Strawberry Cheesecake

CELEBRATING MOTHER’S DAY!

Mother’s Day is our time to reflect and show gratitude to the women and mother’s who have been mentors and caregivers; ultimately those who have helped to shape us into who we are.

When my mother passed away in 1978, a friend said to me, ‘she will always be with you’. At that time I hadn’t really understood that comment fully. As the years go by I realized that is so true but of course it is never the same.  Never a day goes by without something  triggering a special memory of her.

Beauty lives deep in the heart of a mother and all she does for her family. This blog is especially to celebrate:  the special memories of my mother for her endless giving of selfless love — my mother-in-law, Dolores, for her loving and kind ways and raising that ‘special’ man  I love sharing my life with — to my sisters, who have given so much of themselves to be such great moms.

My choice of recipe for today’s blog is one that I have always enjoyed to make for special occasions — No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake. 

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Strawberry Cheesecake
A showy, light cheesecake tasting almost like you were eating a strawberry mousse dessert.
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 8-10 minutes
Servings
Ingredients
Crust
Cheesecake
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 8-10 minutes
Servings
Ingredients
Crust
Cheesecake
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Combine crumbs, coconut & butter; press into bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven & cool. Line sides of pan with a strip of parchment paper wide enough to reach the top of pan.
  2. Reserve several strawberries for garnish. Cut two 1/4" slices from center part of enough strawberries to press in a single row of slices around base edge of pan. Cut up remaining strawberries to make 2 cups.
  3. Process strawberries in food processor slightly; add softened cream cheese, sugar, orange & lemon juice. Continue to process until very smooth.
  4. Soften gelatin in cold water; stir over low heat until dissolved. Beat into cheese mixture. Refrigerate until mixture just begins to mound. Fold in 1 cup whipped cream; pour into prepared crust & refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Remove cheesecake from pan; carefully remove parchment paper.
  5. Garnish with whipped cream, strawberry slices & fresh mint leaves.
Recipe Notes
  • In the picture for the blog I chose to dip some strawberries to use in the garnish. Other times, I have made a floret of whipped cream on top of each serving piece topped it with a slice of strawberry & a piece of fresh mint.
  • On occasion, I haven't baked the crust if time was of the essence & the cheesecake would be used right away.
  • If you prefer a stronger strawberry flavor the 1 cup of whipping cream can be omitted. The cheesecake seems to have no problem 'setting up' without it.

Oatmeal Spice Cake with Broiled Topping

In about 1956, Baker’s Angel Flake Coconut (General Mills) came up with the idea of ‘cut-up cakes’. My mother always had a love for cake decorating and this idea just added a whole new dimension. The company printed a little booklet with a year’s worth of cut-up cake directions.

The cakes were popular because no special tools or pans were needed. Cakes were baked from your own recipe or from cake mixes, usually in either a 13 x 9″ pan or two 8 or 9″ layers. After the cake was cooled, you followed a pattern given in the recipe booklet and cut the cake as directed with a knife, then put the pieces together to form the desired shape. The cake pieces were then covered with frosting, making it appear as one solid cake.

Most of the designs usually incorporated coconut into the decoration. It looked great and of course we loved it. This was the forerunner to the baking industry developing ‘character’ cake pans in shapes of anything imaginable.

Although this old fashioned oatmeal cake came from that time period, it was not used for one of these cut-up cakes. I just thought it would be nice to include it in this blog since it had that wonderful tasting broiled topping made with the well known ‘Angel Flake‘ coconut. This cake was so good but one minute too long under that broiler could destroy it!

Print Recipe
Oatmeal Spice Cake with Broiled Topping
A dense, moist, classic oatmeal cake that has stood the test of time.
Votes: 2
Rating: 4.5
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Rate this recipe!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 38 minutes
Passive Time 10 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
cake
Frosting
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 38 minutes
Passive Time 10 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
cake
Frosting
Votes: 2
Rating: 4.5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
  1. In a small bowl, pour boiling water over oatmeal & margarine; let stand for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 x 9" baking dish. In a large bowl, beat eggs with sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla & oat mixture, blend well. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg & cinnamon. Combine flour mixture to creamed mixture, blending carefully. Pour into prepared baking pan; bake 35 minutes or until tests done. Cool for 10 minutes. Do not remove from pan. For Frosting: Combine all ingredients. Spread evenly over cake. Broil until frosting becomes bubbly. WATCH CAREFULLY! Let cake cool enough for the topping to be absorbed into the cake.