Dear Jeanne: My husband is on a low-fat, heart-healthy diet. I would like to know if there is a way to revise this recipe to lighten the fat content (and calories, too) so that it may be included in our "special day treats" recipes. A friend says that it is a wonderful tart, but I haven't tried it because of my dietary concerns. Any help you can give would be appreciated. — Monica Palian, DuBois, Pa.
Dear Monica: The Watkins Orange Fruit Dip Mix is a sweetened orange-flavored powder. You can use any kind of flavored powder. You will need to use much less if you use a sugar-free flavor. You could use a drink mix, or even a flavored gelatin. You could use natural fruit flavors from fruit purees, concentrate or jam, or lemon, lime or orange zest.
This is a recipe that can be changed to use any fruit flavor. Just replace some of the milk that you are using with the fruit puree, and use pieces of the same fruit. I found the mandarin oranges in juice with no sugar added, but they were not available in every store. I also thought that adding more fruit would make it even better; and to make it easier and reduce the fat, I changed the crust to a graham-cracker one, which you can now buy in a reduced-fat version.
MANDARIN ORANGE TART
Crust:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cream cheese layer:
6 ounces softened cream cheese
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons Watkins Orange Fruit Dip Mix
2 tablespoons softened butter
2 tablespoons milk
Top layer:
5 ounces ( 1/2 bag) marshmallows
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons Watkins Orange Fruit Dip Mix
3/4 cup whipping cream
1 can mandarin oranges (drained)
Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix crust ingredients together until a soft dough forms. Press into the bottom of a 10-inch pie or tart pan and prick well. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool. Beat cream cheese, vanilla, dip mix, butter and milk together until smooth. Spread over pie crust. Melt marshmallows and milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Let cool. When cool, stir in the dip mix. Whip the whipping cream until soft peaks form. Fold into the cooled marshmallow mixture. Pour half of the mixture over the cream cheese layer. Place mandarin oranges on the marshmallow mixture. Pour the rest of the marshmallow mixture over the oranges. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Makes 8 servings.
LOW-FAT MANDARIN ORANGE TART
6 ounces fat-free cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup orange-juice concentrate, thawed, divided use
1 package (6-serving size) sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix
1 1/3 cups cold nonfat milk
1/4 teaspoon orange-flavored sugar-free drink mix
1 reduced-fat graham-cracker crust
1 tub (8 ounces) fat-free frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 can (15 ounces) mandarin oranges in juice, drained (about 1 1/2 cups)
1. Place the cream cheese in a medium-size bowl and beat in 2 tablespoons of the orange-juice concentrate. Set aside.
2. In another bowl, beat the pudding mix with the milk. Beat in the orange drink mix powder and the other 2 tablespoons of orange-juice concentrate. Remove 1/4 cup of the pudding mix and add it to the cream cheese mixture. Spread this mixture over the bottom of the graham-cracker crust.
3. Add the whipped topping to the remaining pudding mixture and fold in carefully. Place half of the whipped topping mixture on the cream cheese mixture. Cover with 1 cup of the orange sections, then top with the remaining half-cup of orange sections. Refrigerate at least 1 hour to set.
Makes 8 servings.
Each serving contains approximately: Original Recipe: 555 calories; 37 gm fat; 111 mg cholesterol; 419 mg sodium; 53 gm carbohydrates; 6 gm protein; 1 gm fiber. Revised Recipe: 264 calories; 4 gm fat; 2 mg cholesterol; 426 mg sodium; 40 gm carbohydrates; 6 gm protein; negligible fiber.
Jeanne Jones is the author of 33 cookbooks, most recently "Cooking From the Cupboard" (Rodale Press). For more information, you can go to her Web site, jeannejones.com. Send your recipe for revision to: Cook It Light, Deseret Morning News, P.O. Box 1212, La Jolla, CA 92038. Please include a stamped (63 cents), self-addressed envelope. © King Features Syndicate Inc.