Featured on The Great American Recipe, S3 EP6.
A layered dessert with pretzel crust, cream center, and fresh strawberry on top. A take on the traditional strawberry gelatin pretzel salad I grew up with in Western Pennsylvania, served at numerous family gatherings as a ‘side dish’ not a dessert. This version steers clear of industrial ingredients or gelatin, but maintains all of the traditional flavors.
Ingredients
For the Pretzel Crust...
8-9 ounces Small pretzel sticks, crushed (about 2 1/2 cups crushed)
3/4 cup Butter, melted
3 tablespoons Sugar
For the Strawberry & Gel Topping…
32 ounces Fresh Strawberries, hulled, and divided
3 tablespoons Cornstarch
1 Lemon, zest and juice
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
For the middle Cream layer...
8 ounces Cream cheese, softened, preferably Philadelphia regular cream cheese
8 ounces Mascarpone cheese
1 1/2 cups Confectioners Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Half-and-half, Optionally add if mixture is stiff
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Ensure strawberries are kept in the refrigerator until needed.
Cream layer ingredients should be softened, but still cold.
Prepare a bowl with ice, salt, and a bit of water, to quickly chill the strawberry gel.
To prepare the pretzel crust…
Add butter to a microwave safe bowl, and microwave on high for about 1 minute, or until melted.
Add pretzel sticks to a gallon size zipper top freezer bag, removing the air and sealing the bag shut. Using a rolling pin, crush pretzel sticks into rough crumbs. Alternatively, use a food processor and pulse to achieve crumbs. Note: A rough texture is desired.
Add pretzel crumbs, butter, and 3 tablespoons sugar to a medium sized bowl, then mix well with a rubber spatula to combine. Distribute 1/4 cup of the crust mixture into eight 1-cup oven safe glass ramekins. Use the bottom of a small measuring cup to gently flatten and ease the crust mixture to the edges. Note, do not compact too firmly.
Place ramekins on a half sheet pan lined with a silicone baking mat, and bake in the oven for 6-8 minutes. Once baked, transfer ramekins to a cooling rack, removing the half sheet pan. When cool enough to handle, move the ramekin crusts to the fridge to chill.
For the Strawberry layer…
Gather 8 ounces of hulled strawberries from the refrigerator, leaving the remained to chill. Roughly chop the 8 ounces of strawberries, then place in a medium mixing bowl. Mash with a potato masher until a slurry is formed.
Meanwhile, in a small sauce pot, combine 1/4 cup water with 1/2 cup sugar, and place over medium high heat to simmer. Separately, in a small liquid measure or bowl, add the 3 tablespoons of corn starch to an additional 1/4 cup of cold water, and whisk to form a smooth slurry. Once the heated sugar mixture has reached a simmer, add the corn starch slurry. Cook for a minute or two more, or until thickened, whisking constantly.
Remove from heat, then add cornstarch gel to the 8 ounces of mashed strawberries along with 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine, then strain through a fine mesh sieve into a medium mixing bowl. For a rapid cooling, set bowl of gel mixture into a larger bowl filled with ice, salt, and water. Stir gel one to two minutes to chill rapidly, then store in fridge or freezer until final assembly.
For the remainder of strawberries, cut in half from pole to pole, then return to fridge to chill. Once the strained strawberry gel mixture has cooled, add fresh strawberry halves to the gel mixture. Return to the fridge until final assembly.
For the Cream layer...
Add cream cheese and mascarpone to a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment Blend on medium high speed for 1-2 minutes. With the motor off, add the confectioners sugar and vanilla. Beat together on slow speed until confectioners sugar is incorporated, then mix on high for 1-2 minutes more. Transfer cream mixture to a piping bag fitted with a large (1A) round tip.
Fill each of the ramekin pretzel crusts with an even layer of the cream, covering over the surface of the crust. Using the back of a spoon, smooth cream to the edges evenly. Place ramekins in fridge/freezer to chill 5-10 minutes, then decoratively place strawberries across the top of each ramekin, covering the cream layer. Chill until serving. Enjoy!
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