Strawberry Cream Cake

I was searching around for a white cake recipe for my Dad's birthday when I came across this recipe on Cook's Illustrated website.  The idea of the whole thing just sounded mind blowing.  I mean who would not love a giant size gourmet strawberry shortcake with a cream cheese whipped cream topping.  Heck, the whipped cream recipe alone won me over.  This cake is so light and fluffy that it is great for the warmer months when you just don't want to eat anything that will make you feel like you ate a brick.  Light, fluffy, and fantastic -  A must try dessert!  

Strawberry Cream Cake
Source: Cook's Illustrated

Cake
1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar 
5 large eggs (2 whole and 3 separated), room temperature
6 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Strawberry Filling

2 pounds fresh strawberries (about 2 quarts), washed, dried, and stemmed
4 - 6 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons Kirsch
pinch table salt

Whipped Cream

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon table salt
2 cups heavy cream

Instructions 
FOR THE CAKE: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour round 9 by 2-inch cake pan or 9-inch springform pan and line with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and all but 3 tablespoons sugar in mixing bowl. Whisk in 2 whole eggs and 3 yolks (reserving whites), butter, water, and vanilla; whisk until smooth. In clean bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat remaining 3 egg whites at medium-low speed until frothy, 1 to 2 minutes. With machine running, gradually add remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, increase speed to medium-high, and beat until soft peaks form, 60 to 90 seconds. Stir one-third of whites into batter to lighten; add remaining whites and gently fold into batter until no white streaks remain. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then invert cake onto greased wire rack; peel off and discard parchment. Invert cake again; cool completely, about 2 hours.
FOR THE STRAWBERRY FILLING: Halve 24 of best-looking berries and reserve. Quarter remaining berries; toss with 4 to 6 tablespoons sugar (depending on sweetness of berries) in medium bowl and let sit 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Strain juices from berries and reserve (you should have about 1/2 cup). In workbowl of food processor fitted with metal blade, give macerated berries five 1-second pulses (you should have about 1 1/2 cups). In small saucepan over medium-high heat, simmer reserved juices and Kirsch until syrupy and reduced to about 3 tablespoons, 3 to 5 minutes. Pour reduced syrup over macerated berries, add pinch of salt, and toss to combine. Set aside until cake is cooled.
FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM: When cake has cooled, place cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Whisk at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Reduce speed to low and add heavy cream in slow, steady stream; when almost fully combined, increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture holds stiff peaks, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes more, scraping bowl as needed (you should have about 4 1/2 cups).
TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE: Using large serrated knife, slice cake into three even layers. Place bottom layer on cardboard round or cake plate and arrange ring of 20 strawberry halves, cut sides down and stem ends facing out, around perimeter of cake layer. Pour one half of pureed berry mixture (about 3/4 cup) in center, then spread to cover any exposed cake. Gently spread about one-third of whipped cream (about 1 1/2 cups) over berry layer, leaving 1/2-inch border from edge. Place middle cake layer on top and press down gently (whipped cream layer should become flush with cake edge). Repeat with 20 additional strawberry halves, remaining berry mixture, and half of remaining whipped cream; gently press last cake layer on top. Spread remaining whipped cream over top; decorate with remaining cut strawberries. Serve, or chill for up to 4 hours.

Strawberry Banana Muffins

Have I ever mentioned that I love strawberry season? There is nothing better than a sweet dark juicy strawberry, unless you add some flour and make that strawberry just as unhealthy as can be. :) I had a bunch of strawberries in my fridge that I wanted to make something with before they went bad. Most of the muffin recipes that I came across called for sour cream or plain yogurt. I did not have either of those items in my fridge so I kept searching until I found a recipe that did not need those ingredients. I originally found this recipe on The Food Librarian, then followed its source to Joy of Baking.


I am glad that I decided to make these muffins because they were quick and easy (no mixer needed) and they tasted incredible. The strawberry pieces really burst while biting into the muffins and the cinnamon adds the perfect amount of spice. The only thing that would have made them better is some almondy streusel on top. Everything is better with almonds. :)


Strawberry Banana Muffins
Adapted from: Joy of Baking

~makes 12 regular sized muffins~

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries (cut into small pieces)
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Position rack in center of oven. Line the muffin pan with paper liners or grease with butter or a vegetable spray. Set aside.
In a small saucepan melt the butter. Set aside.
In a medium sized bowl whisk together the brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and mashed banana. Add the melted butter to the brown sugar mixture and stir to combine.
In another large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gently fold in the berries, making sure they are coated with flour. This helps to prevent the berries from sinking during baking. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are just combined. Do not over mix the batter or tough muffins will result.
Fill each muffin cup about two thirds full of batter, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. Fill any unused muffin cups halfway with water to prevent warping of the pan and/or over browning of the muffins. Place in the oven and bake until a tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Strawberry Quick Bread

Strawberries are my favorite fruit of all time. I could eat them plain, dipped in yogurt, mixed with other fruit, or even baked into bread. Speaking of baked into bread, that is what I have for you today. A delicious strawberry bread with flecks of almonds all throughout. The original recipe called for walnuts but I prefer almonds and think they compliment the strawberries perfectly.


This recipe was typical of any quick bread recipe that I have made before. Whisk the dry ingredients, blend the wet ingredients, mix the two together and bake for an hour. This bread was moist, delicious, and packed with strawberry flavor. I think next time I will add a dash of cinnamon and possibly even leave out the nutmeg.


Walnut-Strawberry Quick Bread
Source: The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion, The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook

Ingredients
1/2 cup (2 ounces) chopped walnuts
1 1/4 cups (6 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon lemon zest, or 1/4 teaspoon lemon oil
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) mashed strawberries
1/2 cup (2 1/2 ounces) vegetable oil

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350. Grease and flour a 9x5" loaf pan.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the walnuts, flour, sugar, soda, salt and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, eggs, strawberries, and vegetable oil. Combine the we ingredients with the dry ingredients, whisking until well blended.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the bread in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove it from the pan and transfer it to a rack to cool completely, 1 hour or longer. For best flavor and easiest slicing, wrap the bread while still slightly warm and let set overnight.

Boredom Baking

School is out for two more weeks, the holidays are over and I am left sitting here wondering what to do with my days. At first I thought about making some ice cream but I had no half and half or heavy cream and was already at the store this morning and did not feel like going back out. Then I remembered that I had lots of blueberries in the freezer. I decided some blueberry muffins would be the perfect thing to bake. I was already on the Williams-Sonoma website browsing around so I just decided to check out their muffin recipes while I was there.


I managed to pick a recipe that was designed for kids to make so I can assure you it was pretty darn easy. The minimal ingredients and steps in this recipe help give the muffins a delicious flavor. I think I will freeze these for quick breakfasts when I head back to work and school in two weeks.


Big Blueberry Muffins
Source: Williams-Sonoma The Kid's Cookbook, by Abigail Johnson Dodge

- Makes 12 muffins -

Ingredients
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 3 equal pieces
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 egg
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup blueberries, rinsed and dried

Directions
1. Be sure an adult is nearby to help.
2. Put the butter pieces in a small saucepan and set over medium heat. Stir with a wooden spoon until melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a pot holder, remove the pan from the heat and set the butter aside to cool.
3. Preheat an oven to 375°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix with a table fork.
5. In a small mixing bowl, combine the milk, egg and vanilla. Using the same fork, beat until well blended.
6. Add the milk mixture, melted butter and blueberries to the flour mixture. Using a rubber spatula, stir gently until the ingredients are just blended.
7. Spoon equal amounts of the batter into the muffin cups. Sprinkle the 2 teaspoons sugar evenly over the tops.
8. Bake the muffins until they are golden and have risen nicely, 18 to 20 minutes. To test, insert a toothpick into the center of a muffin. If it comes out clean, the muffins are done.
9. Using oven mitts, remove the muffin pan from the oven and place it on a wire cooling rack. Let the muffins cool for at least 15 minutes before removing them from the pan. Gently turn the pan over, letting the muffins fall out onto the rack.

Black-and-White Banana Loaf

Have you ever started making a recipe only to find out that you forgot to double check to make sure that you have enough of a staple ingredient in your fridge? That happened to me when I made this. Chelle and I saw this recipe in Dorie's cookbook and decided that we should give it a try. As we got started on the recipe I soon realized that I had no milk in the fridge. I was in the middle of the recipe, what do I do? Then I remembered that I had some powdered milk in the cabinet that I had bought for a previous recipe so I went ahead used that. Thank goodness that was stashed away in the cabinet.


This recipe came together nicley, it was the hour and a half bake time and the cool time that did me in. I hate waiting for baked goodies to come out of the oven and cool. I was dying to see how beautiful my swirl on the inside of the loaf looked. It was a little more chocolatey than I would have liked but I guess that is my fault for mixing up to much of the chocolate batter.


This bread was ok but nothing amazing. I think that could have been my fault though. I had no ripe bananas on the counter on in the freezer when I made this so I bought some just that were just starting to get brown spots and microwaved them in hopes I would come out with the same flavor as a super ripe banana. I think next time if I come across this prooblem I'll try subbing banana baby food since it does use ripe bananas. Ok, enough of my rambling, here is the recipe. :)

Black-and-White Banana Loaf
Source: Dorie Greenspan, Baking from my home to yours, pg 232

Makes about 8 servings

Ingredients
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 ½ ripe bananas, peeled
Squirt of fresh lemon juice
Grated zest of ½ a lemon
1 tablespoon dark rum
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup whole milk

Directions
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and 8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ½ inch loaf pan, dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess. Place the pan on an insulated baking sheet or on two regular baking sheets stacked on top of the other.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.

In a small bowl, mash the bananas with the lemon juice and zest, then stir in the rum.

Melt the chocolate and 2 tablespoons of the butter together in a microwave oven or in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the remaining stick (8 tablespoons) of butter at medium speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the sugars and beat for another 2 to 3 minutes, until light and smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. The batter will look curdled, and it will continue to look curdled as you add ingredients. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add half the flour mixture, mixing only until it is just incorporated. With the mixer running, pour in the milk, and when it is blended, add the remaining dry ingredients. Scrape down the bowl and mix in the mashed bananas. The batter will look even lumpier.

Pour a little less than half the batter into the bowl with the melted chocolate and stir to blend. Drop alternating spoonfuls of both batters into the prepared pan, then, using a table knife, swirl the batters together, taking care not to overdo it.

Bake for 1 hour and 20 to 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean. Check after 30 minutes and if the cake starts to brown too much, cover it loosely with a foil tent. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and let it rest for about 15 minutes before unmolding, then cool the cake to room temperature right side up on the rack. Serving: This cake is good cut thick or thin, served plain or with some ice cream. It’s very good with coffee or tea and especially good with chocolate milk, hot or cold.

Storing: Wrapped in plastic wrap, the cake will keep for 4 to 5 days at room temperature; wrapped airtight, it will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer.

Playing around: If you’d like to add a little more texture to the cake as well as another flavor, add 1/3 cup chopped toasted pecans to either of the batters.

Blueberry Pie

Last week my fellow foodie friends Chelle and Annie made blueberry pies and they both looked amazing! I was inspired and decided that a pie would be the perfect thing to make to use up a few pounds of the blueberries that I had recently picked.


This was the first blueberry pie I had ever made and I was scared that it was going to be completely runny and turn to mush. My filling held together pretty well, although there was a bit of liquid that came out once I removed the first piece of the pie. Overall I was pretty happy with the results. I am not really a crust person but this crust worked wonderful with the pie. Although I probably would not have been able to eat a piece plain, without the blueberry filling. I think my favorite crust recipe still has to be the one from the Daring Bakers Lemon Meringue Pie that I made back in January.

My husband and I both really enjoyed the pie, he said it has a nice tart flavor that he really enjoyed and I had to agree. After all, the tiny little tart blueberries are my favorite ones to eat. I served this with cool whip because my husband's choice of ice cream at the grocery store this week was not anything that would go well with blueberry pie.

Blueberry Pie
Adapted from Williams Sonoma
As seen on Brown Eyed Baker and Annie's Eats

Ingredients
2 rolled-out rounds of basic pie dough (recipe follows)
4 cups (2 pints) blueberries
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, strained
¾ cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg, whisked with 1 teaspoon water, for the egg wash (optional)

Directions
Fold 1 dough round in half and carefully transfer to a 9-inch pie dish. Unfold and ease the round into the pan, without stretching it, and pat it firmly into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Using kitchen scissors, trim the edge of the dough, leaving ¾ inch of overhang. Set the dough-lined pan, along with the other dough round, in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Place the blueberries in a large bowl, sprinkle with the lemon juice and toss to coat evenly. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest, salt and cinnamon. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the berries and toss to distribute evenly. Immediately transfer to the dough-lined pan. Dot with the butter.

Fold the reserved dough round in half and carefully position it over half of the filled pie. Unfold and trim the edge neatly, leaving 1 inch of overhang, then fold the edge of the top round under the edge of the bottom round and crimp the edges to seal. Using a small, sharp knife, cut an asterisk 4 to 5 inches across in the center of the top to allow steam to escape during baking.

Refrigerate the pie until the dough is firm, 20 to 30 minutes. Meanwhile, position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 375°F.

Bake the pie until the crust is golden and the filling is thick and bubbling, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely to set, 1 to 2 hours. Serve at room temperature or rewarm in a 350°F oven for 10 to 15 minutes just before serving. Makes one 9-inch pie; serves 8.

Note: If fresh blueberries are unavailable, use frozen blueberries (without thawing them first) and increase the baking time by 10 to 15 minutes.

Pâte Brisée
(Source: Martha Stewart Baking Handbook, page 224)

Makes enough for one double-crust or two single-crust 9-inch pies.
For the flakiest crust, make sure all ingredients (including the flour) are cold before you begin.
Ingredients
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
¼ cup ice water, plus more if needed

Directions
In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and salt; pulse to combine. Add the butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining, about 10 seconds. (To mix by hand, combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, then cut in butter with a pastry blender.)

With the machine running, add the ice water through the feed tube in a slow, steady stream, just until the dough holds together without being wet or sticky. Do not process more than 30 seconds. Test by squeezing a small amount of the dough together; if it is still too crumbly, add a bit more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Turn out the dough onto a clean work surface. Divide in half, and place each half on a piece of plastic wrap. Shape into flattened disks. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. The dough can be frozen for up to 1 month; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.

Blueberry Cheesecake

This was the first of the desserts that I made with my many pounds of freshly picked blueberries. I asked my husband what he wanted me to make and he said he did not care. I started naming off all of the blueberry things I could think of. He said, just write them all down, put them into a bowl and pick one. Humm, what a good idea! Ten minutes later I ran out to the living room requesting that my husband pick a piece of paper out of the colander. :)


As you can see by the pictures the whole swirling in of the blueberries thing did not quite work out. I ended up with a layer on top instead. Next time I would put the batter in the pan in thirds, swirling in some of the blueberry puree after each addition of batter.

At first my husband was a bit skeptical of the thought of blueberry cheesecake but he ended up really enjoying it. Although I am not a huge fan of cheesecake, I enjoyed it also. There was just enough blueberry flavor and the vanilla wafers added a great extra flavor to the crust.

This cheesecake was so un-photogenic that I almost did not blog about it. My husband pretty much refused to eat a piece until I took pictures so I decided to appease him and take some. Unfortunately, you are only going to see one of those pictures because my camera did not seem to like the dark glossy colored topping.

Blueberry Cheesecake
Source: Cookinglight.com

Ingredients

CRUST
2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 5 cookie sheets)
2/3 cup reduced-fat vanilla wafer crumbs (about 20 cookies)
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted

FILLING
2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen wild blueberries, thawed
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 1/2 (8-ounce) blocks fat-free cream cheese, softened
1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 large eggs

TOPPING
1 1/2 cups fat-free sour cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

SAUCE
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 cup fresh or frozen, thawed, wild blueberries

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 325°.

2. To prepare crust, combine first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl. Drizzle with butter; toss with a fork until moist. Firmly press mixture into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 325° for 10 minutes; cool on a wire rack.

3. To prepare filling, combine 2 1/2 cups blueberries and 1 tablespoon cornstarch in a food processor, and process until smooth. Place puree in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook 6 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Cool slightly. Reserve 1/2 cup blueberry puree for sauce; set remaining 1 cup blueberry puree aside.

4. Place cheeses in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed for 3 minutes or until smooth. Combine 1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, and salt. Add sugar mixture to cheese mixture; beat well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Pour batter over prepared crust. Pour 1 cup blueberry puree over batter; gently swirl with a knife. Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until cheesecake center barely moves when pan is touched. Remove cheesecake from oven (do not turn oven off); place cheesecake on a wire rack.

5. To prepare topping, combine sour cream, 2 tablespoons sugar, and vanilla in a small bowl, stirring well. Spread sour cream mixture evenly over cheesecake. Bake at 325° for 10 minutes. Remove cheesecake from oven; run a knife around outside edge. Cool to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 8 hours. Remove sides of springform pan.

6. To prepare sauce, combine reserved 1/2 cup blueberry puree, 1/4 cup sugar, and water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 8 minutes or until sauce is thick, stirring constantly. Gently fold in 1 cup blueberries. Remove from heat, and cool. Serve sauce with cheesecake.

Blissful Blueberry Muffins

I bought a pound of blueberries at the store on Friday so I could make some blueberry muffins. Little did I know that my husband would eat the entire pack of blueberries before I got to them. I bought some more yesterday at the store and then realized that I had some fresh, frozen huckleberries in the freezer that I needed to use up. I used the huckleberries leaving the fresh berries for my husband to eat, or perhaps to make into a pie later in the week. :)

When looking for a recipe for the muffins I went straight to my Baking Illustrated cookbook because I had remembered seeing a cinnamon sugar dipped muffin recipe in there that sounded divine. Boy am I glad I checked that book because these muffins were fabulous, so moist and flavorful. The cinnamon and sugar on top of the muffin really makes it stand out. I can't keep myself (or my husband) out of them. :)

Cinnamon-Sugar-Dipped Blueberry Muffins
Source: Baking Illustrated, 2004 page 46-47

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients
2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 large egg
1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly
1 1/4 (10 ounces) cups sour cream
1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh blueberries, preferably wild
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a standard 12 cup muffin tin and set aside.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl until combined. Whisk the egg in second medium bowl until well-combined and light-colored, about 20 seconds. Add the sugar and whisk vigorously until thick and homogenous, about 30 seconds; add melted butter in 2 or 3 steps, whisking to combine after each addition. Add sour cream in 2 additions, whisking just to combine.
3. Add the berries to the dry ingredients and gently toss just to combine. Add the sour cream mixture and fold with rubber spatula until the batter comes together and berries are evenly distributed, 25 to 30 seconds (small spots of flour may remain and the batter will be thick). Do not overmix.
4. Use a large spoon sprayed with nonstick cooking spray to prevent sticking, divide the batter among the greased muffin cups. Bake until the muffins are light golden brown and a toothpick or skewer inserted into center of muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating pan from front to back halfway through the baking time. Invert the muffins onto a wire rack, stand the muffins upright, and cool 5 minutes.
5. While muffins are cooling, mix sugar and ground cinnamon in small bowl and melt butter in small saucepan. After the baked muffins have cooled five minutes, working one at a time, dip the top of each muffin in melted butter and then cinnamon-sugar. (I was to scared to turn my precious little muffins upside down so I set them all close together on a cooling rack with a towel underneath and brushed on the butter using a pastry brush and then sprinkled on the cinnamon/sugar mixture. I also found that I only needed 1/2 of the butter and 1/2 of the cinnamon/sugar mixture that the recipe called for.) Set muffins upright on wire rack; serve.

Delicious Danish

I was so excited when I saw this months Daring Baker's challenge! I have always wanted to try my hand at making a danish and this was my chance to tackle it. I had so many different filling combinations running through my head that I just could not decide which to make. However, I did know that I was going to make at least one savory filling so I needed to cut the sweetness out of my dough. I decided to omit the orange zest and juice and just sub milk for the juice. My changes are noted in the recipe ingredients below.


The filling combinations that I decided to used were strawberry and cream cheese, raspberry and cream cheese (not pictured) and mushroom, spinach and swiss. The sweet combinations were wonderful but I wish I would have packed more filling into them. The savory combination was nothing shy of amazing!


A big thank you goes out to this months hosts: Kelly of Sass & Veracity, and Ben of What’s Cookin’? for picking such a rewarding and tasty challenge. Be sure to check out the Daring Baker Blogroll to see what wonderful sweet and savory danish creations the rest of the members came up with.

Just so you all know just how die hard I am... My internet at home is out and probably will be for the next few days. I went to McDonalds to use their WiFi, it cost me $2.95 for 2 hours of use but I didn't care. I am desperate! There is a lord (and a Comcast guy that knows what he is doing), out internet is finally fixed!! :)


Danish Dough
Source: Sherry Yard’s The Secrets of Baking

Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough

Ingredients
For the dough (Detrempe)

1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole 2% milk
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 large eggs, chilled
1/4 cup fresh orange juice 2% milk
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

For the butter block (Beurrage)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

To make the dough
With a standing mixer: Combine yeast and milk in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed. Slowly add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice. Mix well. Change to the dough hook and add the salt with the flour, 1 cup at a time, increasing speed to medium as the flour is incorporated. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, or until smooth. You may need to add a little more flour if it is sticky. Transfer dough to a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Without a standing mixer: Combine yeast and milk in a bowl with a hand mixer on low speed or a whisk. Add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice and mix well. Sift flour and salt on your working surface and make a fountain. Make sure that the “walls” of your fountain are thick and even. Pour the liquid in the middle of the fountain. With your fingertips, mix the liquid and the flour starting from the middle of the fountain, slowly working towards the edges. When the ingredients have been incorporated start kneading the dough with the heel of your hands until it becomes smooth and easy to work with, around 5 to 7 minutes. You might need to add more flour if the dough is sticky.

To make the butter block
1. Combine butter and flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle and then beat for 1 minute more, or until smooth and lump free. Set aside at room temperature.
2. After the detrempe has chilled 30 minutes, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and ¼ inch thick. The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour. Spread the butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough. Fold the left edge of the detrempe to the right, covering half of the butter. Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third. The first turn has now been completed. Mark the dough by poking it with your finger to keep track of your turns, or use a sticky and keep a tally. Place the dough on a baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Place the dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. The open ends should be to your right and left. Roll the dough into another approximately 13 x 18 inch, ¼-inch-thick rectangle. Again, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third. No additional butter will be added as it is already in the dough. The second turn has now been completed. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
4. Roll out, turn, and refrigerate the dough two more times, for a total of four single turns. Make sure you are keeping track of your turns. Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least 5 hours or overnight. The Danish dough is now ready to be used. If you will not be using the dough within 24 hours, freeze it. To do this, roll the dough out to about 1 inch in thickness, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze. Defrost the dough slowly in the refrigerator for easiest handling. Danish dough will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Danish Braid
Makes enough for 2 large braids

Ingredients
1 recipe Danish Dough
Fillings of your choice
For the egg wash: 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk

Directions

1. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the Danish Dough into a 15 x 20-inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick. If the dough seems elastic and shrinks back when rolled, let it rest for a few minutes, then roll again. Place the dough on the baking sheet.

2. Along one long side of the pastry make parallel, 5-inch-long cuts with a knife or rolling pastry wheel, each about 1 inch apart. Repeat on the opposite side, making sure to line up the cuts with those you’ve already made.
3. Spoon the filling you’ve chosen to fill your braid down the center of the rectangle. Starting with the top and bottom “flaps”, fold the top flap down over the filling to cover. Next, fold the bottom “flap” up to cover filling. This helps keep the braid neat and helps to hold in the filling. Now begin folding the cut side strips of dough over the filling, alternating first left, then right, left, right, until finished. Trim any excess dough and tuck in the ends.

Egg Wash
Whisk together the whole egg and yolk in a bowl and with a pastry brush, lightly coat the braid.

Proofing and Baking

1. Spray cooking oil onto a piece of plastic wrap, and place over the braid. Proof at room temperature or, if possible, in a controlled 90 degree F environment for about 2 hours, or until doubled in volume and light to the touch.

2. Near the end of proofing, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.

3. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan so that the side of the braid previously in the back of the oven is now in the front. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake about 15-20 minutes more, or until golden brown. Cool and serve the braid either still warm from the oven or at room temperature.

Storage
The cooled braid can be wrapped airtight and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or freeze for 1 month.

Cream Cheese Filling, Source: Cooks Illustrated
Strawberry Jam Filling, Source Allrecipes
Raspberry Jam Filling, Source RecipeZaar
Mushroom, Spinach and Swiss Filling, Fresh sliced mushrooms, baby spinach and swiss cheese

Strawberry Cupcakes

Strawberry season makes me happy. I love going to the store and seeing beautiful red strawberries on display in the produce section, it makes me even more happy when they are on sale. :) I have seen this cupcake recipe raved about lately and figured it would be the perfect match for the beautiful strawberries I brought home from the store this past weekend. My husband and I were having another couple over for a cookout so I had the perfect excuse to make dessert and not have to eat it all myself.


My regular 12 count muffin pan is missing in action at the moment so I cut the recipe in half and made 24 mini cupcakes and 6 regular sized cupcakes. The only liners I had for the mini muffin pan were brown and I thought that would look weird, so I just decided to make them without liners.



These cupcakes were a hit and very good. The fresh strawberries in the cakes and in the frosting gave them such a delicious strawberry flavor. These will definitely be made again in my house!

Angie's Famous Strawberry Cupcakes
Source: Good Things Catered

Ingredients
2 1/2 c. cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter
1 1/2 c. sugar (or a little less)
2 eggs
1/3 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 c. chopped strawberries

1/4 c. strawberries
1 Tbsp. strawberry liquor
1/2 tsp lemon juice
8 oz. cream cheese, room temp
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 3/4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 Tbsp vanilla

Directions
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare 2 cupcake pans.
-Sift flour, salt, and baking soda in medium bowl.
-In bowl of mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
-Add eggs one at a time until combined.
-Add buttermilk, oil and vanilla until combined.
-Add flour mixture and stir until just combined.
-Fold in berries.
-Fill cupcake pans 3/4 way.
-Bake for 20 minutes.
-For frosting, put berries, liquor, and juice in saucepan.
-Bring to a boil over medium heat and then reduce to a simmer for 5 mins.
-Let cool then blend until smooth.
-In bowl of mixer mix cream cheese and butter until creamy.
-Add sugar, then vanilla.
-Add berry puree until smooth.
-Frost cupcakes when they are completely cooled.

A Second Look

A second look at banana bread that is. Although there is nothing wrong with my good ole fashion stand by banana bread recipe I felt the need to try this recipe out of my new Cook's Illustrated light cookbook. This recipe turned out pretty darn tasty (which means that my husband is probably upstairs sneaking pieces of it as I type this :) but I will probably stick with my other recipe just because I do not usually have yogurt or cake flour in the house and the other recipe actually calls for less flour and only 1 tbls more of butter so the healthiness of them is probably pretty close. Feel free to try the other recipe and also this one and let me know which you like better; because honestly, if I do not have them both in front of me to take a bite of one and then a bite of the other I can not remember what they taste like so it is hard for me to compare them. :)

I had a couple strawberries left over from the strawberries and cream tart that I made the other day so I pureed them (in my handy dandy new food processor) and tried to swirl those into the batter. It looked beautiful on the top but the color never went through to the middle of the loaf but that's ok, I won't shed a tear (I promise). :)


Banana Bread
(Source: The Best Light Recipe by Cook's Illustrated)

1 1/2 cup (7 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (2 ounces) cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) sugar
3 very ripe, darkly speckled large bananas (about 1 1/4 pounds) mashed well (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbls unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 -inch loaf pan with the non-stick baking spray. Mix the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and 1/4 cup of the sugar in a medium bowl; set aside. In a separate bowl, mix the mashed bananas , yogurt, and vanilla together; set aside.
2. Beat the remaining 1.2 cup sugar and butter together with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Beat in half of the flour mixture until just incorporated, followed by one-third of the banana mixture, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add half of the remaining flour, followed by another one-third of the banana mixture. Repeat this process once more, being careful not to overmix the batter, which should look thick and chunky.
4. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle the top evenly with the walnuts (if using). bake until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few attached, about 55 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer the loaf to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. (The bread can be wrapped with plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.)

Strawberry Tart

I made this dessert to go along with the Ziti with Chicken and Broccoli in a White Wine Cheddar Sauce that I made for my in-laws. The end result was very light tasting dessert that was just sweet enough to put a sweet tooth into hiding. My father in law went for seconds and my husband had to tie his hands behind his back so he would not go and get seconds for himself.


My modifications: I tried to cut out as much sugar as I could within the recipe (my changes are noted within the recipe in italics and blue lettering) and I also had to make a change with the amount of strawberries since I only had half of what the recipe called for. I pureed 1 cup in the food processor for the glaze and then sliced the remaining and placed them on the tart in a circular pattern. With doing it the way I did I should have put the glaze over the cream cheese filling and then placed the strawberries on top of that but I did it backwards so it does not look as pretty. Also my crust did not stay together well so I would recommend adding another tablespoon or so of butter to the crumbs.


Strawberry-Almond Cream Tart
(Source: Cooking Light)

Ingredients
Crust:
36 honey graham crackers (about 9 sheets)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
4 teaspoons water
Cooking spray

Filling:
2/3 cup light cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar (1/8 cup)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (1/4 tsp)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (1/8 tsp)

Topping:
6 cups small fresh strawberries, divided (3 cups)
2/3 cup sugar (1/4 cup)
1 tablespoon cornstarch (1/2 tbls)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (1/2 tbls)
2 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted (Oops, I forgot)

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°

To prepare crust, place crackers in a food processor; process until crumbly. Add 2 tablespoons sugar, butter, and water; pulse just until moist. Place mixture in a 9-inch round removable-bottom tart pan coated with cooking spray, pressing into bottom and up sides of pan to 3/4 inch. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack.

To prepare filling, combine cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, and extracts in a medium bowl; stir until smooth. Spread mixture evenly over bottom of tart shell.

To prepare topping, place 2 cups strawberries in food processor; process until pureed. Combine strawberry puree, 2/3 cup sugar, and cornstarch in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low; cook 1 minute. Remove glaze from heat, and cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.

Combine 4 cups strawberries and juice; toss to coat. Arrange berries, bottoms up, in a circular pattern over filling. Spoon half of glaze evenly over berries (reserve remaining glaze for another use). Sprinkle nuts around edge. Cover and chill 3 hours.

Note: You can use either an 8 x 12-inch rectangular pan or a 9-inch round tart pan. The recipe also works with a 9-inch springform pan and a 10-inch pie plate.

Tasty Tart

A cooking board that I post on is having a holiday recipe exchange. We all sent the host Katie a dessert recipe of our choice and she randomly sent our recipe to another member of the board. This tart recipe was the one that was sent to me. I was a bit hesitant at first because I do not really care for cranberries but I decided to give it a try anyway. I even went out and bought myself one of those fancy tart pans for the occasion. ;) Oh yeah, and if all that you have is a mini food processor enjoy making the crust because it fills the entire thing up and gives it quite the workout. :)


I made the following modifications to the recipe...
- The first change that I made was in the filling. I was not able to purchase the creme de cassis so I used seedless blackberry jam in its place.
- The second change was that the recipe called for frozen cranberries and I could not find these anywhere, so I bought fresh. After reading through the reviews I noticed people talking about a wash/sugar/freeze method so that is what I did. I washed the berries and mixed them with the sugar and froze them in a single layer on a baking sheet covered with foil and kept them there until I was ready to cook them. I also only used 1 bag of cranberries instead of the 1.5 the recipe called for.
- And my last modification is that I decided to add some chocolate to the top of the cranberries so that people knew that there was chocolate involved in the dessert (since I took the dish to my husband’s work Christmas party.


Like I said before I am not really a lover of cranberries but I gave this tart a try and it was pretty tasty. While I was grabbing my plate on the way out the door at my husband's Christmas party a lady asked me if I had made it and I told her yes, she said that it was excellent and even requested this recipe.

Chocolate Tart with Candied Cranberries
(Source: Epicurious.com; Bon Appétit December 1999 )

Ingredients
Crust
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons (about) ice water
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling
1/2 cup whipping cream
8 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
3 tablespoons crème de cassis (black currant-flavored liqueur)

Candied cranberries
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 1/2 12-ounce packages frozen cranberries, unthawed
1 cup sugar

Preparation
for crust: Blend flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter and cut in, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 2 1/2 tablespoons water, egg yolk and vanilla. Blend until moist clumps form, adding more water by 1/2 tablespoonfuls if dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; chill at least 2 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Let soften slightly before rolling out.)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 13- to 14-inch round. Transfer dough to 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Cut dough overhang to 3/4 inch; fold overhang in and press, forming sides that extend 1/4 inch above top of pan. Pierce crust all over with fork. Freeze 15 minutes. Bake crust 15 minutes. If sides of crust fall, press up with back of fork. Bake crust until beginning to brown, about 15 minutes longer. Cool on rack.

for filling: Bring cream to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until smooth; whisk in liqueur. Pour filling into crust. Refrigerate until filling is firm, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

for candied cranberries: Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Toss cranberries and sugar in medium bowl to blend. Spread out mixture on baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes. Using metal spatula, stir berries gently. Bake until berries are thawed and most sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes longer. Cool on sheet 5 minutes. Spoon berries atop filling; drizzle with syrup from sheet. Chill 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.)

Frozen delight

Even though the weather has officially changed from summer to fall I decided that I had to make this anyway. I saw this sorbet on Delish and figured that it was a sign because I had a container of strawberries in my fridge just waiting for the perfect recipe to come along. There are not many words to describe this other than it's amazingly good and very fruity!


Strawberry Pineapple Sorbet
(Adapted from "Strawberry Peach Sorbet" at Delish)

1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 cups of sliced strawberries
1 small can pineapple (drained of juices)
1 pinch of salt

Put strawberries in a bowl with sugar. Cover and all to sit for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Using blender or food processor, combine strawberries with their juices, pineapple and the pinch of salt. Puree. Refrigerate mixture for at least 1 hour until puree is chilled. (You can strain if you prefer no strawberry seeds but personally, I like the texture).
Place in an ice-cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

Cool treats

I had a container of strawberries in my fridge that were about to go bad and I knew I needed something to make with them. I went to myrecipes.com and typed in strawberries and this was one of the recipes that came up. I thought that it was perfect because it would use up all my strawberries, it took little time to make, and I could finally use the popsicle molds I bought a few months ago.

The recipe says to press the pured berries through a fine strainer but the only fine strainer I have is to small to get the job done in a timely manner. So after getting mad at the strainer I decided to just leave the seeds in. These are so easy to make and taste great. My husband has already managed to eat a couple of them and it is not even noon yet.


Strawberry-Cream Fruit Pops
(Source: MyRecipes.com via Sunset Magazine)

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh strawberries (rinsed and hulled)
1/2 cup light sour cream
2-3 Tbls sugar
2 tsp lemon juice

Preparation
1. In a blender, whirl 2 cups rinsed, hulled strawberries until smooth. Push through a fine strainer into a 1-quart glass measure; discard seeds. Return berry purée to blender and whirl in 1/2 cup light sour cream, 2 to 3 tablespoons sugar (to taste), and 2 teaspoons lemon juice until smooth.
2. Pour fruit mixture into 6 to 8 juice bar molds (see notes below). Attach covers firmly and insert sticks, leaving 1 1/2 to 2 inches of each sticking out. Set molds in freezer, making sure they're level and upright, and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours, or up to 2 weeks.
3. To unmold, run warm water over the molds up to the rim, just until pops are released from sides, 5 to 15 seconds. Remove the covers and pull out the pops.

Notes: Use juice bar or pop molds with a 1/4- to 1/3-cup capacity. Cookware and hardware stores are selling many new models this year. Prep time: 10 to 15 minutes, plus at least 3 hours to freeze.

My dog Cole felt the urge to be in this picture. And although it is not the best picture I thought that I would put it in since he has yet to appear in my blog. Cole is our 2 1/2 year old Black Lab.

Round 2, WC platinum chef challenge

I like to hang out on a cooking board on TheNest.com. The ladies on the board are awesome and are always coming up with new things to do. One of the members of the board Cara (Cara's Cravings) came up with the idea of a Platinum Chef challenge. The person that is hosting the challenge picks 5 different ingredients and the people that want to play along have to make 1 or 2 dishes using all of the ingredients. Here is the link to the challenge on Cara's blog Platinum Chef - Round 2. I decided to play along this time and here are the dishes that I came up with.

Banana Roll with Blueberry Lemon Cream Cheese Filling
(Source: Amber's Delectable Delights)

Cake ingredients:
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup mashed ripe banana
1 tsp lemon juice
3/4 cup AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Filling ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese (softened)
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup butter (softened)
1 tsp lemon zest
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 cup blueberries

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2) Line a 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with non-stick spray (don't forget to spray the sides).
3) Beat eggs on high for 5 minutes. Then gradually beat in the sugar until batter is thick and lemon colored. Add in banana and lemon juice and mix to combine.
4) In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Fold dry mixture into wet mixture and spread mixture evenly into prepared pan.
5) Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. While cake is baking dust a linen towel with confectioners' sugar.
6) Immediately after removing cake from oven turn it onto prepared towel. Peel off the parchment paper and roll the cake up in the towel (starting at short end), let cool.
7) While the cake is cooling prepare filling. Add cream cheese, confectioner's sugar, butter, lemon zest and lemon juice to mixing bowl and mix until well blended.
8) Once cake is cool carefully unroll it. Spread filling onto the cake and top evenly with blueberries. Roll cake back up, cover it, and place in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Half way through the roll up. This is what it looks like inside. :)

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Spicy Black Bean Dip
(Source: Amber's Delectable Delights)

1 can whole kernel corn, drained
4 cloves minced garlic, separated
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
4 oz cream cheese
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeds removed
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
S&P to taste
Cheese for topping (I used monterey jack)

1) Saute' corn and 2 cloves of garlic until the corn is slightly browned. Set aside to cool
2) Add 2 cloves garlic, beans, cream cheese, jalapeno and the seasonings into a food processor and process until smooth.
3) Place 1/2 of bean mixture into bottom of serving dish, then 1/2 the corn; repeat with remaining beans and corn. Top with cheese, if desired. Serve with tortilla chips.

Strawberry time

I know I know, what is a good strawberry shortcake without whipped cream? Well I have no heavy cream and no cool whip in the house. Actually I baked up these shortcakes to take to my in-laws for a Father's Day dessert. They were not sponge cake like but more like a biscuit with a bit of sweetness added. I really enjoyed them and I think everyone else did also. I think a bit of lemon zest would also be a great addition to this shortcake recipe.

Scrumptious Strawberry Shortcake

(Source: Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup butter
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 egg, beaten
3 cups sliced fresh strawberries
3 tablespoons white sugar

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2) In a large bowl, mix flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder and cream of tartar. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives. Stir in cream and egg. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 2 minutes. Press into a half-inch thick sheet. Cut into squares. Place on baking sheets.
3) Bake in preheated oven 20 minutes, or until golden. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons sugar over sliced berries.
4) Let shortcakes cool before splitting and filling with sugared berries.

My modifications:

* I reduced the amount of cream of tarter to only 1/8 tsp rather than 3/4 tsp.

* I used the food processor to "cut in" the butter, worked wonderful and such a time saver!

* I used 2% milk instead of the heavy cream

* added 1-2 tsp of vanilla extract to the mixture

* Sprinkled top of shortcakes with sugar before baking

Stuffing the berry

I have had my eyes on this recipe for over a year now. Thank goodness I was finally able to make it. They were yummy and everyone loved them.


Stuffed Strawberries
(Source: allrecipes.com)

Ingredients
1 pint fresh strawberries
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, or to taste
2 tablespoons orange flavored liqueur, or to taste

Directions
Cut the tops off of the strawberries and stand upright on the cut side. Make a cut 3/4 of the way down from the tip of the strawberry towards the bottom.
Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, and liqueur until smooth in a mixer or a food processor. Place into a piping bag with a star tip. Pipe into each strawberry and arrange on a serving platter.

My Modifications
* I used vanilla extract instead of the orange liqueur
* I made 2 slices in the berries instead of one so there would be 4 pieces instead of 2.