RASPBERRY RIPPLE DELIGHT

RASPBERRY RIPPLE DELIGHT
1/2 envelope unflavored gelatin, 1 1/2 teaspoons *
3 tablespoons cold water
9 ounces frozen raspberries or 2 cups, no need to thaw
1 cup granulated Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda, divided
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
8 ounces heavy cream or extra thick double cream, if you live in England *

Put the frozen berries in a medium saucepan and add 1 tablespoon water and 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated Splenda (or equivalent liquid Splenda). Bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer about 5-10 minutes until the berries have broken up, stirring occasionally and gently smashing them with a spoon. Remove from heat and cool completely. I put them in the freezer to cool them off faster, but watch that you don't let them freeze. You could do this step earlier in the day and chill them in the refrigerator.

Meanwhile, put the 3 tablespoons water in a small dish; sprinkle gelatin over the water and let stand a few minutes to soften. Microwave the gelatin about 20-30 seconds on HIGH to melt; let cool slightly. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, vanilla and 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated Splenda (or 1/2 teaspoon plus 1/4 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon liquid Splenda) until light and fluffy. Beat in the gelatin, if using. Add the heavy cream and beat well (it doesn't thicken much with beating, unless you're using extra thick double cream). Chill cheese mixture for about 20 minutes or so until somewhat thickened, but not completely set (you can omit this step if using the thicker cream).

In a glass serving bowl or six individual parfait or sundae glasses, layer the cheese mixture and raspberries. Swirl them together a bit, if desired. Chill several hours until set.

Makes 6 servings
Do not freeze

* If you use extra thick double cream, omit the gelatin and skip the step for softening and adding it to the cheese mixture.

With granular Splenda:
Per Serving: 309 Calories; 27g Fat; 5g Protein; 12g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 9g Net Carbs

With liquid Splenda:
Per serving: 293 Calories; 27g Fat; 5g Protein; 8g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 5g Net Carbs

I got the idea for this very lovely dessert from a Raspberry Ripple Cheesecake recipe my friend made. The cheesecake has a graham cracker crust, which I omitted, but the only thing I had to change with the filling was to substitute Splenda for the sugar and add the gelatin. My friend lives in England, where you can get wonderful extra thick double cream, and she did not have to add any gelatin to thicken this. The cream over here in the U.S. is so thin that the gelatin is necessary. I used liquid Splenda in mine and you'd never know that it was low carb. It tastes sinfully good! As you can see in the photo, I tried swirling the raspberry and cheese mixtures and it came out a bit messy looking. I think next time I'll just layer them in the glasses.