Thursday, April 05, 2007

My Ambrosia

One of the desserts I remember eating when I was young was Ambrosia. It is a cool melange of chewy marshmallows and juicy fruit all held together by a white cream, most likely Cool Whip. I loved how the marshmallows would soften up and I have never been known to refuse a maraschino cherry. I wanted to recreate it so I went looking for a recipe.

Well, the Internet was very helpful, giving me multitudes of recipes. Some with nuts, some using sour cream or fruit cocktail. No two were alike except in their use of marshmallows so I took components from them and made my own.

After deciding on a mixture of pineapple, mandarin, cherries, coconut and marshmallows I got to work. Using sour cream to bind it all didn't appeal to me so I used vanilla yogurt and the result was like going down memory lane. The first bite was Ambrosia! It was so easy to prepare and everyone enjoyed it, though I did hear one grumble about the cherries. The recipe can be easily doubled or tripled and makes a great no bake summer dessert. Of course, you can change around the ingredients as you like - it is very forgiving. Give it a try!

Recipe: My Ambrosia

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

This ambrosia was lacking in something. I knew you did not use cool whip; there was a distinct lack of that sweet, chemical undertone of edible oil topping.
*sigh*

Canadian Baker said...

Yes I know you love your Cool Whip!! Next time I'll use it just for you! *wink* :)

Brilynn said...

I've never had ambrosia, but it looks pretty!

Lis said...

Looks fabulous, Jen.. I've actually been craving something like this a lot lately, but had forgotten about Ambrosia. Thanks for reminding me.. I need to make some soon!

Happy Easter!
xoxo

Randi said...

omg, i just had a flashback to my childhood. I loved my moms ambrosia,. I think hers used sour cream and it might have had some coconut!!

Peabody said...

We called it Marshmallow salad...every major holiday it is there.

Valentina said...

Im Brazil we have a traditional dessert called Ambrosia which was brought to us by the portuguese which is made out of: cinnamon, milk, sugar and eggs.

Elle said...

Sounds a lot like what I had growing up. My Mom learned her version from my grandmother in Charleston, S.C. and she used fresh orange segments, but otherwise similar. Yum.

Canadian Baker said...

Brilynn - Thank you!

Lis - Happy (belated) Easter to you too!

Randi - I know what you mean - it sure is a nostalgic dessert.

Peabody - That's my kind of salad!

Valentina - Sounds yummy! You should post about it.

Elle - Orange segments would be refreshing! You can put almost anything in and it would taste great!

Anonymous said...

This almost reminds me of a favorite dessert/snack we had in the Philippines called halo-halo...
I can believe how this could be ambrosia..and it looks wonderful!