Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Ingredients for 12 servings:

• 150 g pretzel(s), up to 200 g (salted pretzels), or salt sticks
• 170 g butter
• 225 g cream cheese
• 225 g sugar
• 225 g cream
• 2 tsp agar-agar
• 50 ml water
• 700 g strawberries
• 500 ml water
• lemon juice
• 1 tbsp sugar
• Food coloring, red, natural

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 2 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 10 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 40 minutes

American layered dessert with cream cheese and strawberries

Crumble the pretzels and place them in an ovenproof dish (e.g. a tiramisu dish). Pour melted butter over them and bake at 180°C for 10 minutes, then let cool. Bring 1 teaspoon of agar agar to a boil with about 50 ml of water, let cool slightly. Mix the cream cheese with the powdered sugar. Then stir a small amount of the cream cheese mixture into the agar agar and then mix in all the cream. Whip the cream until just stiff peaks form and fold into the cream cheese mixture. Bring 500 ml of water to a boil with 1 teaspoon of agar agar, a little food coloring, a little lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of sugar, let cool to less than lukewarm. Slice the strawberries and add them. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the pretzel base and wait until it firms up, then carefully top with the strawberries and chill for at least 2 hours. Where the idea that this is a salad comes from is a mystery to me, as it’s definitely closer to a Philadelphia pie than a salad. It’s an American dessert recipe, but the combination of sweet, fruity, and salty is simply delicious, so I wanted to post it here.