Chocolate Marbled Strawberry Bananas Foster Cheesecake Bars

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When I first thought about making this recipe, I was making simple Banana Cheesecake Bars.  So how did I end up with Chocolate Marbled Strawberry Bananas Foster Cheesecake Bars? It started with the sauce I made for the bananas. It is made with brown sugar, lemon juice, and bananas. So I added some cinnamon, but skipped the rum, and made it Bananas Foster. Then I saw some big, beautiful strawberries at the store, and thought about what a great combo they make with bananas, so I added them. Then I opened the pantry and found the milk chocolate bar I bought at Trader Joe's and I thought about how great chocolate goes with strawberries and bananas, so I swirled the chocolate in and ended up with Chocolate Marbled Strawberry Bananas Foster Cheesecake Bars! It's a treat with a big name, and a big flavor to match!

Chocolate Marbled Strawberry Bananas Foster Cheesecake Bars

Seaside Pasta Salad/#KickOffToSummerWeek2014

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Some of the best times of my life have revolved around food. So, I made this Seaside Pasta Salad to reflect the fun times my family and I have shared at the beach. I used the shells for the beach, the egg slices for the sun, the granola for the sand and the goldfish, well, you know. Silly, but fun and tasty!

A Week of Mini's and a Giveaway!

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This week will be a week of mini's! What the heck am I talking about? Well, I just love little bite sized mini desserts, and if you are like me, you can't get enough of them either! So, starting today I will be making and posting (and eating!) a mini dessert everyday! Doesn't that sound like fun! I know, I love it too! :)

In celebration of our "mini week" The Freshman Cook is giving away a "Just Mini Desserts"cook book along with a Libbey, Just Desserts, 25 piece parfait! You must comment in the comment section and tell me what your favorite mini dessert is. You can comment every day this week until Sunday, July 15. Each day you comment is an entry. If you would like additional entries you may follow The Freshman Cook, and like our facebook page. Of course, that can only be done once and it doesn't matter what day you do that. So if you enter every day, like us on facebook, and follow us, you will have a total of 9 entries. I hope to hear from you!

Our first mini is a takeoff on strawberry shortcake and I call it Creamy Dreamy Shorties. Its made of strawberries, pastry cream, and pound cake, and topped with whipped cream. Yum!

Creamy Dreamy Shorties

Pound Cake

1 1/2 cups Butter

8 oz. Cream Cheese, softened

3 cups Sugar

6 Eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla

3 cups Flour

1/8 teaspoon Salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour bread pans.(or really any kind of pan)

Beat your butter and cream cheese until creamy.

About 2 minutes.

Add your sugar a little at a time beat for 5-7 minutes.

Add your eggs, one at a time, beating just until

the yellow disappears. Add vanilla and mix well.

Combine your flour and salt in a bowl, then gradually

add the mix to your butter mixture. Have your mixer 

at low speed and mix just until blended.

Pour into your prepared pans and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes, then take it out of the pan.

Pastry Cream

2 cups Milk

1/4 cup Sugar

2 Egg Yolks

1 Egg

1/4 cup Cornstarch

1/3 cup Sugar

2 tablespoons Butter

1 teaspoon Vanilla

Using a heavy saucepan, stir together the milk

and 1/4 cup sugar.

Bring to a boil over medium heat.

In a medium bowl, mix together the egg yolk and the egg.
In a separate bowl, mix together the cornstarch and the

1/3 cup of sugar.

Then stir the sugar and cornstarch mix in to the
egg mix and ...

stir until smooth.

When your milk comes to a boil, drizzle about 1/2 of the milk into
the egg mix. This is called tempering the eggs.
You slowly add the milk so that the eggs can get used to the
high temperature and they won't curdle or cook.
As you are pouring, stir or whisk the eggs.

Once your eggs are mixed, pour the egg and milk
mix back into the pan with the rest of the milk.

Slowly bring the mix to a boil, stirring the entire time
until it thickens.

After it has thickened, remove from the heat.
(mine is still on the stove, but on a turned off burner)
Add your vanilla and butter, stirring until the
butter is completely blended.

Pour cream in to heat proof container.

Place a piece of plastic wrap on the top of the cream.
Make sure it is touching the cream.
This way a skin can not develop on the cream.
Refrigerate until chilled.

Strawberries

Cut up a few strawberries.
I made a little extra here.

If your strawberries need a little sweetening, sprinkle a
spoonful or two of sugar on them. Mix it up and refrigerate.

Assembly

Cut up some of the pound cake into small bite size pieces.
Use more or less depending on the size of your serving dish.
I went back and cut my strawberries into small pieces
as I was putting this together. Plus I wanted a few tiny pieces
for garnish on the top.

I filled the bottom with short cake, then added some
strawberries, and then some pastry cream.
Top it with whipped cream and garnish with strawberries.
This can be changed around according to the size
and design of your dish.

Enjoy!

Thanks for joining me today!

Please stop by tomorrow for another mini recipe
and don't forget you can enter the giveaway every day.
The giveaway ends on Sunday, July 15, 2012 @ 11.59pm PST.

Beach Ball Cookies!

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It's Thursday already! I can't believe how fast the weeks fly by!! Today is Cookie Journey Thursday here at The Freshman Cook, and this week I worked on making a beach ball cookie. I used a round 2" diameter circle cookie cutter, and I copied an advertisement for a beach ball to determine color and placement of the color. It went pretty well, but I need a little practice with getting my icing ready to use. A couple times it got clogged in the tips. I made the icing last week, and I kept it covered in a plastic container with a lid, but it didn't seem as nice as when I first mixed it.

I used Americolor Orange, Leaf Green and Super Red.

I also used Wilton Lemon Yellow, Royal Blue, and 

plain white. I did everything with a #2 tip.

I used a food marker on the round cookies, marked off the center,

and the 6 color sections. I used an ad for a beach ball

as a guide. I filled in the green center first.

I outlined and filled in the white section first.

Then I outlined and filled in the 

yellow, red, and green sections.

I finished with the orange and blue.

That's it. It wasn't difficult. The toughest thing was

making sure the angles for the sections on the ball 

are correct. I think my spacing needs some work, but I 

love the colors, and beach balls are fun! I think I 

will go buy a beach ball. It may be helpful to have

it in front of me to get better spacing of the sections!

Thanks for joining me this week!

I hope you are learning along with me. 

Stop by next Friday for Cookie Journey Thursday.

I have another post due on Thursday, so I have pushed 

my cookie journey to Friday. I will continue with

summer funtime posts for a few weeks!