Easy, elegant strawberry desserts

Wed., June 23, 2004

Philomena Corradeno King Features Syndicate

The California Strawberry Commission reports a bumper crop of berries that not only are beautiful but are full of natural flavor. I just finished off a one-pound pack I bought several days ago, and every one of them was firm and juicy.

The desserts that follow are easy to prepare but elegant to present. The Split is made with devil’s food cupcakes, either homemade or store-bought. In contrast, the Roulade is made with an angel food cake mix.

STRAWBERRY-CHOCOLATE DEVIL’S CAKE SPLIT

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

1/4 cup sugar, divided

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 cups (about 24 ounces) halved, stemmed California strawberries

6 baked devil’s food cupcakes, unfrosted*

6 tablespoons chocolate syrup or fudge topping

In large mixer bowl, combine cream, 2 tablespoons of sugar, cocoa and vanilla; beat to form soft peaks. Set aside. In medium bowl, combine strawberries and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar; toss lightly. To assemble, cut cupcakes horizontally in half. Place bottom of each cupcake on individual serving plate; top with 1/2 cup strawberries and 1/3 cup cream mixture. Cover with cupcake top; garnish with remaining cream mixture and strawberries. Drizzle each serving with 1 tablespoon chocolate syrup. Makes 6 servings.

*Use home-baked cupcakes or unfrosted cupcakes purchased from a bakery; remove from paper liners, if used.

STRAWBERRY AND LEMON CREAM ROULADE

1 (16-ounce) package angel food cake mix

Powdered sugar

6 cups (2 pounds) whole stemmed California strawberries, divided

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened*

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

Heat oven to 350 F. Line 15-by-10-inch jelly roll baking pan with wax paper or aluminum foil. Do not grease. Prepare cake mix as package directs. Pour batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake 20 to 24 minutes or until golden brown and top springs back when touched lightly. While still warm, loosen cake from edges of pan; turn upside down onto large baking sheet. Remove wax paper; turn cake onto towel sprinkled with powdered sugar. Roll up cake with towel, beginning at short end; cool on wire rack.

Meanwhile, for Lemon Cream Filling, beat together softened cream cheese, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, lemon juice and lemon peel until smooth. On clean surface, unroll cake. Trim any hard edges from cake. Spread evenly with Lemon Cream filling to within 1/2 inch of edges. Cut 1 cup of strawberries into slices; arrange in even layer over filling. Roll up; transfer, seam side down, to serving platter. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes to firm up filling.

In blender container, process 2 cups of the strawberries until smooth, sweeten with sugar, as desired. Set aside. Cut remaining 3 cups strawberries into quarters; sweeten with sugar, as desired.

To serve cake, sprinkle top of cake with powdered sugar; cut into 12 slices. Serve each on dessert plate with 1/4 cup quartered strawberries and about 1 tablespoon strawberry (pureed) sauce. Makes 12 servings.

*For a lower-fat version, substitute reduced-fat cream cheese for regular cream cheese and omit lemon juice; follow recipe for Lemon Cream.

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