Lesson #182

Test the level of your fruits’ sweetness prior to using them in a recipe that only calls for 2 tablespoons of sugar.  ‘Cause if you don’t, you might end up with a very pretty but NOT very tasty Strawberry Galette.  :(

I learned my lesson.  I made an apple galette  last night and had to add more sugar.  No photos of that one the kids were standing at the ready with plates and spoons.  :)

Strawberry Galette adapted from Eat & Be Happy 

Ingredients

Pastry
1 2/3 cups plain flour
3 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
150g or 5.3 oz unsalted butter, cubed  
2 to 4 tbsp iced water

Filling
2/3 cup ground almonds, lightly toasted (I ground my almonds in the food processor)
1 tbsp plain flour
1 pint of strawberries
2 tbsp sugar (check the sweetness of your strawberries and add to taste)

1. To make the pastry Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Rub the cold butter in until a loose mixture forms. Add the cold water, a tablespoon at a time, until a loose dough forms. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge for at least an hour.  Or buy it like I did.  :)
2. To make the filling Combine the ground almonds and flour; set it aside. Take the stems off the strawberries , halve them and gently combine them with the sugar.
3. Preheat the oven at 200C or 392F. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Roll the pastry out into a 9 inch circle. Spoon the almond mixture into the centre of the pastry. Spread the almond mixture evenly, leaving a 3 inch border. Place  the strawberries on top of the almond filling. Wrap the pastry edges over the strawberries. I brushed mine with some cream and sprinkled turbinado sugar for added crunch.
4. Bake the galette for about 20 to 25 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.  Top with some lightly sweetened whipped cream. Serves 6

Fruit Pizza

I made this fruit pizza for Father’s Day.  The star of the pizza though was the pineapple curd. 

And lucky us, we don’t need all pineapple curd that the recipe makes for the pizza, which means leftovers!  Babygirl generously drizzled it over her raspberries. She’s a smart girl. :)

I followed the curd recipe though I did adjust the method a tiny bit.  I’ve made curd several times and used my previous experiences to end up with a smooth and yummy pineapple curd.  The original recipe does not call for straining the curd once cooked.  I did.  I think because the eggs are not tempered they scramble a bit.  Scrambled eggs in curd is NOT yummy so be sure to strain it.  The only other change I made was to sweeten the cream cheese for the pizza.  The pizza recipe only called for lemon juice to be added to the cream cheese but I went ahead and added some powdered sugar.  I thought it needed it.

Pineapple Curd from Myrecipes.com, my changes.

Yield: 2 1/2 cups (serving size: 1 tablespoon)

Ingredients

• 1/2  cup  sugar
• 1  tablespoon  cornstarch
• 1/8  teaspoon  salt
• 1  cup  pineapple juice
• 2  tablespoons  fresh lemon juice
• 3  large eggs, lightly beaten 
• 2  tablespoons  butter, cut into smaller pieces

Preparation

Combine the first 3 ingredients in a medium, heavy saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Stir in juices and eggs; bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add butter, stirring gently until butter melts.

Strain mixture into medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap directly touching the top of curd to prevent a skin from developing.  Chill for at least 6 hours or overnight (the mixture will thicken as it cools) in the fridge.

We Interrupt Your Normally Scheduled Post to Bring you….

a review and giveaway!  Your nutella marshmallow mousse post will be back next week in it’s normally scheduled spot.  :)  In it’s place we have margarine.  Not any ol’ margarine but I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! margarine.

Last month I received an email from Lauren asking if I’d be interested in trying a couple of recipes that called for the margarine, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!.  This was an easy yes.  While I always have butter on hand, there’s also, always a small tub of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! along side it.  In the package I received from Lauren, was a folder with three recipes, a $25 gift card to use toward the purchase of the recipe ingredients, and a lovely serving platter. 

I made two out of three of the recipes. After my recipe reviews you’ll see how you can win the same package allowing you to sample a “Reach Right” recipe.

The first recipe I made was Amaretto Cheesecakes in Pastry Shells.  This recipe was very easy.  The toughest part was not eating the filling while you waited for the shells to cool.  My three kiddos really loved these and with only six puff pastry shells and five of us there was some frantic negotiating  for that last one.  So to keep things fair I ate it.  :)  Kidding! 

The second recipe I made was Honey-Nut Glazed Brie.  This was my favorite.  Love, love, love those nuts!    I actually took this to party that my neighbor was having so my children didn’t get to try it.  I’m pretty certain they would have loved it too.  The brie was gone well before the party was over so I took that as a sign it was good.  The host and hostess thanks me several times for bring it and mentioned how much they enjoyed it.

Both of these recipes will be making a return appearance in my kitchen.   ( I’ve got big plans for those nuts!)Not only were they “Reach Right ” choices but they were both very easy and quick to put together.  Does this mean I’m done with butter?  Uh, no but it is nice to know that I can use my I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!  for more than buttering my bread.  :)

I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! asks you to  “Reach Right” for nutritious tasty food. If you click here you can see  see the fat comparison between I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!, Smart Choice, and butter.  While you’re reaching right they also want you to Turn the Tub Around!  You can click here for more info on the Big Fat Truth about spreads and if you’re really feeling the margarine click here to follow I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! on twitter! : )

Now for the giveaway info….answer this question.  Which has more trans fat, butter or I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!? I will randomly select and announce the winner on Wed. March 17th. 

Please note: This giveaway is being run by me and I am not receiving any monetary compensation for it!  Thanks and good luck!

Disappearing Strawberry Shortcake Cake

I first saw this lovely cake on the blog, The Kitchen Sink Recipes and then again on Monica’s blog, Lick the Bowl Good.  I don’t recall The Kitchen Sink Recipes mentioning any problems with her strawberries sinking but I know Monica said that some of her berries did.  I spent a lot of time arranging my strawberries in a pretty pattern and matching up like sizes.  My strawberries? They disappeared altogether.  So much so that when I took the cake out of the oven Babygirl exclaimed, “What happened to the strawberries? Ooooo, you messed up!”  Too funny.  She said it like I was in trouble. The reason she thought I messed up was because before baking my cake I showed Babygirl Monica’s photos of her cake. 

Despite the fact that my strawberries sunk the cake was a hit with all three of my children and the Twins’ friend, Deacon who happened to be spending  the night.  I had one slice and they gobbled up the rest leaving nary a crumb.  My favorite part was the crust that formed on top from the raw sugar.  I wasn’t crazy about the berry portion but that’s not surprising as warm mushy fruit usually doesn’t do it for me.  I prefer for the berries to be pureed and then added.  I have though recently made several yummy desserts with blackberries that Babygirl and Jalen picked and brought back to me from PopPop’s farm in NC.  I  really liked them so maybe it was just the strawberries this time.  I’ll be telling you more about them at a later time.

 

Disappearing Strawberry Shortcake Cake

• 6 Tbs unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pie plate
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tbs raw sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (I go the milk & vinegar route)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract (I used vanilla bean paste) 
• 1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and halved

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch pie plate. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl.

Put butter and 1 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low; mix in egg, buttermilk, and vanilla.

Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture. Transfer batter to buttered pie plate. Arrange strawberries on top of batter, cut sides down and as close together as possible. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons raw or granulated sugar over berries.

Bake cake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Bake until cake is golden brown and firm to the touch, about 1 hour. Let cool in pie plate on a wire rack. Cut into wedges. Cake can be stored at room temperature, loosely covered, up to 2 days.

NOTE: You can use all strawberries (1 pound) or a combination of berries that you prefer. Use enough to cover the top of the batter and pray that your berries don’t disappear. If your berries should disappear flip it out of the pie plate and call it a upside down cake.   (Wish I would have thought of that BEFORE.)

Technorati Tags: berries,cake,shortcake,strawberries

Another Cake Collaboration With Charity

Here's the second cake I promised you.  Unfortunately this cake  lived in the shadow of Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake so was not given its proper dues.

Charity's choice this time around was a cake she saw on the blog, Food Loves Writing called Restaurant Eve's Cake.  Though essentially a white cake the recipe does not call for just egg whites but the whole egg. In the post, the writer mentions that the cake tastes like sugar cookies.  I agree.  It is reminiscent of sugar cookies though in my opinion better.  (I'm not fond of sugar cookies  as the ones I've eaten in the past have been crunchy, overly sweet, and often topped with even sweeter frosting.).  The frosting Charity decided on was a Fresh Strawberry Buttercream she saw on Culinary Concoctions by Peabody.  I had initially planned on using blackberries instead of strawberries but a little girl who shall remain nameless ate so many of the blackberries I didn't have enough. 

For the cake I followed the recipe as written with my only change once again being the size and type of pan I used. I baked (18) cupcakes and a (thin) 11" x 7"  cake .  With the 11"x7" cake I cut out six 3"x3" circles and made two 3 layer mini cakes.  This was  by far one of the easiest cakes I've made and the icing on the cake is,(ha!) besides being tasty and easy,  clean up was a snap.  Now the frosting on the other hand was another story.  Was it good? Yes. Would I make it again?  Probably not.

My biggest problem with the frosting was the consistency which led to my second problem. It was too sweet.  I only made a half  batch and should have used 2 cups of powdered sugar but because it was extremely runny I had to add a heaping third cup and still it was very "soft".  My dilemma was, in order to get it to a consistency that was manageable I would have to add more powdered sugar, making it extremely sweet. As it was I was already pushing it.   I went ahead and gave it a try as is and "frosted" one of the mini cakes and a few of the cupcakes. With the left over frosting I beat in about 2 oz of softened cream cheese (all I had left) and another 3/4 cup of powdered sugar.  The consistency was a bit better and the taste wasn't quite as sweet.  I used this batch to frost the mini cake you see here.

I think a fresh strawberry cream cheese frosting would have complimented the cake better as the cake on its own was sweet enough and would have benefited from a tangier frosting.  The buttercream frosting we used would have been better suited to a cake that needed a bit of sweetening.  Don't forget to see how Charity's cake turned out and whether this was a keeper!

Technorati Tags: strawberries,buttercream,cake,frosting

Whole meyer lemon tart

I've got a few recipes that I've made but haven't blogged about yet thanks to being sick for a week. So this is going to be short, sweet, and a little tart. 

Well, if you've been reading here you'll remember that I recently bought and tried meyer lemons.  Since that first time I've purchased more and made this whole lemon tart I saw on Smitten Kitchen. It was very good and one of the twins, Devon absolutely loved it.  I know some people commented  on Deb's blog and mentioned that it didn't go well for them but I didn't have any issues and it was my first time making tart (or pie) crust.  I did find the recipe for the crust a bit confusing but in the end it worked out.  I made my tart in the rectangular tart pan that I received for Christmas this year which means my crust was thicker than what it would have been had I used the proper sized pan.

Next up will be meyer lemon curd but first photos of a dessert (a  kinda charlotte, trifle thingy) I made.  I won't post the recipe (there wasn't one) to as it was pretty but just okay nothing that you couldn't whip up on your own (& probably even better).

FYI~ the lemon tart photos are courtesy of my sitter, Miss Karolyn! 

Technorati Tags: lemon,tart,strawberries,trifle

Strawberries & the Internet = strawberry cupcakes

I love the Internet and I especially like Google. I love how I can at the touch of a few buttons get information about everything! I feel so powerful. I type in a few words and presto more information that I could possibly read let alone use.

On Thursday evening I realized I had a pint of strawberries in the fridge that needed to be used. If I were to ask my children they would scream for strawberry shortcake again but I wanted something different. So off to my computer I went....googl-ing (is that a word?). Cupcakes still being the rage I decided to find one that I had all the ingredients for and did not involve an all day process. This is what I found (plus a lot of other yummy looking recipes for strawberries. I really need to try my hand at a strawberry tart) Sprinkles Strawberry Cupcakes and Sprinkles Strawberry Frosting. The only change I made was to fill them with a store bought lemon curd and Babygirl filled and drizzled hers and the Twins' with strawberry puree. YUM! I would definitely make this again!

LiveJournal Tags: cupcakes