Strawberry Tiramisu or Charlotte or Whatever!!

I am not sure what to call this dessert. It is called a Tiramisu but the only similarity the two have is that they are layered. It looks like a Charlotte Ruse from the outside but that's again where the similarity ends. But as they say, Whats in a name? right? The important thing is that it tastes amazing and is very easy to make.

We had company on the weekend and I wanted to make an elaborate dessert as I never get to make it for the two of us. I had some frozen strawberries in the freezer and wanted to use them up. This recipe caught my eye on the Kraft website and it had fab reviews. I did make a few changes as I couldn't find all the ingredients (like Cool Whip, which I had seen a thousand times in the store, but when I went to buy it they had removed it from the shelves!!! Grrr) and I must say that Stabilized Whipped cream is a good substitute for Cool Whip.

Recipe Source - Adapted from the Kraft Website

Ingredients - This is a great dessert for a crowd

2 Packages (200 gms each) Ladyfinger biscuits (Saviordi)

500 Gms Fresh or Frozen Strawberries

3 Tbsp Castor Sugar

200 Gms Philadelphia Cream Cheese (I used light)

2 Packets (3.4 oz - 4 serving) Jell-o Instant Pudding - I used Cheesecake flavor as that is all that was available on the shelves, the original recipe called for vanilla flavor.

3 1/2 Cups Cold Milk

For The Stabilized Whipped Cream (You can use 3 Cups Cool whip instead)

1 1/2 Cups Heavy Cream (Chilled)

1 1/2 Tsp Gelatin

1 1/2 Tbsp Cold Water

2 Drops Red gel Food colouring

Prepare the Strawberries

Place the strawberries on a plate and sprinkle with caster sugar to release juices and sweeten them. Drain the liquid before using. 

Prepare the Stabilized Whipped Cream (You can use 3 Cups of Cool Whip instead)

1. Place the cold water in a small microwave bowl and sprinkle the gelatin on it. Wait till the gelatin absorbs all the water.

2. Heat the gelatin in the microwave for 15 seconds till it melts ( you can also do this on the stove top in a saucepan).

3. Place the cream in the bowl of your stand mixer and whip to soft peaks. Add the gelatin (if it has started to set heat in again), sugar and red colour. Whip till you get stiff peaks.

Prepare the Pudding Mixture

1. Beat cream cheese in large bowl with mixer until creamy.

2. Gradually beat in milk,  add dry pudding mixes; beat on low speed 1 min. or until well blended.

Assemble The Dessert

1. Trim 25 biscuits to the height of your springform pan (10 inches). Line them all along the sides and use the trimmings on the bottom to help them stand. Fill the bottom completely with the ladyfingers.

2. Add half the pudding mixture and whipped cream. Cover with the strawberries (do not use the liquid).

3. Repeat with a layer of ladyfingers and remaining pudding and whipped cream.

4. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

To Serve

Remove plastic wrap and run a knife around the sides of the pan to ensure the ladyfingers are not stuck to it.

Gently open the sprinform latch and remove the mould. Tie a ribbon around the sides and decorate the top with additional berries, grated chocolate or whipped cream.

Happy Eating!!

Wilton Course 1 - Class 3 and 4

I completed my Wilton course 1 last week and am happy that I don't have to make any more batches of Crisco butter cream!! Jokes aside, I have really learnt a lot of techniques from this class. Since I am left handed and write in a very weird way (for others) I have a lot of difficulty in holding the piping bag in the correct position. After this class I have learnt all the correct positions and the hands on experience has been really great.

In the third class we were asked to bring 6 un iced cupcakes, a filling and the usual batches of butter cream in different colours. We then learnt how to use different tips and make different flowers like the drop flowers, pom poms, shaggy mums etc. We also learned how  to fill cupcakes using a piping bag and tip (can't remember the name). We then learnt the Wilton swirl with the 1M tip (which I have done a million times before) and proceeded to decorate our cupcakes as we pleased.

 In the last class we were asked to bring an iced cake, prepped and ready to be decorated along with butter cream. We spent the whole class learning how to make a ribbon rose and it was a great challenge for me. The trick here is to hold the piping bag in the exact right position and you will get beautiful roses. If not, you are done for. I had to sacrifice a lot of roses in order to get a few right. We then decorated our cakes with the roses and did whatever we wanted for the borders. Since I was already using the petal tip, I wanted to do a ruffle cake. It took some time but it was worth it. The ruffles would look even prettier with a smoother icing.

We received our certificates at the end of the class and left with happy faces and lovely cakes!

Check out the review of day 1 and 2 here...

Happy Decorating!!

Wilton Cake Decorating Class - Day 1 and 2 - Review

Image Courtesy - Wilton.com

 I finally got to attend my first cake decorating class and it was great! I had a great time and learnt a lot of new tricks which really helped me decorate my cake.

I wanted to do this post because I wanted to write about the class that is held here in Dubai. So I will give a play by play on what it is and what it contains...

The classes are offered by Tavola at Century Plaza in Jumeirah. I am presently doing Course 1, which costs AED 750 for four classes which are spread over 4 Saturdays. They have classes on weekdays too for those who are free on those days.

One the first day we were asked to bring a pencil and note pad. Our instructor is very nice and friendly. We were given a Wilton Student Kit (free of cost) which included a lot of stuff like essential tips, couplers, a spatula, parchment, practice board and sheets, icing bags etc.

The instructor showed us how to make butter cream with the Wilton recipe (super sweet made with Crisco!!) and also how to level and torte a cake. She then showed us how to crumb coat and ice the cake. She used the icer tip which is really cool and gives a great even coverage. We then learnt how to transfer a pattern on the cake using piping gel and decorate it. We practiced a few stars with our piping bags on cookies and just like that our three hours were up.

We were asked to bring a lot of stuff for the next class including a cake, icing etc. As soon as the class got over there was a mad scramble with people buying a whole lot of stuff. Most of the women want to do all the four classes so they purchased the big Wilton set which costs AED 500 approx. Since I am not planning on doing those courses I just picked a few things like the cake leveler (I am never letting you go my new best friend!!), icer tip and turn table. Tavola is a bit expensive so it’s better to search for these products elsewhere. I get my disposable icing bags really cheap at Daiso. Or if you have anyone coming from the U.S you can get it from there.

Day two came very quickly and we were all ready with our cakes and icing. The instructor checked our icing consistencies and if it was not right we were asked to add more sugar to it. I was the only one who had bought extra sugar to class and I handed it around. In the end I didn’t have enough for myself and had to work with a thin butter cream (picture my sad face here).

We leveled our cakes; crumb coated them and iced them. Since my icing was too soft I could not use the piping gel to transfer my design and had to draw it free hand. I somehow winged it and got the cupcake design (which was supposed to be a fish and I had made the colors accordingly but then had to change them to the cupcake colors and one of them turned super ugly! Long story!).

All in all, I learned a lot and am waiting for day three where we will be working on cupcakes.

I think this is a nice class to learn decorating essentials. I don’t like butter cream at all and I don’t think a cake can be iced this well with whipped cream frosting. So I will have to learn to work with it. Let’s see how it goes.

Class Details

What - Wilton Method Course 1 - Decorating Basics

Where - Tavola at Century Plaza (Not in Mercato) in Jumeirah.

When - Four Saturdays, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm. Also available on week days.

How much - AED 750 (includes Student Course Kit). Cost will go up by the time you buy a lot of other things.

Read Class 3 and 4 review here...
Happy Decorating!!