Nine ingredients and two hours and twenty minutes, and the oven never comes into it.
Every fruit that goes in is drained first. The whole texture of this dessert depends on it.
Why This Recipe Works
- Beating the cream cheese smooth before folding stops lumps in the finished cream.
- Folding rather than beating the whipped cream keeps the mixture thick and light.
- Draining the pineapple and mandarin well stops the cream loosening as it sits.
- Two hours in the fridge firms it enough to hold a heaped mound.
- Toasting the coconut is what makes it golden and coarse rather than pale and soft.
Ingredient Notes
- Cream cheese with powdered sugar and vanilla
- Eight ounces with half a cup. Beaten smooth first — this is the cheesecake part of the name, and lumps in it never disappear later.
- Heavy cream, whipped
- A cup and a half, whipped before it goes in and folded rather than beaten. It is what makes the mixture thick enough to heap.
- Pineapple chunks and mandarin segments, well drained
- Two cups and one can. Well drained is not optional — packing syrup thins the cream and the mound collapses.
- Toasted shredded coconut and maraschino cherries
- Half a cup of each, both added at the very end. The coconut goes on heavily and the cherries whole and glossy on top.
How to Make It
Cream cheese beaten with sugar and vanilla, whipped cream folded in
Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth; fold in whipped cream to make a thick cheesecake cream.
Drained pineapple, mandarin and strawberries folded through
Fold in drained pineapple, mandarin segments, and sliced strawberries.
Chilled at least two hours to firm and blend
Chill at least 2 hours so the mixture firms and flavors blend.
Spooned into a loose mound, never pressed into a form
Spoon into a loose mound rather than pressing into a crust or cake form.
Toasted coconut scattered heavily, cherries on top
Scatter heavily with toasted coconut and crown with maraschino cherries.
Served cold
Serve cold.
Loose Is the Point, Not the Shortcut
This sweet cream-and-fruit dish has SALAD in its title, and it is not a salad. What defines it is its SHAPE: it is SPOONED INTO A LOOSE MOUND, and step 4 says so in as many words: RATHER THAN PRESSING INTO A CRUST OR CAKE FORM. Pressing it into a ring would not improve it - it would turn it into a different dessert.
Stage 1 of 5
The cheesecake cream - BEATEN smooth, then FOLDED
Steps 1–1 of 6
8 oz CREAM CHEESE, 1/2 cup POWDERED SUGAR and 1 tsp VANILLA BEATEN UNTIL SMOOTH, then 1 1/2 cups of WHIPPED HEAVY CREAM FOLDED IN. Two verbs, deliberately different. Cream cheese has to be beaten - any lump left at this stage stays a lump for good, because nothing after it is vigorous enough to break one down. Then the whipped cream is FOLDED, because the air in it is the only thing making this mixture thick enough to heap on a plate.
- Cream cheese beaten with sugar and vanilla, whipped cream folded inBeat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth; fold in whipped cream to make a thick cheesecake cream.
Stage 2 of 5
The fruit - and DRAINED is doing real work
Steps 2–2 of 6
2 cups PINEAPPLE CHUNKS, WELL DRAINED, 1 can of DRAINED MANDARIN ORANGE SEGMENTS and 1 cup of SLICED STRAWBERRIES folded through. The strawberry is the pink-red fruit visible in the lower half. Draining is the whole difference between a mound and a puddle: canning syrup thins whipped cream on contact and keeps thinning it for as long as it sits.
- Drained pineapple, mandarin and strawberries folded throughFold in drained pineapple, mandarin segments, and sliced strawberries.
Stage 3 of 5
TWO HOURS - the only thing that firms it
Steps 3–3 of 6
CHILLED AT LEAST 2 HOURS SO THE MIXTURE FIRMS AND FLAVORS BLEND. There is no gelatine here and no bake. Cold cream cheese and cold whipped cream setting together over two hours is the entire structure of the dessert, and it is why a twenty-minute prep turns into a two-hour-twenty total.
- Chilled at least two hours to firm and blendChill at least 2 hours so the mixture firms and flavors blend.
Stage 4 of 5
The MOUND - spooned, never pressed
Steps 4–4 of 6
SPOONED INTO A LOOSE MOUND RATHER THAN PRESSING INTO A CRUST OR CAKE FORM. It is a heap with soft irregular edges sitting straight on the plate, and the instruction is part of the recipe rather than left to presentation. NO BASE and NO CARAMEL belong here.
- Spooned into a loose mound, never pressed into a formSpoon into a loose mound rather than pressing into a crust or cake form.
Stage 5 of 5
The FINISH - heavily, and at the last moment
Steps 5–6 of 6
1/2 cup of TOASTED SHREDDED COCONUT SCATTERED HEAVILY - the golden scatter is toasted coconut rather than a cookie crumb - and CROWNED WITH 1/2 cup of DRAINED MARASCHINO CHERRIES, whole and glossy. Both go on at serving: toasted coconut against wet cream softens within the hour and the crisp coarse texture is gone. SERVED COLD, and for safety keep it at 40°F OR BELOW THROUGHOUT STORAGE AND SERVING.
- Toasted coconut scattered heavily, cherries on topScatter heavily with toasted coconut and crown with maraschino cherries.
- Served coldServe cold.
Success Tips
- Drain the canned fruit thoroughly, then drain it again before folding.
- Fold in three or four passes rather than stirring; stirring knocks the air out.
- Add the coconut only when serving, or it softens against the wet cream.
Serving Ideas
Eight servings heaped as a loose mound of thick white cream folded through with pineapple chunks, mandarin segments and sliced strawberries, scattered heavily with coarse toasted golden coconut and crowned with whole glossy maraschino cherries.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this a salad or a dessert?
A dessert. There is no leaf and no dressing in it — the name describes a heaped sweet fruit-and-cream mixture, spooned loose rather than set into a crust or a cake ring.
What is the golden scatter on top?
Toasted shredded coconut, half a cup of it, scattered heavily just before serving. Not a cookie crumb.
How should it be kept?
At 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below, throughout storage and serving. It is whipped cream and cut fruit, so it goes from the fridge to the table and back again.
