Spring in Colorado

Yesterday was Easter and we had several inches of snow here at the Rocky Mountain Lodge & Cabins. Weather in the Colorado Rocky Mountains can be interesting. It can be in the 70’s one day and snowing and in the 30’s the next. It’s supposed to be in the 40’s and 50’s this week, and down to the 30’s and snowing this coming weekend, then back into the 50’s again.

If you’re coming to Colorado to visit it’s always a good idea to dress in layers. Plus being at high altitude makes the sun more intense, so even though it may be 50 degrees out, it may seem warmer when the sun’s out, which we’re fortunate here to have an average of 300 days of sunshine a year!

Speaking of weather, we’ve had a pretty dry winter this year, so we’ve welcomed these spring snow storms. However, the ski resorts have had a great year and we’re anticipating another great year for whitewater rafting. So if you haven’t made your summer vacation and activity plans yet, you may want to consider a rafting trip while you’re staying here in the Pikes Peak region of the Rocky Mountains.

We offer rafting trips at our packages page at https://www.rockymountainlodge.com/packages.htm so check it out, along with the other activities and Colorado adventure packages we offer.

Since yesterday was Easter, it’s always my job to bring desserts to family gathering. With 14 people gathering at my daughter’s in-laws house I made 2 cheesecakes and a red velvet lamb cake. Here’s the recipe for the cheesecake I made, it’s Rachel’s favorite…

Raspberry Cheesecake

2 c. chocolate graham crackers, crushed
1/3 c. butter, melted
3 Tbsp. sugar

Combine above ingredients and press into the bottom and 1” up the side of a greased 8 or 9” springform pan. Place in refrigerator.

2 ½ c. fresh or frozen (thawed), red raspberries
2/3 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. lemon juice

In a blender, blend the raspberries until smooth. Add water, if necessary to equal 1 cup. Combine the sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan; stir in blended raspberries. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 more minutes. Stir in lemon juice. Remove ¾ cup sauce; cool slightly without stirring. Cover remaining sauce and chill until serving time.

3 8-oz. pkgs. cream cheese, softened
½ c. sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. vanilla
2 egg whites
1 c. whipping cream
1 c. fresh or frozen (thawed) red raspberries
2 Tbsp. raspberry liqueur or orange juice

Combine cream cheese, sugar, flour and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Beat with electric mixture until light and fluffy. Add egg whites, beating on low speed just until combined. Stir in cream. Pour half the mixture into crust-lined pan. Drizzle the ¾ cup raspberry sauce over cheese mixture in pan. Carefully top with remaining cheese mixture, covering sauce.

Place springform pan in a shallow baking pan in a preheated 375º oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until center appears nearly set when shaken. Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Loosen crust from pan sides. Cool 30 more minutes; remove sides of pan. Cool completely. Chill at least 4 hours.

At serving time, top cheesecake with 1 cup raspberries. Stir liqueur or juice into remaining sauce and heat until warmed; spoon over cheesecake.

Serves 12

Visit our website at https://www.rockymountainlodge.com/ for more recipes, where we add a recipe a month, and all previous recipes are archived and can be viewed at any time.