Did you ever have one of those nights when you jerk WIDE AWAKE at 3:04 AM...and then toss and turn until 6:30 AM, when--by the grace of Morpheus--you finally fall asleep?
No?
Okay, well I just did and what surfaced during that 3 hour, 26 minute sleepless hiatus was what to do with all that mascarpone. I really didn't want to make cheesecake for the freezer mainly because I had NO room in my freezer for multiple cheesecakes. Or even one. And I didn't want to bake anything with eggs.
What I did have in my refrigerator and pantry was:
5 pounds of mascarpone
2 Qts of heavy cream
52 oz tub of Philadelphia No-Bake Cheesecake filling (yes, I DID go out and buy it, just to try it out. It's okay...very light and airy...and would make a quick dessert with puff pastry and some brandied fruit compote)
box of graham cracker crumbs
various instant puddings
lemons
apricot pastry filling
and...
1 pound of Walmart cream cheese, bought after reading countless recipes had failed without cream cheese.
And here is the result:
1 Qt heavy cream
2 lbs mascarpone cheese
1 lb cream cheese
1 1/4 C regular sugar
1/4 C powdered sugar
2 oz lemon instant pudding
zest and juice from 1 lemon
52 oz tub of Philadelphia No-Bake Cheesecake filling
Crust:
3 cups graham cracker crumbs
10 TBL melted butter
2/3 C sugar, stirred into melted butter to dissolve, then crumbs added to moisten
Topping:
Commercial tube of apricot pastry filling.
Using Deb's idea, I smoothed out the cream cheese in my food processor, then added the mascarpone, regular sugar and juice/zest from lemon. Moved that to a 13" bowl and folded in the No-Bake filling. Then I added the heavy cream to the processor with the powdered sugar & instant pudding and when stiff, folded it into the big bowl.
Then I used a 2 TBL measuring cup and filled 36 9-oz cups with the crumb base, pressing down with a second cup to flatten and compress.
Then I portioned out the "lethal to lactose-intolerant individuals" filling, added a squirt of apricot filling on top and sprinkled with remaining crumbs.
Delivered to homeless shelter a few hours ago:
When I carried in the second tray, a man hurried up to me and said: "Is that cheesecake?" And I said, "Yes, but it's a no-bake version, so there are no eggs in it."
He reached out for one and I asked him to wait until I explained the list of ingredients to the kitchen coordinator, since I've known from previous donations that they have gluten-intolerance and lactose-intolerant clients there.
Then he asked: "What is that on top?"
"Apricot pastry filling," I said.
Just then the kitchen coordinator came out of the walk-in refrigerator where she was storing the first batch of cups and he excitedly said: "it's APRICOT!" as if this fact alone made his entire day.
I know it made mine.
No?
Okay, well I just did and what surfaced during that 3 hour, 26 minute sleepless hiatus was what to do with all that mascarpone. I really didn't want to make cheesecake for the freezer mainly because I had NO room in my freezer for multiple cheesecakes. Or even one. And I didn't want to bake anything with eggs.
What I did have in my refrigerator and pantry was:
5 pounds of mascarpone
2 Qts of heavy cream
52 oz tub of Philadelphia No-Bake Cheesecake filling (yes, I DID go out and buy it, just to try it out. It's okay...very light and airy...and would make a quick dessert with puff pastry and some brandied fruit compote)
box of graham cracker crumbs
various instant puddings
lemons
apricot pastry filling
and...
1 pound of Walmart cream cheese, bought after reading countless recipes had failed without cream cheese.
And here is the result:
1 Qt heavy cream
2 lbs mascarpone cheese
1 lb cream cheese
1 1/4 C regular sugar
1/4 C powdered sugar
2 oz lemon instant pudding
zest and juice from 1 lemon
52 oz tub of Philadelphia No-Bake Cheesecake filling
Crust:
3 cups graham cracker crumbs
10 TBL melted butter
2/3 C sugar, stirred into melted butter to dissolve, then crumbs added to moisten
Topping:
Commercial tube of apricot pastry filling.
Using Deb's idea, I smoothed out the cream cheese in my food processor, then added the mascarpone, regular sugar and juice/zest from lemon. Moved that to a 13" bowl and folded in the No-Bake filling. Then I added the heavy cream to the processor with the powdered sugar & instant pudding and when stiff, folded it into the big bowl.
Then I used a 2 TBL measuring cup and filled 36 9-oz cups with the crumb base, pressing down with a second cup to flatten and compress.
Then I portioned out the "lethal to lactose-intolerant individuals" filling, added a squirt of apricot filling on top and sprinkled with remaining crumbs.
Delivered to homeless shelter a few hours ago:
When I carried in the second tray, a man hurried up to me and said: "Is that cheesecake?" And I said, "Yes, but it's a no-bake version, so there are no eggs in it."
He reached out for one and I asked him to wait until I explained the list of ingredients to the kitchen coordinator, since I've known from previous donations that they have gluten-intolerance and lactose-intolerant clients there.
Then he asked: "What is that on top?"
"Apricot pastry filling," I said.
Just then the kitchen coordinator came out of the walk-in refrigerator where she was storing the first batch of cups and he excitedly said: "it's APRICOT!" as if this fact alone made his entire day.
I know it made mine.
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