Strawberry Cake

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Strawberry cakes are a Southern cake staple. However, almost every recipe I've found are made with a cake mix and strawberry flavored jello. I have been looking for strawberry cake recipe that's made from scratch,for quite sometime. I was thrilled when I found this recipe by I Made That using pureed strawberries in the batter. No cake mix or jello required! 

A couple of weeks ago, I was drooling over the keyboard browsing King Arthur's website, and came across a product they sell called cake enhancer. It's supposed to make cakes, and other baked goods, lighter, fluffier, and last longer. It can be used in almost any type of baked good from cakes to bread. I was intrigued and ordered a box to try. I decided to use it in this cake and see what happened. My cake did have a really nice light fluffy (almost box mix like) texture. I can't wait to use the cake enhancer in some of my other recipes. 
Cake enhancer was not in the original recipe so don't feel that you need to have it to make this cake. 

Strawberry Cake
Source: I Made That, ( slightly adapted)
PRINTABLE RECIPE

2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 Tablespoons King Arthur cake enhancer (optional)

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/3 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract

1/2 cup butter (one stick), room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten

1 cup pureed strawberries (put berries in the food processor or blender to puree)

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 9" (or three 8") cake pans with rounds of parchment and butter well or spray with a non stick baking spray.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cake enhancer, if using. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, and vanilla and almond extract. Set aside.

In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar for 3-5 minutes until it forms a paste like texture.  Scrape the bowl down well, and gradually add the eggs in a slow stream, beating  for about 1 minute at medium speed. Gradually add the buttermilk mixture. Mix for 1 minute at medium speed. Reduce the speed of the mixer to low and add the flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Stir in the pureed strawberries and the lemon zest.

Divide the batter equally into the prepared cake pans and bake 20-25 minutes or until the cakes spring back when touched lightly in the center. Allow the cakes to cool before removing from the pan.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
source: Recipe.com

8-ounces cream cheese

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

6 Tablespoons strawberry preserves

1  teaspoon vanilla extract 

4  cups confectioners' sugar

1  pinch salt

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter at medium-high speed  until smooth. Add strawberry preserves and vanilla, beat until combined. Add confectioners' sugar and salt. Beat at medium/low speed until the sugar is combined and the icing is smooth. If necessary, add in a little milk to get a smooth consistency. 

Party time!

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I'm a member of a book club that started in my neighborhood a few years ago. We're an eclectic, opinionated, fun group of women, ranging in age from mid 30's to early 60's.We meet monthly and take turns hosting the book club in our homes. It's always a good time. We have lots of food, drinks, and gossip deep, intellectually stimulating book discussion. 
One of the things I enjoy about hosting the book club is that it gives me a chance to break out the party food recipes that I've been tucking away. I had been wanting to make a cheese ring for a while and hosting the book club ladies was the perfect excuse to break out this old Southern favorite. I found several different recipes on the internet for this ring, even one know as Rosalyn Carter's Cheese Ring. How Southern, circa 1970's is that? All the recipes were basically the same with just a few minor differences. My ring is a combination of things I liked from a couple of recipes I found. 
After the cheese ring is taken out of the mold, the center of the ring is filled with strawberry preserves. I dressed it up with a sprinkle of pecans and some fresh fruit. I loved how retro-y it looked and the book club devoured it.

Cheese Ring with Strawberry Preserves

Ingredients:
1 pound shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (white cheddar is good too)
3/4 cup mayonnaise
5 medium green onions, finely chopped (white parts only)
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, or to taste
1 cup of chopped pecans

Method:
In a medium bowl, mix together the Cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, green onion, pecans, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder until well blended. *Coat a ring shaped gelatin mold generously with cooking spray, or you can use a silicon mold. Spoon the cheese mixture into the mold, cover, and chill for 2 to 3 hours to set.
Unmold onto a serving plate, and pour strawberry preserves into the center. Arrange crackers and fruit around the outside of the ring.
*If you don't have a mold, you can make the cheese into a log and wrap it in plastic wrap to set up. Serve the strawberry preserves on the side. I used these homemade strawberry preserves, but any good quality store bought preserves would be good. The ring would also be delicious served with raspberry preserves.

Strawberry thyme galette...

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my small act of rebellion!

"Cooking is like love, it should be entered into with wild abandon, or not at all." This is a quote from the late great Julia Child. I try to cook with abandon, but more often than not I find myself not trusting my instincts and relying on a recipe or something I've made before. I had some strawberries on hand that I wanted to use and thought I'd make a pie. As I was getting everything together for the pie it occurred to me that I could make a galette instead. A galette is just a free form pie. They're quick and delicious and I love the way they look, charming and rustic. Plus you don't need a pie pan, so one less step to making them. I pulled out my well-worn copy of Baking with Julia to get the crust recipe. The recipe in Julia Child's book is for a mixed berry galette (which is superb) but all I had on hand was strawberries. In her recipe, Julia says not to use too many strawberries in your mixed berry tart because strawberries are too watery. Uh oh...I very nearly went back to my original plan for a fresh strawberry pie. However, feeling just tad rebellious at the time, I decided to  make the galette with the strawberries, in spite of Julia's warning. My berries were still firm and not overly ripe so I thought I'd just go for it. I also have a pot of the most gorgeous thyme on my patio. At the last minute I decided to throw a little of that in the crust and with the strawberries. Since I'd ignored her warning about the strawberries, I figured Julia would certainly approve of my wild abandon, devil may care attitude when it came to adding the thyme! The galette tasted wonderful, I'm quite sure that Julia would have eaten it with gusto and not minded a bit that I didn't follow her advice about not using strawberries.  

Strawberry Thyme Galette
Printable recipe
 Crust: 

(Source: Baking with Julia)
3 Tablespoons sour cream (or yogurt or buttermilk)
scant 1/3 cup ice water
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 Tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into 6 to 8 pieces

Stir the sour cream and the water in a small bowl and set aside.
Put the flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt into the food processor, fitted with the metal blade. Pulse to combine. Add the chopped butter and pulse 8 to 10 times, or until the mixture is speckled with pieces of butter that vary in size from bread crumbs to peas. As the machine runs, add the sour cream mixture and stop the processor once the dough forms soft, moist curds.
Remove the dough, divide it in half. Squish the ball down flat and wrap it in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours.

Filling:

1 1/2 cups strawberries, stems removed and sliced (don't use overly ripe strawberries, as they may be too watery.)
2 Tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon corn starch

1 teaspoon fresh thyme (optional)

a squeeze of lemon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Clean the strawberries, remove the stems and slice them lengthwise. Place the sliced strawberries into a bowl add the sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch. Gently stir the strawberries until the sugar and cornstarch evenly cover the berries.
Roll out the galette dough into about an 11 inch circle that's about an 1/8 inch thick. Layer the berries in center the crust leaving at least one inch from the edge. Fold the edge of the dough over the strawberries. You will have to make pleats(folds) in some places. Brush the dough with a little water and sprinkle all over with 1 tsp. sugar. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let it cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing.

Feeling reckless?!

Strawberry Swirl Cream Cheese Pound Cake

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Spring has sprung here in the Southeast. I don't know what that means to you but for me it means strawberry season!  For many years, my parents grew strawberries on a commercial level. So as you can imagine, I've eaten a lot of strawberries, in almost anyway imaginable.  One of my favorite ways to use strawberries is to macerate them. Are you impressed by that term?? It's not nearly as impressive as it sounds. It's just sliced berries with sugar that sit until the juices release. We like to mash the berries slightly (I use a potato masher). We called mashed strawberries....fancy, I know, but that's just how we are around here.  At this point you can do anything with the mashed strawberries. They're delicious on top of ice cream, yogurt, pancakes, the list goes on, but pile them on top of a hunk of buttery pound cake maybe a bit of freshly whipped cream...simply wonderful!   

Last month's Southern Living featured a pound cake with strawberries swirled through it, on the cover.  When I read through the recipe it sounded delicious but called for a strawberry glaze for the swirl. I'm not a fan of strawberry glaze. It has a kind of artificially taste that I don't like. I decided to cook down some berries and make my own glaze to swirl in the cake. I was going to strain the berries and make a syrup more like the original recipe called for but I decided I liked the idea of having strawberry pieces baked into the cake. I could have my mashed berries baked right into the cake...perfect!

Strawberry Swirl Pound Cake

Source: Nancy H. Test, West Chester, Ohio, Southern Living 

MARCH 2011 (adapted)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
3 cups sugar
1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
6 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2/3 cup strawberry glaze
1 (6-inch) wooden skewer

Method:
Preheat oven to 350°. Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add cream cheese, beating until creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Gradually add flour to butter mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition, stopping to scrape bowl as needed. Stir in the lemon zest, almond, and vanilla extracts. Pour one-third of batter into a greased and floured *10-inch 14 cup tube pan (about 2 2/3 cups batter). Dollop 8 rounded teaspoonfuls strawberry glaze over batter, and swirl with wooden skewer. Repeat procedure once, and top with remaining third of batter.

Bake at 350° for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 1 hour).

Notes:*the original recipe said to use a 10-inch 14 cup tube pan but I used my 10-inch 12 cup bundt pan.

Strawberry Swirl

Strawberry Swirl

Ingredients:
2 cups strawberries(about 1 lb), quartered
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon corn starch

Method:
Combine the water, strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a large saucepan on high heat. Stir and bring up to a boil.
After the mixture begins to boil, reduce the heat to medium low. Cook for 5-8 minutes, until the strawberries have completely broken down.  As the strawberries soften, use a wooden spoon or potato masher to break up the berries. (At this point you could strain the strawberries through a sieve for a smooth glaze, but I decided to leave the bits of strawberry in mine.)
Meanwhile, whisk the cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of water in a small bowl. Then, pour into the strawberries.
Increase heat to high, and continue to whisk the mixture until it thickens and the cornstarch becomes clear and loses it's cloudy appearance, approximately 3-5 minutes.
Remove  from heat, and pour into separate bowl to cool down. Use 3/4 a cup to swirl in the cake. Any leftovers are great served along with the cake.

This is a BIG cake when it's done. With that lovely swirl of berries running through it, this cake would be perfect for our family Easter gathering. Can't wait for an excuse to make this again!

Strawberry swirl!

Strawberry Honey Butter

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Last Sunday I called my dad to wish him a happy Father's Day. I couldn't help thinking that now that all five of his daughters are happily married, this may be his best Father's Day ever. Although none of us have lived at home in a long time, as long as one of us was single, Dad always got the distress calls. He can breath a sigh of relief. Now he has son-in-laws. No more calls about cars that aren't running right or flat tires or appliances that don't work, those are all someone else's problems now. No more, "Hey Dad I need you to help me move...again." This too, no longer his worry. There are countless other things, both minor and important that we'd call on dad to fix. We all still call and ask for advice from time to time, but it's no longer his sole responsibility to come to our rescue every time something goes wrong for one of us girls. Now when the washing machine runs over or the air conditioner quits working, we call our husbands. That fact alone may have made this his best Father's Day ever.

I hadn't meant for this to be a belated Father's Day post but I can't help thinking of my dad anytime I make something with strawberries. He has a long standing love affair with strawberries. In fact, when asked recently why he started a hydroponic strawberry farm, he jokingly replied, "So I can eat all the strawberries I want." I suspect there was more than a little truth in that statement.
Enjoy your freedom Dad, but don't be surprised if the phone rings!

Strawberry Honey Butter
source: Gourmet/May 1990
(Printable recipe)
Ingredients:
1 pint strawberries, hulled
3 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened

Method:
In a food processor purée the strawberries and force the purée through a fine sieve into a saucepan. Add the honey and the lemon juice and boil the mixture, stirring, for 3 minutes, or until it is thickened. Let the strawberry mixture cool to room temperature. In a bowl cream together the butter and the strawberry mixture. Let the butter stand, covered, in a cool place for 1 hour to allow the flavors to develop.

This butter is delicious, especially on whole grain bagels!

Add some rick-rack and you've got a great hostess gift!

Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce

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I know I've mentioned before that my father side of the family is Pennsylvania Dutch Mennonite.  Although I'm not a practicing Mennonite and wasn't raised as one, most of the rest of my father's side of the family are still Mennonite. Because of this the Mennonite culture has had a huge impact on who I am. Much of the culture in just ingrained in my soul. Especially when it come to food and feeding people. It's nearly impossible for me to cook for less than six people, no matter how hard I try. I also inherited my inability to dance or play sports from the Mennonite side of my family, but that's another story. Back to the food stuff, Mennonites (at least the one I know) have a love affair with gravies, sauces, relishes, etc. Gravy is so sacred in my family, it's practically its own food group. I don't remember not knowing how to make gravy. Then there's applesauce. Also nearly a food group. Applesauce is more or less a condiment in my family.  It was almost always on my grandmother's table. As a child, I thought everyone dipped their potato chips in applesauce or poured it on top of their coffee cake. So not surprisingly, I too love a good sauce.

Anyway, both my grandmother and my mother, who is not Mennonite but cooks like one, instilled the love of rhubarb in me at a very young age. I look forward with great anticipation to the arrival of rhubarb every spring. Even if you think you don't care for rhubarb, I'm telling you this sauce will change your mind! It's amazing on ice cream, mixed into plain yogurt, poured over a slice of pound cake, smeared on hot buttered pancakes... Hungry yet? 

Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce
(Printable Recipe)
Ingredients:
1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar, depending on desired sweetness
1/3 cup water
1 pound rhubarb stalks, diced
1 quart strawberries, cleaned, hulled and sliced
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

Method:
In a heavy saucepan over medium heat combine sugar and water. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add rhubarb and allow to simmer for 15 minutes or until very tender. Add strawberries and lemon juice and simmer for 10 minutes more. Allow mixture to cool slightly before serving. It's great served warm or cold.

The perfect balance of sweet and tart!

Strawberry Panna Cotta

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Panna Cotta is on of my favorite desserts, so when I saw this recipe for strawberry panna cotta, I had to give it a try. Strawberries and panna cotta sounded like the perfect combo. Not only is it a wonderful dessert, but it's pink too!  What better to celebrate Valentine's day with your sweetheart with than a creamy, delicious, pink panna cotta.
Panna cotta can be placed in ramekins and unmolded, or for an even simpler but elegant presentation, simply pour the mixture into a martini glasses or other glassware. 
Strawberry Panna  Cotta
(Printable recipe) 
source: Gourmet  | May 2002
Ingredients:
3 cups sliced strawberries (1 pound)
1 3/4 cups well-shaken low-fat buttermilk
6 tablespoons sugar* (or more according to taste)
2 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin, from less than 2 (1/4-oz) envelopes
1/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup heavy cream

Method:
Blend strawberries, buttermilk, and sugar in a blender until very smooth, then pour through a very fine sieve into a medium bowl, pressing hard on solids. Discard solids.
Sprinkle gelatin over milk in a small bowl and let stand 1 minute to soften. Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and add gelatin mixture, stirring until dissolved. Whisk cream mixture into strawberry purée and pour into molds or glasses. Chill, covered, until firm, at least 8 hours.To unmold, dip molds in a small bowl of hot water 2 or 3 seconds, then invert panna cottas onto dessert plates and remove molds. If you don't want to unmold the panna cotta, just serve if you them in whatever you chilled them in.
I topped mine with a little bit of whipped cream and shaved chocolate.
 * Note: I added 2 extra tablespoons of sugar. I tasted the base and it was a little too tart for my taste.

My sweetie pie is still in Iraq, so I guess I'll have to make it again when he gets home.

Have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Not your average fruit dip

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I have to say I have never been a fan of fruit dips. You know, that seemingly obligatory, tooth-achingly sweet goop that shows up on fruit trays, salad bars, and at catered events. I'd come to the conclusion that the only reason that the only reason for its existence, was to mask bad, under ripe fruit. To somehow fool us into eating that rock hard cantaloupe or barely pink strawberry . Or perhaps like kids, we needed to be enticed into eating our fruit. Anyway, I've never seem a need for dip with fruit, but having been a caterer, fruit dip is regular request from clients, to be included with the mandatory fruit and veggie tray. I've made several different fruit dips over the years but never had one that appealed to me in the least. I was recently catered an event and needed that requested dip. So I decided to look for something new. This particular recipe caught my eye because it included coffee liqueur. It seemed like such an odd combination of ingredients that I just had to give it a try. The recipe said that the coffee liqueur was optional, so I added a couple of tablespoons to see if I'd like it.  Oh my! It's amazing. It tasted so good I added the rest of the 1/3 cup.  This recipe also called for cool whip, a product I never use, but I did this time. I plan to make it next time with sweetened whipped cream, and see how that works. I'm just glad I found a fruit dip that actually tastes good!!

Brown Sugar Fruit Dip

Source: (Sami Cameron, Corpus Christi, Texas, Southern Living, JULY 2007)

Yield: 3 1/2 cups

Ingredients: (printable recipe)

1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup coffee liqueur
1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed
assorted fruits

 

Method:
Beat brown sugar and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add sour cream, vanilla, and coffee liqueur, beating until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Cover and chill 4 hours. Sprinkle top of the dip with brown sugar garnish, if desired. Serve with fruit. Strawberries, pineapple, and grapes are really good with this dip.

This dip is not too sweet, with just the right amount of tang that it really compliments the fruit, and doesn't just mask it with sugar. The next time you have a party, whip up this dip to go with that fruit tray. You just might be a convert too!

The perfect bite of Spring

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I look forward to Spring every year. The warmer temps are great but I really get excited about fresh strawberries! I come from a family of strawberry fanatics. Well, we all love strawberries but my dad is the true fanatic. He started growing organic strawberries on his farm, on a commercial level, about 5 years ago. This time of year my mother becomes a strawberry widow. Dad spends the entire strawberry season with his plants. If you ask what he's doing he says they need cleaning, to be checked for diseases, picking...etc. It's always something. Mom swears he's out there talking to the plants. We're not sure what he does, but we enjoy eating them and as you can imagine, we eat LOTS of strawberries.
I particularly look forward to fresh strawberry pie. It's got to be one of my all-time favorite desserts. Strawberry pie is like taking a bite of Spring. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water!
My mom has been making this pie for as long as I can remember. When I asked for the recipe she said "mash up some berries cook them down a bit with some sugar, a couple tablespoons of corn starch, and lemon juice. throw them in your pre-baked crust and let it get really cold." I asked how much sugar she added she said it depended on how sweet the berries were. So this is the recipe I came up with from those instructions. If your berries aren't very sweet add up to 1 cup of sugar.
This is a great pie. The only thing that can make it better is a dollop of lightly whipped cream...the perfect bite of Spring!

Fresh Strawberry Pie (Printable Recipe)
makes one 9"  pie
1 pre-baked 9  pie crust  (you can use your favorite pie crust recipe.)
I used this sweet dough for mine and made them into 4" individual pies.

Deluxe buttery flaky pastry dough

Ethan Becker and Maria Guarnachelli

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon white sugar or 1 tablespoon 

powdered sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter

1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon ice water

1 to 2 tablespoons ice water

Method:

Yield: Two 9-inch pie crusts
This recipe makes enough for two pies. You can half the recipe but I like to make the whole recipe and freeze half of the dough. Then you can just thaw, roll out, and your ready for another pie!
In a large bowl mix together, purpose flour, white sugar, powdered sugar, salt
Working quickly to prevent softening, cut into 1/4-inch pieces, cold unsalted butter
Add the butter to the dry ingredients. Using a pastry blender or two knives, chop the butter into pea-sized pieces. Add vegetable shortening
With a few quick swipes of the pastry blender, cut the shortening into large chunks and distribute throughout the bowl. Continue to chop with the pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces. Do not let the mixture soften. Drizzle 1/3 cup ice water over the flour.
Cut ice water in with your pastry cutter or knives until the mixture looks evenly moistened and begins to form small balls.  If the balls of dough stick together, you have added enough water; if they do not, drizzle more of the ice water over the mixture.
Then press with your hands until the dough coheres. The dough should look rough, not smooth. Divide the dough in half, press each half into a round flat disk, and wrap tightly in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, preferably for several hours, or for up to 2 days before rolling. The dough can be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 6 months; thaw completely before rolling.

Pre-Baking your pie crust: 
This is the method of pre-baking your pie crust before adding the filling is also known as "blind" baking.
Pre-heat oven to 350F
Roll out the pastry and line pie pan carefully, making sure there are no holes. If there are, patch them with some of the leftover pastry dough. Crimp the edge, if desired. Using a fork, prick the crust lightly all over. This will keep the dough from puffing up. Line the pastry with parchment or waxed paper and fill with pie weights, if you have them. If not, you can use any dried beans or rice. I save my beans and use them over and over. Bake the pastry at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crust is a light golden brown. Remove the paper and beans, and allow crust to cool. After crust has cooled completely, pour your filling into pre-baked pie shell.

For the Filling
2  cups  ripe strawberries
1/2  cup  water
2/3  cup  sugar
2  tablespoons  cornstarch
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1  tablespoon  fresh lemon juice
4 cups ripe strawberries, hulled and sliced (if your berries are small you can leave them whole if you prefer.)

 Mash 2 cups strawberries with a potato masher. Combine mashed strawberries and water in a small saucepan; bring to a boil, and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Combine 2/3 cup sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl; add to strawberries, stirring well. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Reduce heat, and cook 2 minutes or until the corn starch loses it's cloudiness. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice and zest. Allow mixture to cool for about 10 minutes.
Gently fold 2 cups of the sliced berries into the the slightly cooled cooked strawberry mixture. Reserve remaining berries to arrange on the top of your pie. Spoon strawberry mixture into the pre-baked pie crust. Arrange the remaining strawberries on top. Chill for at least 2 hours.

Strawberry Curd...part one

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Lemon curd is pretty high on my list of favorite things. So a while back when I came across a recipe for strawberry curd, I definitely wanted to give it a try. A curd is usually made of citrus combined with sugar, butter and eggs. It's thick and has sort of a pudding like texture. They can also be made from fruit combined with citrus and eggs. Since strawberry season is in full swing at my parents farm, I'm always on the lookout for new ways to use them. Of course when I went to make the strawberry curd, I couldn't find the recipe I'd seen originally. It's out there somewhere on the world wide web!! I adapted this recipe from one for I'd found for a raspberry curd. I had some leftover cake I want to use up so I decided to put it between the layers of cake. The cake I used was just a basic vanilla cake. I liked it with the curd, but I think a lemon cake would have been even better. If you'd rather not go to the trouble of making a cake, you could just serve it as is with a dollop of whipped cream on top.
Although I really like this curd, I think that I'm going to try making one that doesn't have whipped cream and is more like traditional lemon curd. So stay tuned for strawberry curd part two!

1 pint of fresh strawberries
3/4 cup of sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
1/8 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups chilled whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp. Gran Marnier

Puree strawberries in food processor, Stir strawberries together with sugar, eggs, lemon juice, butter, and salt in medium saucepan over medium heat until thickened and beginning to bubble at edges, about 5 minutes. Strain strawberry curd into medium bowl, pressing on solids in strainer. Refrigerate until very cold, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

Whip cream and 1/4 cup powdered sugar and Gran Marier until peaks form. Fold whipped cream into strawberry curd. Refrigerate until slightly set up about one hour.

Tuiles the latest DB'rs challenge

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This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.
Okay I know I'm sliding in under the wire this month. It seems no matter how I think I'm going to change my procrastinating ways, the DB'rs challenge still sneaks up on me! Anyway this was a fun challenge. There was lots of room for creativity. I made my tuiles into cups filled with strawberry mousse in a pool of strawberry syrup. Just for fun I made some tuiles in the shape of butterflies. I had a great time with this challenge and the end results were very tasty! Be sure to check out all the other DB'rs tuiles. Thanks to our hostesses Karen and Zorra for such a fun challenge!


Strawberry Mousse
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
3 tablespoons cold water
1 cup strawberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg white
3/4 cup heavy cream
In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over 1 tablespoon of the water and let stand until softened, about 5 minutes. In a blender, puree the strawberries with the remaining 2 tablespoons of water. Strain the strawberry puree into a small saucepan; there should be about 3/4 cup. Add the sugar and bring to a boil. Simmer the strawberry mixture over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until it is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Stir in the softened gelatin until dissolved. Let the mixture cool.
In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg white until firm peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the cooled berry puree until no streaks of white remain. In another bowl, beat the heavy cream until softly whipped. Fold the whipped cream into the berry mixture and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.

Strawberry Syrup
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 cup strawberries, plus more for garnish
In a small saucepan, combine the water sugar and lemon zest and bring to a boil. Add the strawberries to the syrup and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook, crushing the blackberries against the side of the pan, until the liquid is slightly reduced and the berries have broken down, about 15 minutes. Strain the syrup into a heatproof cup without pressing. Refrigerate the syrup until chilled.

Chocolate dipped strawberries

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The first of the strawberries were picked at Waterberry Farm this week. It looks like we're going to have a great crop this year! I brought home a large bag of the "less than perfect" berries. They taste just fine but my Dad won't sell a berry that he feels isn't perfection. He takes it very seriously. I can't tell you how many strawberries I've had to look and help him decide weather it's okay to sell or not. By the way we have 6000 plants and yes I'm almost certain that he looks at every single berry! So these berries didn't make the cut but that's fine with me. Hubs and I ate as many as we wanted fresh and I dipped the rest into dark chocolate. After wrapping them in a robe of chocolate I rolled them in chocolate sprinkles or crushed toffee bits.
Chocolate dipped strawberries are a quick easy treat, but they look impressive. Roll the chocolate dipped berries into nuts or sprinkles and they look like something that came from a candy store. These strawberries certainly don't look less than perfect anymore!

Method

Melt 5-6 ounces of semi-sweet or white chocolate chocolate

Microwave directions for melting chocolate:
Place coarsely chopped chocolate in a microwave-safe container and microwave at MEDIUM (50 percent power) for 1 1/2 to 4 minutes, until the chocolate turns shiny.
Remove the container from the microwave and stir the chocolate until completely melted. Be careful not to overheat or the chocolate can burn.



Dip strawberries in the melted chocolate, lightly shaking the berry to remove any excess chocolate. Roll the dipped strawberries in chopped nuts, chocolate sprinkles, or toffee bits. Place on parchment paper and let chocolate set-up. The strawberries are best eaten within a few hours of dipping them in the chocolate but can be kept overnight if refrigerated.
Note: make sure your strawberries are completely dry when you dip them into the chocolate. Any water on the berries will ruin the chocolate.

Rhubarb and Strawberry Clafoutis

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When I think of french desserts, I tend to think of something along the lines of our last Daring Baker's challenge. We made L'Opera cake, which consisted of numerous time consuming steps, resulting in a very rich, very decadent, cake. Clafoutis on the other hand, is nothing like L'Opera cake. It's a simple french country dessert with only a few ingredients, more like something your grandmother would make. It's comfort food at it's best. Clafoutis (pronounced kla-foo-Tee) consists of a custard like batter baked over fresh fruit, traditionally cherries.
I came across a recipe for rhubarb and raspberry clafoutis, on Bea's blog La Tartine Gourmande . If you've never visited her site, you're in for a treat. Grab your favorite beverage, go to her blog, and be prepared to stay awhile. Bea is not only a very talented cook, but an amazing photographer as well.
Here in southern Alabama, cherries are not readily available. So inspired by Bea's recipe, I decided to use the rhubarb and strawberries that are in abundance on the farm right now, in my clafoutis.

Ingredients:

1 cup cleaned rhubarb, cut in small sticks
6 oz strawberries
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp sour cream
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar for the rhubarb
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 Tbsp all purpose flour
1 teaspoon light rum (or vanilla)
1/4 cup blanched almonds (optional)
Confectioner’s sugar, to sprinkle

Method:

Place the rhubarb in a colander and sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar. Let rest for 1 hour so that it releases some juice.
Preheat your oven at 400 F. Butter an oven safe baking dish or pie pan.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar. Add the cornstarch and flour and mix together.
Mix the sour cream in with the milk and slowly add the milk to batter.
Arrange the fruit, in a buttered oven safe dish, and pour the batter over and sprinkle nuts over top.
Cook for about 30 to 35 min, or until golden in color. Remove from the oven and let cool a little before eating. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar. Best when eaten while still warm.

Cardamom scented Rhubarb Strawberry Crisp

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Oh joy, the rhubarb is ready to be pulled at the farm! It's really gorgeous this year, and I could hardly wait until it was finally mature. I came home with a large bunch a couple of days ago and have been debating on what to make. I decided to make a crisp, and naturally use some of our strawberries as well. I had seen Dorie Greenspan's recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Double Crisp, in Baking with Dorie. I loved her idea of using some of the topping from the crisp as a crust hence the "double crisp". Cause that's the best part!! She uses crystallized ginger in her recipe which I didn't have on hand, but sounds great. I did have cardamom and wanted to try it in the crumble. I also thought that orange zest in the filling would be good. Lately I have been attempting to try baking with different flavor combos than just the ones I grew up eating. I don't know that using cardamom in rhubarb crisp is really going out on a limb, but it's a little different for me.
I used Dorie's recipe a a guide but made a few changes.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
Pinch of cardamom
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled

For the Filling:
1 pound (4-5 medium stalks) rhubarb, trimmed and peeled
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water
3 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon orange zest

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350ºF. Put a nonreactive 9-inch square baking pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicon mat. I made half of the crisp in individual ramekins and put the rest into a small baking dish. Be sure to put them on the baking sheet because the crisp will cook out onto your oven!

Put the flour, brown sugar, oats, ground ginger, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl and sift the ingredients through your fingers to blend them, be on the lookout for lumps in the brown sugar. Mix in the nuts and then pour over the melted butter. Using a fork, stir the ingredients until they are thoroughly moistened. Spoon half the mixture into the pan and pat it down lightly to form a thick crust. Set the remainder aside for the topping.

For the filling: Slice the rhubarb into 1/2-inch wide pieces and scatter them over the pressed in base. Dissolve the cornstarch in the cold water; set aside. Put the strawberries, sugar, and ginger in a medium saucepan and, with a fork, pastry blender, or potato masher, crush the berries. Place the pan over medium heat and, stirring occasionally, bring the mixture to a full boil. Pour the dissolved cornstarch into the pan and, stirring with a whisk, bring everything back to a boil. Keep cooking and stirring until the strawberry filling is thick and no longer cloudy, about 3 minutes. Pull the pan from the heat, and pour the filling over the rhubarb. Scatter the remaining crisp mix over the filling.

Slide the crisp into the oven and bake for 60 minutes for the large crisp, or about 35 for the individual ramekins, or until the topping is golden and the strawberry jam is bubbling up all around the edges. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool until only just warm or at room temperature. Serve with freshly whipped cream or your favorite ice cream.