Tag

dessert

Strawberry Shortcakes

written by Ali

Strawberry shortcakes are my absolute favorite summer dessert. I have super fond memories of strawberry shortcake when I was a kid - the pre-packaged shortcakes, strawberries, and Cool Whip. I remember it being such a special seasonal treat - one that I looked forward to as much as I looked forward to steamed artichokes with lemon garlic butter.

As an adult, I still look forward to strawberry season. My tastes have changed a little though. I’d rather a homemade shortcake and whipped cream that is unadulterated with chemicals. (Sorry Cool Whip - I loved you so much once upon a time). I’m even willing to just eat the shortcake smothered in strawberries and call it good.

#CookoutWeek2018 seemed a great occasion to try out something I’d suspected for a long time: there’s not that much difference between a shortcake and a scone. To prove my point, I adapted my chamomile scone recipe from last year for these strawberry shortcakes. I unabashedly ate the strawberry shortcake I photoed for this post and then ate another one for dessert with strawberries and blueberries. I think I know what we’re doing for dessert after the farmer’s market this week and probably next week, too. One of the great things about this recipe is that the shortcakes freeze really well.

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Strawberry Shortcakes

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups flour
¼ cup sugar
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons plain or vanilla yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla

For the strawberries

1 pint strawberries
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into slices. Add the butter into the dry mixture and either use a pastry cutter or your hands to incorporate the butter until it forms pea size chunks. Add the milk, egg, yogurt and vanilla and gently incorporate until all the flour/butter mixture is wet and sticks together in a shaggy dough.
Turn the dough out onto a parchment lined baking sheet and form into a rectangle. Cut the dough into nine pieces. Gently separate each piece – you want just a bit of space between each shortcake so that they can rise.
Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops of the scones are golden brown.
Meanwhile, core and slice the strawberries. Combine in a small saucepan with the sugar and gently mash with a potato masher. Heat over low heat until the sugar is fully combined and the berries are slightly warm.
Split the shortcakes and spoon the strawberries on top. Serve with whip cream if so desired.
Makes 9. Enjoy!

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June 27, 2018 1 comment

Dessert Holiday Recipes Quick and Easy

Lemon Syllabub

written by Ali

If you are looking for a very easy dessert for holiday entertaining, look no further than a lemon syllabub. Plus, just saying syllabub is sure to bring a smile to anyone’s face.

One of the best parts about food blogging is getting to know other bloggers and learning about their great projects. Laura Kumin, blogger at Mother Would Know, recently published The Hamilton Cookbook.

If you are looking for a gift for your favorite foodie, I highly recommend this book. About half of the book is a history of both Hamilton, but also the foods that were contemporary to his life. While the information about Hamilton is interesting, what really spoke to me were the descriptions of cooking during his time. Let’s just say that I have a whole new appreciation for my electric appliances.

I’m not one to read a cookbook cover to cover. However, I did just that with The Hamilton Cookbook. I can’t wait for my upcoming break to cook some of the recipes in the book. I’m particularly intrigued by West Indian Pepper Pot Soup, Bread Pudding, Slow Cooker Corned Beef, and Salamagundy Salad. Plus, there’s a really amazing looking apple pie recipe. I think I know what our dessert is for Christmas this year.

Laura Kunin was gracious to allow bloggers reviewing her book to share a recipe. I chose lemon syllabub. In addition to just thinking it sounded fun, I had all the ingredients on hand. Syllabub was popular in the 16th through 19th centuries. I have no idea why it fell out of fashion, as it’s a perfect after dinner drink/dessert. I had someone ask me if it was a drink or a custard - it’s really sort of both. Lemon, wine, and heavy cream are combined. The acid from the lemon and wine curdle the cream slightly, making it into a near custard consistency. I am certain I’ll be making these again this summer. Truly, I can see adding raspberries to these and serving in shot glasses.

Yum

Lemon Syllabub

Ingredients

1 lemon, cut in half, with rind grated from half and juice from one or both halves for a total of 1/4 cup juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup white wine
1 cup heavy cream

Instructions

Rub the grated lemon rind into the sugar with your fingers until they are well combined. Mix the rind, sugar, lemon juice, and the wine.
Add the cream and whisk the mixture until it froths. Gently pour it into two glasses. Let them stand on a counter for about 2 hours, then refrigerate until serving. As the glasses sit, the froth will rise, leaving the lemony wine on the bottom of the glasses.

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Recipe reproduced with permission from the author.

December 11, 2017 2 comments

Breakfast Dessert Holiday Recipes Lunch Recipes Snacks

Star Anise Panna Cotta

written by Ali

Star Anise Panna Cotta is a great recipe for an indulgent breakfast treat or late day snack. It’s also my entry for February’s Food ‘n Flix for the movie Pan’s Labyrinth. (Food ‘n Flix is hosted this month by Katharina at Pretty Cake Machine). Pan’s Labyrinth is a dark fairy tale directed by Guillermo del Toro. The story takes place in post-civil war Spain in 1944. There’s an undercurrent of political unrest and distress, and the film itself is a dark telling of a young girl following mythical creatures into the labyrinth. I won’t spoil the ending, but suffice it to say, it doesn’t end well. It’s one of those films that’s incredible for its filmography and story, but probably best not watched if you are depressed.

Both times I’ve watched this movie, I’ve done so kind of between my fingers - yep, I’m a wimp when it comes to dark movies. Still, I was inspired to create my star anise panna cotta. The inspiration came from the scene in which Ofelia encounters the Pale Man at a banquet. Of course, much like Persephone going into Hades, Ofelia shouldn’t be touching any of the food at the banquet - and of course, all the food is beautiful and alluring (and of course, she eats something, thus jeopardizing her very future). I was particularly drawn to the molded desserts, which got me to thinking about jello molds and the like - very old fashioned desserts. The whole temptation and desire thing came to mind, too, especially since we are moving swiftly toward Valentine’s Day.

All of this led me to making panna cotta. Panna cotta is a rich, creamy dessert that has that air of old-fashioned about it. At first, I thought I might aim for a bright sauce for my panna cotta, but then decided to go a bit darker, landing on a star anise caramel for the sauce, which complements the star anise panna cotta nicely.

Just in case you don’t want to try to get the panna cotta to cooperate coming out of its mold - this tastes just as good in a small jar. It sets nicely, and you can just drizzle the sauce over the top, throw a lid on it, and call it an afternoon snack.

Yum

Star Anise Panna Cotta

Ingredients

Brown Sugar Star Anise Simple Syrup

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
3 star anise pods

Star Anise Panna Cotta

2 tablespoons cold water
1 packet unflavored gelatin
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
4 star anise pods

Star anise caramel

1 cup sugar (either white or brown)
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar star anise simple syrup

Instructions

Make the brown sugar star anise simple syrup first. Combine the brown sugar, water, and star anise pods in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool for at least an hour (though for more intense flavor, refrigerate overnight). Remove the star anise pods.
Make the star anise panna cotta. In a small saucepan, sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water. Bring the gelatin/water mix to a simmer and fully dissolve the gelatin. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine the heavy cream and the star anise pods and bring to a low simmer. Simmer for five minutes. Add the milk and sugar, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Take the mixture off the heat and add the gelatin (it will have formed a gelatin pancake - just scrape the whole thing into the heated milk and cream and mix until dissolved). Remove the star anise pods and pour the panna cotta into individual ramekins or half-pint jars. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or over night.
As the panna cotta sets, make the star anise caramel. Combine the sugar, heavy cream, and butter in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat and stir occasionally for 7 minutes. Take off the heat and add the simple syrup. The caramel will thicken as it cools. If it gets too thick, microwave for thirty seconds or so.
To serve, drizzle the caramel over the panna cotta and enjoy!
Makes four servings.

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February 7, 2017 18 comments

Baked Goods Breakfast Dessert

Rainbow Marmalade Pop Tarts

written by Ali

Fandom Foodies #Nyanuary is the inspiration for my rainbow marmalade pop tarts.

via GIPHY

Ok - so not the original Nyan cat, but who doesn’t love Pusheen? The whole Nyan cat thing got me down the road of homemade pop tarts, and I happened to have blood orange marmalade on hand, so decided to make rainbow marmalade pop tarts. I couldn’t resist a cat-inspired challenge, since our much loved cats both inspire me daily (inspire me to take more naps, relax more, and enjoy my food with great relish).

I couldn’t resist - they are so adorable!

Ok - back to the food. I’ve thought about making pop tarts for quite some time - they are pretty easy to make, since they are basically pie dough, filling, and frosting. They make a great coffee treat first thing in the morning, as well as go well with afternoon tea. I had so much fun playing around with these - who doesn’t enjoy decorating with rainbow sprinkles, after all? Creating a good Nyan cat out of pop tarts, frosting, and sprinkles turned out to be more of a challenge than I expected. Clay came in at one point and told me my creation was #nailedit. Ok - that might be a fair assessment of the final product. Still. I did all my photos and then realized I needed at least one photo with my maneki-neko cats and a rainbow marmalade pop tart.

Here’s the Nyan cat attempt:

And here are some better photos of the actual pop tarts - both frosted and un-frosted:

Put it all together, and you definitely have #Nyanuary

Hope you enjoy making these rainbow marmalade pop tarts as much as I did!

Yum

Rainbow Marmalade Pop Tarts

Ingredients

For the dough

1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
4 - 6 tablespoons cold water (or as needed)
1 teaspoon vanilla

For the filling

1/2 jar of marmalade

For the frosting

1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk (or as needed)
Rainbow sprinkles to decorate

Instructions

Combine the flour, butter, and vanilla in a small bowl. Use a pastry cutter or knife to cut the butter into small pieces and incorporate into the flour until the butter/flour/vanilla mixture is the consistency of small peas. Add the water, one tablespoon at a time until the dough starts to hold together. Knead a couple of times and then refrigerate for an hour.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll the chilled dough out on a floured surface to 1/4 inch in thickness. Cut the dough into rectangles that are 2 inches x 3 inches. I was able to get 16 rectangles out of the dough for a total of 8 pop tarts.
Place half of the rectangles single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Put 1 tablespoon of marmalade in the middle of each rectangle. Cover with the remaining dough and crimp the edges using a fork. Using the fork, poke three rows of holes on the top to reduce the amount of marmalade that spills out. Bake for 15 minutes or until light brown. Cool completely.
To make the frosting, combine the powdered sugar and milk and stir. Add more powdered sugar or more milk to get to the desired consistency. Frost and sprinkle with rainbow sprinkles. Enjoy!
Makes 8 pop tarts

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This recipe is linked up to Fandom Foodies #Nyanuary, hosted this month by Pretty Cake Machine

January 25, 2017 4 comments

...and a little cocktail, too

dessert

Strawberry Shortcakes

Lemon Syllabub

Star Anise Panna Cotta

Rainbow Marmalade Pop Tarts

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