperature, stirring occasionally.

Beat remaining 1 ¼ cups cream in chilled medium bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. DO NOT OVERBEAT. (It will separate and become useless.) Fold ½ of the whipped cream into white chocolate mixture. Fold in remaining whipped cream just until blended.

Split each pastry strip into 2 layers. Set aside 2 of the top layers. Spread remaining 4 layers each with ½ cup of the white chocolate mousse and 1/3 cup of the sliced strawberries. For each dessert assemble 2 layers and top with 1 of the reserved layers. Drizzle with melted chocolate.

Refrigerate up to 4 hours. Makes 12 servings.