Strawberry Shortcake

When I was little I loved Strawberry Shortcake the doll (well, it was actually her friend Apricot Pie that I coveted), and now I have a little girl myself my Mum has taken it upon herself to start a collection of Strawberry Shortcake bits and pieces for her. It occured to me recently that despite this childhood obsession I had never actually eaten a strawberry shortcake. Nor did I know what a 'shortcake' was exactly.

Well, it turns out that a shortcake is bit like a cross between a cake and a scone - but leaning towards the scone end of things.As we know, short in baking terms generally refers to the crumbliness of the baked good, often due to the flour/butter ratio.

So, I was going baby sprinkle and thought that this would be something nice and different to make. The problem was deciding on what recipe to make. As much as I love scones, I was thinking that if I was to make a traditional shortcake might it might be a bit too dry, so when I found a recipe on The Pioneer Woman Cooks (original recipe here) where she uses another variation, one that was more on the cake end of the spectrum - I thought this was the one for me and so here it is:

Strawberry Shortcake

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
3 tablespoons cornflour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
130 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla

Icing
230 grams cream cheese, room temperature
230 grams unsalted butter
680 grams powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla
450 grams strawberries



My first 'cast' picture!


Method:
Prep the strawberries by steming them and slicing them in half. Place into a bowl and sprinkle with 3 tablespoons sugar. Stir together and let sit for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, mash the strawberries in two batches. Sprinkle each half with 1 tablespoons sugar and allow to sit for another 30 minutes.



Yummy strawberries 'mascerating'.

Sift together flour, salt, baking soda and cornflour.

Cream the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well each time. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until combined. Add sifted dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just barely combined.

Pour into greased and floured 20cm cake pan.



Ready to go...


Bake at 180 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from cake pan as soon as you pull it out of the oven, and place on a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely.

To make the icing combine cream cheese, butter, sifted powdered sugar, vanilla, and dash of salt in a mixing bowl. Mix until very light and fluffy.

Slice cake in half through the middle. Spread strawberries evenly over each half (cut side up), pouring on all the juices. Place cake halves into the freezer for five minutes, just to make icing easier.

Remove from freezer. Use a little less than 1/3 of the icing to spread over the top of the strawberries on the bottom layer.



Nearly there...

Place the second layer on top. Add half of the remaining icing to the top spreading evenly, then spread the remaining 1/3 cup around the sides.



Finished.

Leave plain OR garnish with strawberry halves.


So, not quite a traditional strawberry shortcake but delicious all the same. Its a lovely cake for spring/summer time and perfect for an afternoon tea.

Crispy Yoghurt Chicken

This dish is so good, so tasty and so easy - even Red managed to pull it off. I found it on one of my favourite blogs, The Pioneer Woman Cooks. With a few tweaks, its also a really tasty, healthy dish.

The recipe states drumsticks, but you could use any part of the chicken you prefer really. It also specifies panko crumbs, which I haven't been able to track down yet but I usually make some coarse bread crumbs from stale bread (like a pane di casa) or I think making crumbs from cornflakes would work OK too.

Crispy Yoghurt Chicken

Ingredients:
6-8 chicken drumsticks (thighs, thigh fillets and breast fillets could all work too)
2 cups plain yoghurt (natural, Greek etc - I use Greek)
2 cloves of garlic
Juice of one lemon
Parsley
Salt
Pepper
Butter
2 cups (approx.) Panko breadcrumbs

Method:
Rinse and pat dry the chicken pieces and sprinkle with salt.

In a bowl combine the yoghurt with the crushed garlic cloves, chopped parsley and lemon juice.

Put the breadcrumbs in a separate bowl and add salt and pepper.

Grease a baking dish with butter.

Coat the chicken in the yoghurt mixture and then coat with crumbs. Place in the baking dish. Finally, place a small slice of butter in each drumstick. Cover with foil, then bake in a 180 degree oven for around 1 hour and then remove foil for the last 15 minutes of cooking.

Low fat tip: No need to sprinkle the chicken with salt or grease the baking dish; use low/reduced fat yoghurt and instead of buttering the chicken pieces, I simply spray them with cooking spray - they still brown nicely in the oven.

These are really yummy and the whole family enjoy them. There is a nice, subtle tang from the yoghurt and lemon that works well. Nice in the the lunch box the next day too!

I made another of her recipes recently, a Strawberry Shortcake - more on that to come!

Nigella's Baklava

OMG this stuff is delicious. And evil. But delicious. And oh-so-evil. It's also very easy to make, but a little time consuming - but so worth it!

I made it as part of a Greek-themed feast I was having with Kaz and Chocolate Crackle. Kaz made really yummy bougatsa for dessert as well - it was filo heaven!

Make the syrup first and the pop into the fridge while you make the pastry part.

Nigella's Baklava

Ingredients:

For the syrup

300ml water
500g caster sugar
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tablespoon rosewater
1 tablespoon orange-flower water

NB: you can get rose water and orange flower water from the chemist.

For the pastry:

325g pistachios, chopped in a processor until medium–fine
125g melted unsalted butter
400g filo pastry

Method:

Use a 23 x 23 tin for this -I'd advise not to use your favourite baking tin as you need to slice through the pastry while still in the tin. A foil disposable one from the supermarket is probably best, or even silicon (but be careful not to slice right through!).

Add water, sugar and lemon juice to a pot and bring to the boil. Keep it at boiling point for 5 minutes. Add the rosewater and flower water and then remove it from the heat. Pour it into a jug, let it cool and then chill it in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 180ºc.

Brush the tin with butter and then begin to layer the filo pastry sheets, brushing each layer with butter (tip: make sure you cover your filo with a damp tea towel so it doesn't dry out).

Use approx 20 sheets (1/2 packet) for the bottom layer, placing them in the tin evenly as you can. Then, spread the pistachios evenly over the filo sheets.

You can tell already this is going to be good...

Then carry on with the rest of the pastry in the same way. The last sheet on top should also be buttered well and then with a sharp knife trim around the top edge of the tin to give a neat finish. Cut parallel lines 4–5cm apart to form diamond shapes, making sure you cut the baklava right through to the bottom of the tin (not through the bottom of the tin though!).

Before cutting

Place in the oven and cook for 30 minutes, by which time the filo will have puffed up and become golden-brown.

Awaiting its drenching in sweet nectar

As soon as it comes out of the oven, pour over half the cold syrup. Leave it a few minutes to soak in and then pour over the rest.

Buttery, pistachio-ey, rose scented bliss!! It doesn't get much better than this - and it was even better the next day.

Citrus Yoghurt Muffins

These yummy muffins come from the 500 Cupcakes cookbook. I had a heap of Greek yoghurt I needed to use and am a sucker for anything citrus flavoured, so this was perfect. The combination of citrus flavours was really nice but you could try different variatiosn if you wanted.

Citrus Yoghurt Muffins

Ingredients:
200g plain four
175g caster sugar
1tbsp grated lemon zest
1 tbsp grated orange zest
1 tbsp grated lime zest
1 tbsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
255ml fat-free plain yoghurt
115ml sunflower oil
1 lightly beaten egg

Method:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Grease a 12 cup muffin pan.

In a medium sized bowl combine the flour, sugar, lemon, orange & lime zest, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, beat the yoghurt, oil and egg until well blended. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, stirring until just combined. Don't overmix!

Spoon the batter into the pan and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes, then remove muffins from the pan.

Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.


These were quite a hit in my house, and a healthy treat for little Miss J.

Chicken Scallopine

This is a really yummy and fast dinner idea that can also be made relatively healthily. I usually wing this, so feel free to play with the quantities of stock and cream to get a sauce consistency you are happy with . It does thicken quite a bit, so I'd add more stock than you think you might need.

Chicken Scallopine

Ingredients:
2-3 chicken breast fillets, sliced into schnizels
Plain flour - enough for coating the chicken
Salt
Pepper
Mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup cream
Olive oil
A lemon

Put the flour into a flat container/tray/plate and season with salt and pepper. Then prepare the chicken by slicing into thin pieces (escalopes) and bash with the meat hammer to flatten a bit if you need to. Coat each piece of chicken with the seasoned flour, tapping off any excess.

Heat some olive oil to the pan and fry chicken on both sides until golden brown. Cook in batches so you don't overcrowd the pan.

Low fat tip: To make this a bit healthier, omit the flour and fry the chicken using cooking spray in a non-stick pan, or bake or grill the chicken in the oven.

Once all the chicken has been cooked and removed from the pan, add the mushrooms to the pan making sure to scrape up all the nice brown bits the chicken has left behind. Add the stock, wine and cream to the mushrooms as well as a good squeeze of lemon. Cook down until its a nice rich brown colour. Add salt and pepper to taste. The sauce will thicken, so you may need to add more liquid (stock or wine) to ensure you have a good sauce-to-chicken ratio for serving

Low fat tip: You can use just stock instead of wine an stock and instead of cream, I use the same quantity of evaporated milk which worked really well.

Once its just about ready, add the chicken back to the pan to coat in the sauce and heat up. Serve the chicken with a generous spoonful of sauce. I usually serve with smashed potatoes and green beans.

Cookies and Cream Cheesecake (non baked)

In my younger days, I was unfamiliar with the concept of a baked cheesecake and the chilled /set variety were all I ever knew. It's nice sometimes to go back to those days and enjoy the delicious taste of tangy cream cheese in a lighter form.

I have a scrapbook at home with recipes I clip out of old magazines and newspapers and this recipe is in there. I dream one day of catching up with the clippings and cooking each and every recipe. I suspect this one is from an Old Better Homes and Garden magazine and the best thing is the most cooking you'll do is some melting of butter and chocolate and boiling of water. Have I mentioned yet how delicious this cheesecake is? Because its really, REALLY good.

Cookies and Cream Cheesecake

Ingredients:
250g plain chocolate biscuits
150g melted butter
2 teaspoons gelatine
1/4 cup water
375g cream cheese (softened)
300ml thickened cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup caster sugar
180g white chocolate, melted (use good stuff like Dream or Milky Bar)
150g cream filled chocolate bisctuits (aka OREOS) - quartered
50g dark chocolate, melted (optional)

Method:
Line the base of a 23cm spring form tin with baking paper.

Process the plain chocolate biscuits until they resemble breadcrumbs. Add the melted butter and process until just combined. Use your hands to press the biscuit mixture evenly over the base and 3cm up the sides of the tin. Cover and refrigerate for 20 mins.

Sprinkle the gelatine over the water in a small heatproof jug, then stand the jug in a small saucepan of simmering water and stir until the gelatine dissolves. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Beat the cream cheese, cream, vanilla extract and sugar until smooth. Stir in gelatine mixture and white chocolate, then fold in the quatered biscuits. Pour the cheesecake mixture over the biscuit base and cover and refrigerate for about 3 hours or until set.

Drizzle with dark chocolate to serve (optional)

Enjoy!!

Lemon Meringue Cake

It was Chocolate Crackles birthday and I volunteered to make his cake. I had seen something that I had been wanting to try and that would satisfy Chocolate Crackle 's preference for things non-chocolate; a lemon meringue cake found on the amazing and evil Martha Stewart website. Now, if you want a cake with WOW factor, then this is your cake.


There are three components - the cake, the lemon curd and the meringue. The cake part to this recipe is a beautiful moist lemon cake which would be lovely on its own. But the real hero is the curd - Oh.My.God. It took every iota of will power not to stick my spoon in and eat the whole lot before it made it anywhere near the cake. So, so good! And while there are a few parts to it, it is not as daunting as you may think.

Lemon Meringue Cake

Step 1: The Cake
230g unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups plain flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (or use salted butter and leave this out)
2 cups sugar
5 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Grease and flour two 23cm/9-inch round cake tins.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating to combine after each addition. Then beat in the vanilla and the lemon zest.

Add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat until just combined.

Divide cake batter between the prepared pans. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the tins.

Step 2: The Lemon Curd
NB: This makes about a cup of curd, so you can up the quantities (proportionately of course) if you need/want to make more - ie if you want extra layers or to gobble spoonfuls.

4 large egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons

Prepare a bath of iced/very cold water ( I filled my small sink with cold water and it worked fine). Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a medium heatproof bowl. Add the lemon juice, butter and lemon zest. Place over a pot of simmering water and cook, whisking occasionally, until thick - this should take around 15 minutes. Transfer the bowl to the cold water bath and let it stand, stirring occasionally, until cool. The curd will thicken up during this time. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd (like a cartouche, but made from cling wrap). Transfer to refrigerator until completely cold, or you can make it in advance and leave it overnight.

Step 3: The Meringue
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
1.5 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Combine the sugar, egg whites, and lemon juice in the bowl of an electric mixer set over simmering water. Whisk until sugar is dissolved.

Transfer bowl to the mixer stand and beat the egg white mix on medium speed for 10 minutes. Increase to high speed and beat until stiff glossy peaks form.

A word, if I may, regarding the meringue. I cheated OK? I wanted to save a bit of time and I made a French style meringue, which is more what you'd use for pavs and baked pie toppings. The actual recipe uses a Swiss style meringue made over heat which is more stable and helps it to hold its texture longer. I found my meringue dissolved over time, a bit like bubbles in the bubble bath, which is why it doesn't look as fluffy and luscious as the picture on Martha's site.

While it still tasted great, I learnt a new lesson about the science of cooking: for meringue that won't be baked used either Swiss or Italian style for better stability and ultimately, better presentation.

Red applied a spot-weld type effect to the cake

Step 4: The Assembly:
Remove cakes from their tins and trim the tops so they are nice and even. Eat off-cuts for quality control purposes*. Then slice each cake in half. Alternate layers of cake with a topping of lemon curd, finishing with a cake layer. Refrigerate the cake for 1-2 hours

Once its had a chance to 'set', take it out and then smooth on a layer of meringue all over, and then slather on the rest of the meringue. To complete the cake, you will then need to brown the meringue with a blow torch.

Omnomnom

* Optional :)


Next - Cookies and Cream Cheesecake of the non-baked variety.