Strawberry Cream Puff Cake

I have been trying to limit my sweet intake to family dinners on Sunday and for special occasions. Tonight was neither category, but I had fresh strawberries that need to be used, so rightfully I caved and gave into making this for dessert. The cream in this recipe is OH SO GOOD! The orange zest in it I L-O-V-E-D! I am excited to make this cream for our next family waffles and cream fest. Who knows when that will be, but I will be ready!

This dessert is light in texture; not in flavor or calories I am sure, but when you are indulging do you really care?!;-) I think this would be so fun to make for a Valentines dessert if strawberries happen to be at a fair price.

Strawberry Cream Puff Cake

Cream Puff Base:

5 tablespoons butter

2/3 cup water

1 tablespoon sugar

2/3 cup flour

3 eggs

Cream Cheese Mixture:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon fresh orange zest

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2/3 cup powdered sugar

For the cream puff layer, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bring the butter, water and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the flour all at once and stir quickly until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and stir the mixture until smooth. Let cool for 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until the mixture is shiny with a satiny sheen. Don't over beat. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch spring form pan (or in a pinch, you could use a 9-inch circle cake pan). Using an offset spatula, spread the mixture on the bottom and one inch up the sides of the prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and prick pastry with a toothpick 10-12 times. Return to the oven and bake 5-10 minutes more until golden brown but not over baked (you can insert a toothpick into the center and if it comes out with sticky dough, it still needs longer in the oven).Cool completely.

For the cream cheese mixture, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar (if you want to ensure there are no lumps, sift the powdered sugar into the cream cheese) and beat with the cream cheese until mixture is smooth and light. Add the remaining ingredients and beat until stiff peaks form. Spread onto the cooled cream puff shell.

Top with fresh sliced strawberries (I mixed 2 cups of strawberries with 1 teaspoon sugar and let them hang out in the fridge while I was prepping the cake) or you can use a 16-ounce bag of frozen strawberries that have been thawed. Mix the thawed strawberries and juice with 1-2 teaspoons sugar and bring to a simmer in a saucepan. Cook until slightly thickened. Cool completely and use as topping for the cake.

Recipe Source: from My Kitchen Cafe (www.mykitchencafe.blogspot.com)/originally from Aunt Marilyn