Tag Archives: strawberries

Lemon Berry Pavlova Parfaits

April 20, 2015 Keep It Sweet 12 Comments

The prettiest parfaits layered with lemon whipped cream, fluffy meringue and fresh berries.

I’d love to say that I had this big “creative” idea to turn a pavlova into a parfait but that would be a lie. In fact, I had all intentions of sharing a perfectly pretty pavlova with you until mine crumbled a bit too much and looked like an all around hot mess.

But while it looked eh it tasted perfect. The baked meringue was light and crispy on the outside and fluffy and soft on the inside. It was way too delicious to throw away. And while the resulting dessert wasn’t exactly what I planned, it actually worked out better. I really enjoyed serving the individual glasses to friends. It’s not my usual serving choice but it was just right.

Lemon Berry Pavlova Parfaits

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The prettiest parfaits layered with lemon whipped cream, fluffy meringue and fresh berries.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 6 individual servings

Ingredients

6 cocktail glasses or glass bowls
1 pavlova broken into bite sized pieces (can substitute broken meringue cookies as well)
355 milliliters (1½ cups) heavy whipping cream
44 milliliters (3 tablespoons) lemon juice (~1 lemon)
53g (~1/4 cup) granulated sugar
2½ cup fresh berries washed and dried (I used a mix of raspberries, blackberries and sliced strawberries)

Instructions

Prepare lemon whipped cream; in the large bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment, beat cream and lemon juice at medium speed until foamy; increase speed to medium-high, and slowly add granulated sugar, beating until stiff peaks form
Put about ⅓ of a cup of whipped cream on the bottom of each glass; layer with ⅓ cup of berries in each glass; follow that layer with crumbled pavlova (enough to reach the rim of each glass)
Dollop remaining whipped cream on top of each parfait along with a couple of berries
Serve immediately or chill in refrigerator until ready to enjoy

Notes

Pavlova can be baked up to three days in advance. Just store in an airtight container and break into pieces right before putting together parfaits
Parfaits prepared and served on same day but can be enjoyed within three days

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Summer Berry Skillet Crisp

Blueberry Rhubarb Shortbread Bars

No Bake Blueberry Pie

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{Gluten-Free} Summer Berry Skillet Crisp

June 16, 2014 Keep It Sweet 9 Comments

A summer berry crisp topped with buttery oat crumble. It just so happens to be gluten-free!

I know I’ve talked about this before, but I have a serious issue when I see summer fruit at Costco. I can NOT buy enough. A few weeks ago, I needed food for five days, just five. Now, given my current insatiable pregnancy hunger, I do eat enough for an extra person, but I’m pretty sure that either way, Matt and I can not possibly consume 4 pounds of blueberries, 4 pounds of strawberries and 1 pound of blackberries in just five days. Believe me, I’ve tried. So what’s a person to do when they have an excessive amount of fruit? Bake of course.

I generally don’t let a season pass without making at least one warm fruit crumble of sorts. They are almost too easy to make and compared to some of my typical baking, they are definitely on the lighter side. Of course a generous helping of ice cream is always necessary, but hey, a pregnant lady needs calcium! This might be one of my favorites because it is heavy on the blueberries. There was one summer where I swear, we made blueberry crisp multiple times a week throughout the entire season. So between the nostalgia, and the wonderful bursts of flavor, this crisp definitely made me happy.

{Gluten-Free} Summer Berry Skillet Crisp

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A summer berry crisp topped with buttery oat crumble. It just so happens to be gluten-free!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients

Topping:

55g (~1/2 cup) oat flour* (I pulsed my oatmeal in the food processor until it was the consistency of flour)
40g (~1/2 cup) old fashioned oatmeal*
70g (~1/3 cup, tightly packed) light brown sugar
55g (1/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

Filling:

450g (~4 cups) blueberries
370g chopped strawberries (from 465 grams / 1 pound whole)
400g (~4 cups) blackberries
57g (~1/4 cup) granulated sugar
15g (~2 tablespoons) oat flour* (I pulsed my oatmeal in the food processor until it was the consistency of flour)
15 milliliters (1 tablespoon) fresh lemon juice (~1/2 lemon)
14g (1 tablespoons) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
In a medium bowl, prepare topping; mix together oat flour, oatmeal and brown sugar
Add butter and use fingers to combine until mixture is slightly lumpy; set aside
Prepare filling; in 10 or 12-inch skillet, stir together fruit, granulated sugar, oat flour, lemon juice and butter; sprinkle evenly with topping
Bake for about 30 minutes or until filling is bubbling and topping is lightly browned, if you see that topping has started to get to brown early, lightly cover with tin foil for remainder of baking time

Notes

Adapted from my Winter Fruit Crisp and Blackberry, Peach and Pistachio Crisp*
If serving to someone with a gluten allergy make sure your ingredients are labeled gluten-free
You can replace fresh berries with frozen but cooking time may increase
This warm berry crisp is best served family style with generous scoops of ice cream
The entire dish can be made ahead of time and kept in refrigerator until ready to bake; may require extra cooking time if cold

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Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

You might also like:

No Churn Blueberry Crisp Ice Cream

Lemon Berry Pavlova Parfaits

Brown Butter Blueberry Chocolate Chunk Blondies

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Vanilla Bean Layer Cake with Whipped Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

April 28, 2014 Keep It Sweet 16 Comments

Light but satisfying vanilla bean cake layered with vanilla buttercream and covered in a wonderful strawberry cream cheese whipped frosting!

I may not have any real quality photos of this cake, but it was such a hit and so delicious that I wanted to post the recipe anyway. Plus, if I made it again just to photograph, I would absolutely eat half of the cake with a fork by myself. To save my unborn baby from going into a sugar coma, I figured I probably should just work with what we’ve got.

So I had a few different cakes in mind to make for Samara’s 30th birthday celebration, but when Kris raved about a cake she had eaten with this frosting, I knew I had to work around that for the dessert. I wanted the cake to be something that was light enough to let that frosting shine, but still a bit special. The vanilla bean cake felt perfect in terms of light texture and balanced flavor. For the filling I kept it really simple with thin layers of vanilla buttercream. This cake was definitely a winner.

Vanilla Bean Layer Cake with Whipped Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

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Light but satisfying vanilla bean cake layered with vanilla buttercream and covered in a wonderful strawberry cream cheese whipped frosting!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 12 servings

Ingredients

237 milliliters (1 cup) milk, at room temperature separated (skim, low fat or whole will work)
120g (~4 large) egg whites, at room temperature
50g (~1 large) whole egg, at room temperature
20 milliliters (4 teaspoons) pure vanilla extract
350g (~3 cups) cake flour, sifted
300g (~1-1/2 cups) granulated sugar
Inside of one vanilla bean
19½g (4 teaspoons) baking powder
5g (3/4 teaspoon) salt
85g (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
85g (6 tablespoons) vegetable shortening
Vanilla Buttercream Filling (see below)
Whipped Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting (see below)

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour two 9-inch round pans and line bottoms with parchment paper
In a medium bowl whisk together the egg whites, whole egg, ¼ cup of milk and vanilla; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the sifted flour, sugar, vanilla bean, baking powder and salt together on low speed for just 30 seconds
Add the butter and shortening; mix on low speed for 30 seconds; add remaining milk and mix again on low speed until just moistened, about 30 seconds
Increase mixer to medium speed and beat for 1½ minutes
Scrape the sides of the bowl add the egg/milk mixture in 3 separate batches; beat on medium speed for 20 seconds after each addition; do not overmix
Divide the batter into prepared baking pans; bake for 29-32 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from center of each layer
Set cake layers aside to cool for 10 minutes then carefully remove each layer from pans; run a knife around the edge of each layer for easier removal
Once cake layers are completely cooled, use a serrated knife to carefully cut each layer in half horizontally, creating 4 cake layers; set aside and make buttercreams

Notes

Cake slightly adapted from Sweetapolita
Be careful with the thin cake layers when lifting as they will be fragile

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Vanilla Buttercream Filling

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Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Ingredients

187g (13 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
200g (1 3/5 cups) powdered sugar
22 milliliters (1½ tablespoons) milk, any type
7 milliliters (1/2 tablespoon) vanilla extract
1g (1/8 teaspoon) salt

Instructions

In the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed for eight minutes or until pale and creamy
Add half of powdered sugar, mix on low for 30 seconds
Add remaining powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and salt; mix on low for one minute and then increase speed to medium and beat for six minutes or until very light and fluffy
Use a flat metal spatula to frost the first layer of cake; top with second layer and repeat; top with third layer and repeat; top with fourth layer of cake and set aside to make whipped strawberry cream cheese buttercream

Notes

Source: Sweetapolita

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Whipped Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

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Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Ingredients

227g cream cheese, softened at room temperature
280g (2/3 cup) granulated sugar, divided
100g (2/3 cup) chopped fresh strawberries
355 milliliters (1½ cups) heavy cream, cold
44 milliliters (3 tablespoons) fresh lemon juice (~ 1 lemon)

Instructions

In the large bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and half of granulated sugar on medium-high speed with until smooth; add strawberries beat for 30 seconds(some strawberries should blended in, but some chopped strawberries should still remain intact)
In a separate bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment, beat cream and lemon juice at medium speed until foamy; increase speed to medium-high, and slowly add remaining granulated sugar, beating until stiff peaks form
Gently fold half of cream mixture into cream cheese mixture; fold in remaining cream mixture
Use a flat metal spatula to frost outside of cake
Best served immediately; store leftovers in refrigerator and bring to room temperature until ready to eat (within three days)

Notes

Source: Southern Living

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Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

Vanilla Roasted Strawberry Banana Bread

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Vanilla Roasted Strawberry Banana Bread that is Low Fat and Whole Wheat

July 9, 2013 Keep It Sweet 19 Comments

Healthy banana bread full of delicious vanilla roasted strawberries.

It’s Tuesday but I feel like I am still recovering from the long weekend! I think it has something to do with 13+ hours of driving for a two-day trip, dancing all night long at my cousin’s wedding, and the hotel neighbors that found it necessary to blast music and yell at each other at 2am the night before we had a 6:30 departure time. That’s always fun.

But all in all, it really was a great weekend! The highlight was being reunited with my dad’s side of the family. We realized that it has been about twenty five years since all of the cousins were in the same place at the same time. There were seven of us then. This time around, with marriages, and a new generation, there were twelve of us. While there has been a lot of loss on that side of the family, it is a definite bright spot to see so many of us starting wonderful families of our own. Hopefully the next time we all meet, it won’t be so long from now and there will be even more of us.

I made this banana bread a few weeks ago when Matt’s friends were in town. There were a few extra brown bananas on the counter and I had a little baking marathon. The banana bread wasn’t as big of a hit as the blueberry pie, but it was a good healthy snack and breakfast addition.

The best part of baking this banana bread was the unbelievable aroma from roasting the strawberries. Next time I’m going to roast extra berries and use them as an ice cream topping. It was hard to put them right into the batter instead of eating them straight up!

Vanilla Roasted Strawberry Banana Bread that is Low Fat and Whole Wheat

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Healthy banana bread full of delicious vanilla roasted strawberries. Source: Skinny Taste Makes 8 nice-sized slices

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Breakfast, Brunch

Makes: 8 servings

Ingredients

7 ounces (~1⅓ cup) sliced strawberries plus 1 teaspoon vanilla extract for roasting
6⅞ ounces (1¼ cups) white whole wheat flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2½ ounces (~1/2 cup lightly packed) brown sugar
1 ounces (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
2 x-large egg whites at room temperature
10½ ounces (~1 cup) mashed brown banana (~3 medium)
2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Roast strawberries; pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside
Toss sliced strawberries with vanilla and spread out on prepared baking sheet
Roast in oven for 20 minutes
While strawberries are roasting, prepare rest of banana bread
Spray a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside
In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and salt); set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until light creamy; add egg whites and mix on medium speed for a minute
Scrape sides of bowl; add banana, applesauce and vanilla; mix on medium speed until combined
Reduce speed to low and slowly add dry ingredients just until combined, do not overmix batter
Once strawberries are done cooking, gently fold them into batter; bake for 35-40 minutes or until a knife comes out clean from center of loaf
Allow to cool before removing loaf from pan
Best served immediately; store tightly wrapped in seran wrap up to 3 days at room temperature or freeze up to one month

Notes

Source: Skinny Taste

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Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies

April 13, 2012 Keep It Sweet 24 Comments

Even though I LOVE my job now and am so proud of how successful Keep It Sweet Desserts seems to be so far, I still look forward to the weekend. This week I crammed as much work as possible into Monday-Thursday so that I can spend three full days out of the kitchen and (for the most part) away from the computer. I seriously can not remember the last time I went for that long of a stretch. Even last weekend when I had some time to relax I still spent some of each day working and baking. Being a one-woman-shop has made me appreciate my free time on another level.

Weekend plans in Philly include dinners here and here but obviously the food I’m looking forward to most is ICE CREAM at Franklin Fountain. Although, this should be pretty fun for lunch tomorrow. Oh, you are wondering what activities we have planned. Nothing yet. We will probably spend the time in between meals walking off all those delicious calories. It’s all about balance, right?

Speaking of food, if you like cheesecake but don’t want to commit to a big slice, think about trying these cheesecake cookies posted on Fox today!

Blog, Recipes

Strawberry Banana Bread and Childhood Friends

July 18, 2011 Keep It Sweet 62 Comments

Another summer weekend has come and gone and I feel like time is really flying. I spent this past weekend in Philly for a bachelorette party and bridal shower for one of my best friends since fourth grade. One of my favorite things about weddings is the series of events where you get to be with a group of friends who wouldn’t normally be in one place. Seeing a half dozen girls that I’ve known since elementary school and catching up on life was so nice. The most amazing part is that we can all do such different things with our lives but still come back to the same place and connect. The group of girls (or women I guess I should say now!) included a lawyer, a doctor, two teachers, a marketing coordinator and an assignment editor at a local news station. We live in different cities along the east coast and are a range of single, engaged and married but still we have that same place in our hearts for where we grew up.

This Strawberry Banana Bread is a post for the Secret Recipe Club. If you haven’t heard about it before, the Secret Recipe Club is a community of bloggers that, once a month, picks a recipe from a selected blog to make and share on his or her blog. It is a great way to find new blogs to read and see what different types of things people are making. For this month, I was able to choose a recipe from Katherine Martinelli. She has a wonderful blog with a ton of delicious looking recipes. There are a lot of savory dishes I want to try, but for Keep It Sweet, I obviously went with a baked good.

Thanks to several overripe bananas, I chose to make Katherine’s Banana-Walnut Bread. The changes I made were to replace the butter with fat free plain greek yogurt, reduce the sugar to 1/2 cup, use all whole wheat flour, skip the walnuts and add about a cup of chopped strawberries as she suggested. The bread was moist and flavorful. It was a great way to use up some produce on the end of its life! Check out Katherine’s blog and go here for the original recipe.

Do you keep in touch with any childhood friends? How often do you see them?

Blog, Recipes

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

July 6, 2011 Keep It Sweet 73 Comments

Who doesn’t like chocolate covered strawberries?

And what is good in fruit form, has to be better in cupcake form. Am I right?

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes? Yes please!

These dense little cupcakes have a lovely hint of strawberry that pairs so well with a generous spread of chocolate frosting! If you are looking for a stronger strawberry flavor and pinker cake, I’d go with this strawberry cake recipe instead. This cake recipe would alternatively lend itself well to a strawberry frosting.

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Strawberry Cupcakes

Yield: Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup strawberry puree (made from ~2/3 cup fresh or frozen strawberries)
1/4 cup whole milk at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg at room temperature
2 large egg whites at room temperature

Cooking Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Prepare a 12-cup cupcake tin, spray with non-stick cooking spray or fill with cupcake liners
Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt, set aside
In a separate bowl, whisk together strawberry puree, milk and vanilla extract and set aside
Using an electric mixer, beat butter in a large bowl on high speed until light and creamy
Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy
Reduce the speed to medium and add eggs until combined
Reduce speed to low and slowly add half of flour mixture
Add strawberry mixture and then remaining flour mixture mixing just until combined, do not overbeat
Pour cupcake batter into cupcake tin, filling each cup about 2/3 of the way
Bake in oven for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick or knife comes out clean

Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients

4 ounces light cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tablespoon milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups confectionersâ€™ sugar

Cooking Directions

Set cupcakes aside and prepare chocolate frosting
In a large bowl beat cream cheese with an the whisk attachment on an electric mixer until creamy
Beat in butter until mixture is light and creamy
Stir in cocoa, milk and salt
Stir in 1 cup of sugar and then the other
Beat mixture on high until well combined and creamy
Once icing is ready and cupcakes are cool, remove cupcakes from pan and ice each cupcake with desired amount of frosting

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Cupcake recipe source: Martha Steward

Icing adapted from Cooking Light

What is your favorite cupcake flavor? I love red velvet with cream cheese icing!

Cookie cakes, dessert platters, pop-ups and more!

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