in the Clouds

porated. Evenly spread the cheesecake on top of the crust. Cover the cheesecake and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. For the strawberry rhubarb topping, using a heavy-bottomed 3-4 quart saucepan over medium heat, combine the strawberries, rhubarb, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla, sugar, and cornstarch. Stir to combine completely. Cook on medium heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring continuously until the rhubarb softens and the topping thickens. Allow the topping to cool completely before spreading over the cheesecake. Evenly spread the topping over the cheesecake. Use a very sharp knife dipped in very hot water in between slices for nice clean cuts. The cheesecake and topping can be made the night before for assembly the next day.

Dump cakes have been a big thing for over a decade or so, so let’s make one with rhubarb. This includes only 6 ingredients and is done in less than an hour and serves 10. It’s very easy and includes a box of yellow cake mix and strawberry jello.

Rhubarb Dump Cake

*4 cups finely diced fresh rhubarb, or….

½ cup sugar

1 box strawberry jello, 3 oz

1 box yellow cake mix

1 stick butter, melted

¾ cups warm water

Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for topping

*If you want to, you can use frozen rhubarb if you thaw and drain naturally without squeezing any moisture out. You can reserve what drains off to use as part of the ¾ cup of water.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle the rhubarb in the pan, then sprinkle with the sugar and dry strawberry jello powder. Dump the dry cake mix in a separate bowl and get right in there with your hands or with a whisk and bust up any clumps of mix so it is fine, then sprinkle over everything. Melt the butter, then stir in warm water. Pour the water/butter evenly over the dry cake mix. DO NOT STIR. Bake in your oven for 40-45 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove and let cool slightly. It’s best served warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

This next one is chock full of fresh berries, combined with a pretzel crust, and we all know that sweet and salty always go well together. The berries used are fresh strawberries and blueberries, but there is no reason you can’t sub any berries you want. This is another no-bake recipe which is never a bad thing during summer as heating up the kitchen during warm weather can sometimes not be pleasant. This goes together very quickly and again needs to set up under refrigeration for a few hours. This will give you 9-12 squares depending on how you cut them.

Berry Pretzel Squares

The Crust

3 cups miniature pretzel twists

1/3 cup melted butter

¼ cup light brown sugar

For The Filling

16 oz cream cheese, room temp

½ cup sugar

¾ cup heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp kosher salt

2 ½ cups chopped fresh strawberries

1 ½ cups fresh blueberries

Finely crush the pretzels in a food processor. Place the crumbs in a medium-size mixing bowl. Add the melted butter and brown sugar and stir to combine. Press the crust mixture into the bottom of an 8×8 pan. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and sugar. Beat until combined, about 2 minutes. Add the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat until smooth and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Pour over the crust and smooth with a spatula. Top generously with berries.

Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. This screams summertime. You can always double up this recipe and make it in a 9x13 pan since the more, the merrier.

Before we get into frozen dessert cakes and treats, I have one more incredible recipe, a yummy cheesecake and blueberry dessert taco which is yummy to the tenth degree. These are the ultimate tacos, and although I have bragged about how fresh berries are where it’s at, for this one, I use canned blueberry pie filling. Prep time is 20 minutes, cook time is 30 and this makes 18 tacos.

Blueberry Cheesecake Tacos

8 oz cream cheese, softened

⅓ cup powdered sugar

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

8 oz frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 ½ qts vegetable oil for frying the tacos

1½ cups granulated sugar

3 tsp ground cinnamon

18 flour tortillas. I use 4 ½ inch, but 6-inch works fine

21 oz blueberry pie filling

In the bowl of a standing mixer on medium-high speed, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla for 1½-2 minutes until smooth. Add the whipped topping and continue beating until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a tip, or a gallon-size Ziploc bag with a cut corner on the bottom. Chill in the refrigerator while preparing the tortilla shells for frying. Add the oil to a deep stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Heat the oil to 325-350 degrees. Add the sugar and cinnamon to either a shallow tray or a shallow bowl. Stir to combine. Set it aside. Line an upside-down muffin tin with paper towels for the cooked and coated tortillas to cool on. Tuck paper towels in between the upside-down muffin cups. When the oil has reached the desired temperature, use long-handled tongs and pinch together two sides of a tortilla to form a folded taco shape. Holding the sides together, submerge the tortilla into the oil. Fry the tortilla for 1-2 minutes. The tortilla will bubble up. If you lose your grip on the tongs, just use them to fold the taco back in half and keep it submerged to brown the inside and outside evenly. When the tortilla is light golden brown, remove it from the oil and place it directly in the cinnamon sugar. Use a spoon to sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over the tortilla, inside and outside. Place the coated shells onto the paper towels on the inverted muffin pan. This will allow the taco shells to retain their shape. Repeat for the remaining tortillas. When all the taco shells are cooled, remove the cheesecake filling from the refrigerator. The filling should be close to room temp once time to fill. Pipe a line of filling across the bottom of each taco, then top each taco with the blueberry pie filling and serve.

Let’s start talking about some frozen desserts which are just what the doctor ordered on a hot day and/or for a kid’s party, or any occasion for that matter as the kids will be flipping out over these as well as you grown-ups. This first one is the ultimate double-decker ice cream birthday cake for a bunch of kids and can be made with your 2 favorite choices of ice cream. I always use vanilla as one of them, but usually use a novelty type ice cream for the second one, often a mini-peanut cup ice cream, but truly, the combos you use are limitless. Also, this includes frozen ice cream bars, such as Snickers ice cream bars, Twix ice cream bars, and M&M ice cream sandwiches that you cut into 1-ince pieces. This is a showstopper for any get together. This will get you a dozen slices and the overall process, including freezing, takes 8 hours. I always make this the night before serving. Oh yeah, this is so simple to make.

That’s it, my foodie friends. Enjoy your summer season, keep those taste buds happy, and if you have any questions or feedback, please reach out at fenwaysox10@gmail.com