ISO Blueberry Stabilized Whipped Topping

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I'm making a Napoleon of sorts for a 4th of July potluck. It will consist of a cooked strawberry cheesecake base, with a no-bake cheesecake middle, and blueberry whipped topping. It will sit in a graham cracker crust. I have never made a fruit flavored whipped topping before and so could use some help. I read that you can make a standard whipped cream and while its whipping substitute fruit jam for some of the sugar. But I don't know the ratios, or how much can be added without destroing the whipped cream.

I also don't want it to melt in the sun. Any help would be appreciated. Of course, I prefer something tried and true.

I was going to make a red, white, & blue three layer baked cheesecake with strawberry, new york, and blueberry custards layered on top of each other, but feel this other idea would be lighter and more refreshing. If anyone is interested in the technique for making a triple layer baked cheesecake, let me know. I know how to do that.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Wyogal]

How about using some gelatin in the whipped cream?

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

How about using some gelatin in the whipped cream?

That's what I've read in stabilized whipped cream icing recipes. When I tried to execute the recipe, the gelatin clumped up, creating a grainy texture. So, I have to find sheet gelatine rather than the powdered kind, or a better recipe.

but I've changed my mind anyway. I'm going with the original idea of making 3 separate layers if cooked custard, with the bottom as strawberry, the middle as a new york style, and the top as blueberry flavored. I'll then top it with fresh blueberrys to make the blue field for marang stars, and use fresh, sliced streawberries to make the red stripes, and whipped cream to make the white stripes. This will all be made in a 10" springform pan. I'll take pictures.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Wyogal]

When I first did that with gelatin, I didn't get it all dissolved in warm water, first, and it clumped.
The triple layer cooked custard sounds fab!

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

The technique si simple, if time consuming. Simply bake the custard in a springform pan lined with parchment paper. When the custard is set, remove the sides, slide a thin plastic cutting sheet under the custard, and remove it to the side. Do the same for the 2nd and 3rd layers. Then, blind bake a graham cracker crust in the pan, and carefully slide the custards back into the crust. They shrink just enough while baking to fit perfectly into the crust.

I made a single layer cheese cake this way, and put a rich ganache into the crust, followed by the cheesecake custard. it worked beautifully, that is until I cut into it and the ganache flowed all over the table (it was my first ganache and I thought it would firm up like fudge. Silly me). It was still a success though as no one could figure out ow I got that creamy chocolate layer under that dense, rich, new york cheesecake.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the north.

 

[Wyogal]

aha! good idea!

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Results of my red-whte-and blue-napolean cheesecake.

I made a batch of my favorite new york style cheesecake recipe and divided it into three parts. I mashed and macerated 1 pint of fresh, washed, and hulled strawnerries and st them aside. I then washed, hulled and sliced another pint of strawberries. I removed the strawberries from a 12 oz. can of strawberry pie filling and added them to the macerated berries. I used the can glaze to coat the sliced berries and set them aside in the fridge.

Next step, combined the macerated berries with 1/3 of the cheesecake filling. I added an extra tbs. of cornstarch to ballance the moisture against the extra strawberry moisture. I baked it in a graham cracker crust in a 10" springform pan. I also baked 1/3 of the batter in parchment paper in a 9" springform pan at the same time. I removed both at the same time and let them cool. I removed the cooked plain custard from the nine inch pan and set it aside. I relined the pan with more parchment paper, combined a can of blue berry pie filling, plus 6 oz. (by volume) of fresh blueberries to the last third of the cheesecake filling. I baked it off. When all was cooled, I set the white, and then blue layers on top of the strawberry layer. I used the sliced and glazed strawberries to make red stripes and the remaining blueberry pie filling, with the remaining fresh blueberries to form the blue field for Old Glory. Whipped cream was used at the pot luck site to form the white stripes and to make stars in the blue field.

I had to improvise a bit because the man who was supposed to be my partner had to help his wife with baby duties, which left me (as usual) doing all the work.

The flavors were amazing, and very good. But the texture was wrong. The strawberry and white layers were too soft, though they held their shape until sliced into. The strawberry layer tasted very similar to strawberry yogurt, but with more strawberry flavor, but had the texture of a stiff pudding. The white layer was slightly undercooked and very creamy, but blended when cut with the strawberry layer. The blueberry layer had intense blueberry flavor and the correct texture. As messy as it was, everyone loved the flavor, even though the slices were not pretty as planned.

I put forth a challenge to all who love to go the extra mile, and help me perfect this desert. When done right, it will be a show-stopper. I'm looking for people to take from my experience and make their own version of the same thing, with alterations designed to improve the texture. Good luck and I hope others try this challenging recipe. Together, I'm convinced that we can create a new and great desert.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North