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Engaging stories of love, joy, comfort and friendship with proven scrumptious, healthy recipes, we celebrate LOVE as the secret ingredient for wonderful food!

Strawberry Shortcake

April 30, 2020 by Mary 3 Comments

I first posted a picture of this Strawberry Shortcake on my Instagram account and received so many likes, including a request for the recipe. So, here is my recipe for Strawberry Shortcake that is really quite easy and as you can see, it is one of those things that makes a super luscious, impressive dessert!

I made this as the belated birthday dessert for my daughter-in-law, Kate, and the store had crappy looking strawberries, so we used blackberries and raspberries. Any good berry you like will do! I don’t like my desserts too sweet, so I do not add much sugar to the fruit as I think you really don’t need it. But do add more if you so choose.

Strawberry Shortcake signals spring to me as spring and summer are the height of strawberry season vs. the flavorless variety available in the winter. Agata, my other daughter-in-law in Poland, said the Instagram post made her craving for strawberries. And I found some good ones the next day after serving Kate her special treat.

You can wrap up the shortcake in aluminum foil and warm it in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 7 minutes and it will taste just as fresh as the day you made it – as these pictures show with the strawberries.

The other secret ingredient!

The real secret here is a tip from my mom. Make sure the cake is warm, split it and put super thin little pats of butter on the bottom portion, then lightly salt it, if you are using unsalted butter. Then put a layer of whipped cream on top of the buttered portion, followed by the berries to fall over it. The butter makes everything just a little richer, fresher and yummier.

Some Strawberry Shortcake recipes have a lot of butter in the cake portion. But I prefer a lighter cake and then using the butter fresh, as a finishing touch, as my mom did it. Super delish.

The background story…

When I was a little girl around ten years old, my mom gave me the responsibility to make a dessert every night during the summer. That was my “job”. And now don’t forget that I am the youngest of six, with five older brothers. Growing up in the Midwest, dessert was mandatory, even if it was just simply Jell-O and Cool Whip (a newfangled thing at that time). Yuk!

So, I had to choose the dessert recipe, make sure I had the ingredients and make it in time for dinnertime. Making Strawberry Shortcake, was one of my go-to recipes as it was simple, easy and impressive. And, my mom grew strawberries in our garden in the backyard that were so sweet and delicious!!

In those days, Bisquick was also a relatively newfangled thing that you could use to make biscuits, pancakes, waffles and yes, shortcake. And I often used Bisquick, but because this recipe is so easy and I have an aversion to premade processed food, please go with this recipe. It will not disappoint.

Enjoy!! And serve with LOVE.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE – serves 6 – 8

3 pints fresh strawberries, hulled and thickly sliced, or other mixed berries, leaving 6 – 8 berries whole, with the green tops, for the final decoration when serving.
¼  cup white sugar
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons white sugar 
¼ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup unsalted butter – very cold
1 egg – at room temperature
⅔ cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 rounded Tbs. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Slice the strawberries (leave other small berries whole), and toss them with 1/4 cup of white sugar. Cover and set aside so juices will accumulate.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Butter and flour one 8 inch round cake pan.

Combine the flour, baking powder, 2 tablespoons white sugar and the salt. Sift all ingredients together into a bowl. With a pastry blender or knife, cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Lightly beat the egg in another small bowl. Beat in the milk to combine.

Make a well in the center of the butter and flour mixture and add the beaten egg and milk. Stir until just combined and no flour is visible. The dough will be more bread-like and sticky. Use your hands for the final mix to combine everything.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan. You will have to work at spreading it out. Bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool partially in the pan on a wire rack.

The finishing touches

Whip the heavy cream into luscious soft peaks, adding the powdered sugar and vanilla after it first starts to thicken. Do not over whip.

Slice partially cooled cake in wedges and then split each wedge in half, making two layers. Put super thin little pats of butter on the bottom portion, then lightly salt it, if you are using unsalted butter. Then put a layer of whipped cream on top of the buttered portion, top with berries to fall over it and top with the other cake layer. Finish with a dollop of whipped cream and one whole strawberry or some small berries as shown in the photos.

Serve with LOVE and enjoy.

Filed Under: Desserts, Tea time Tagged With: berries, dessert, desserts, shortcake, strawberries, whipped cream

Lemon Ricotta Cake

April 5, 2020 by Mary 4 Comments

Side view of Lemon Ricotta Cake with whipped cream, blueberries and Cape Gooseberries.
Side view as I wanted you to see how moist this cake is!

With the pandemic of Covid-19 in full force, we all need to stay at home and cook great meals, even dessert, with this delicious Lemon Ricotta Cake recipe! This is super simple to make and results in a lovely lemony, super moist, delectable cake.

I first made this Lemon Ricotta Cake when I had bought a bunch of ricotta to make a requested lasagna for one of my kids and then, he was not going to be able to stay for dinner so no lasagna (I wasn’t going to make it just for me) and a large container of ricotta sitting in my refrigerator. What to do? Make a cake for my dear friends, Margaret and Wayne, coming over for dinner two nights later!

You may remember, Margaret is a terrific baker – excellent cook too – but a great baker! She makes these amazing yeast sticky buns around the holidays that I absolutely adore. I get a little frightened of yeast-y things, unless it’s my mom’s homemade Polish bread recipe, which I’ve made a million times. Margaret is unfazed by any dessert or sweet recipe and just does it with aplomb.

For toppings…

Because of this, I supremely value Margaret’s approval on sweets, as she is the expert, and this cake passed with flying colors. I originally served it with ice cream, but I found that to be too cold and masked the natural moistness that is inherent in the cake. The whipped cream, which I used last night to celebrate my son’s birthday (notice the candle holes on top of the cake), along with blueberries and these odd yellow berries called, Cape Gooseberries, was better than ice cream and just delicious!

Easy peasy…

In making this Lemon Ricotta Cake, you don’t even need to pull out the mixer, just make sure the butter is completely softened and you can mix by hand with a spatula.

And it is not only the ricotta that makes it so moist but also the grated apple – an added surprise!!

Make this nice little sweet to end your meal or enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea in the morning.

Happy Sunday everyone – stay safe and stay at home – we can do this!!

  • Lemon Ricotta cake batter in a bowl.
Lemon Ricotta cake batter in the pan ready to go into the oven.


LEMON RICOTTA CAKE – serves 8

9 tbsp unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing the cake pan
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 cup + 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 Tbs. baking powder
Pinch of salt – preferably French grey
1 cup ricotta cheese
Zest of 1.5 lemons
1 medium apple, peeled and grated
Powdered sugar, to dust the top
Blueberries and/or Cape Gooseberries (Optional)
Heavy Whipping Cream – whipped (Optional)

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease an 8″ cake pan with some softened butter. Cover the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and butter that as well. Dust all over with flour.

In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar together using a rubber spatula. When the two are combined and creamy, add in the eggs and mix to combine. You may want to use a whisk at this point.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir everything together until all of the flour mixture is incorporated.

Then add in the ricotta, lemon zest, and grated apple. Again, stir everything to combine – there should be no visible clumps of dry ingredients, but do not overstir.

Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth out the batter. Bake the cake for 30 – 35 minutes, until the cake is beginning to get golden on top and the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes before flipping out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Remove the parchment paper. Once the cake has cooled, dust the top with powdered sugar.

Serve with love, whipped heavy cream, fresh blueberries and/or Cape Gooseberries and and enjoy!! 

Lemon Ricotta cake out of the oven, cooling.
Lemon Ricotta cake with powdered sugar and birthday candle holes.

Filed Under: Desserts, Tea time Tagged With: coffee cake, easy desserts, lemon ricotta cake, lemony cake, simple desserts, tea cake

Stash MerryMint Organic Green Tea Holiday Cocktail

December 27, 2016 by Mary 5 Comments

Stash MerryMint Organic Green tea in MARY's secret ingredients winter 2016 subscription box.I love green tea. It’s a super brain food. Not that I need to be any smarter, mind you, just saying… 🙂

Here’s some interesting info: Green tea contains the amino acid L-theanine, which is able to cross the blood-brain barrier. L-theanine increases the activity of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, which has anti-anxiety effects. It also increases dopamine and the production of alpha waves in the brain.

Well goodbye anxiety, bring on the dopamine and alpha waves and make me happy. I’m in!

This Stash MerryMint Organic Green Tea is so fresh and potent, I LOVE it! The two types of mint – peppermint and spearmint, combined with ginger root, lemongrass and wintergreen oil make this tea so minty flavorful – you will love it! This is the fifth item in our MARY’s secret ingredients 2016 winter subscription box.

Of course you can enjoy it plain or with just a little bit of honey, but I opted to make this truly American Holiday minty and lemony cocktail. This tea in an alcoholic drink is merriment for the season!!

Brew the tea ahead of time, combine with the honey and then let it cool. I guarantee this will be your favorite drink this season. It’s not too strong, yet lovely in a straight up glass. This is what is in fashion now – interesting drinks that are not too alcoholic.

Here’s to the season and an AWESOME new year!!! xoxo, Mary

Stash MerryMint Organic Green Tea Holiday Cocktail in an old-fashioned champagne crystal glass, overhead shot. Stash MerryMint Organic Green Tea Holiday Cocktail in an old-fashioned champagne crystal glass, side view shot.STASH MERRYMINT ORGANIC GREEN TEA HOLIDAY COCKTAIL – makes 1 drink

1 Stash Tea MerryMint Organic Green Tea tea bag
4 oz. boiling water
½ Tbs. honey
1 oz. American whiskey or bourbon
½ oz. Cynar
Lemon peel twist

Brew the tea bag in the water for 3 minutes. Remove bag and stir in the honey to dissolve. Let the tea cool completely.

Pour over ice in a shaker, the whiskey or bourbon, Cynar, and honeyed tea. Shake to combine. Pour in a straight up cocktail glass or old-fashioned champagne glass. Peel a lemon twist over the glass and drop in.

Sip and enjoy!!!

Filed Under: Cocktails, Tea time Tagged With: holiday cocktails, mint green tea, organic green tea, Stash tea, tea cocktail

Pecan, Olive Oil and Benedictine Coffee Cake with Magisso Cake Server

December 22, 2016 by Mary 4 Comments

Magisso cake server with package.

 

The Magisso cake server, so pretty in pink, is a sleek, sexy little tool that is included in our winter MARY’s secret ingredients subscription box. Beautifully designed, made of undulating curves of plastic with the edge sharpened on one side, makes cutting and serving your cake a singular beautiful motion. Press down to cut, gently squeeze in to lift, and release your grip to place the cake piece on your plate.

Pecan, olive oil, and Benedictine coffee cake being cut by a pink Magisso cake server.It is a most harmonious motion. No sawing with a knife, no messy pieces, just giving you pure unadulterated pieces of cake with a sexy little curve to the shape of your piece.

So I made this nut cake, trying to recapture a nut cake recipe that my mother used to make. It was her favorite cake. Loaded with finely ground nuts and not too sweet, she loved it. Me, as a kid, not so much. But here I was last Sunday craving it!

 

Here is the recipe:

PECAN, OLIVE OIL AND BENEDICTINE COFFEE CAKE WITH MAGISSO CAKE SERVER – serves 10

Unsalted butter, for the pan
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
3 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup Benedictine
3/4 cup pecan halves, toasted and finely chopped
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Strawberries, slightly sweetened whipped cream, or ice cream (butter pecan or vanilla) for serving with the Magisso Cake Server

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast pecans in a pan in the oven for 7 – 8 minutes. Remove nuts from the pan right away to prevent further toasting and place on a cutting board to cool. Then finely chop.

Generously butter a 9-inch round cake pan and dust with flour, set aside.

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

Put eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on high speed until light in color, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add granulated sugar; beat until mixture is pale and thick, about 4 minutes. Reduce speed to low; mix in oil and liqueur. Lightly fold in flour mixture in 3 batches using a rubber spatula. Fold in toasted pecans. Spread batter into prepared pan.

Bake cake until a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, 20 – 24 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Turn out cake onto rack to cool completely. Turn cake over on a plate and dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Cut with Magisso cake server and serve with strawberries and slightly sweetened whipped cream or ice cream (butter pecan or vanilla). Let the ice cream get a little melty on the cake – pure heaven…

This cake even tastes better after a day or two – wrap it well in plastic wrap. Always serve with LOVE and enjoy!!
Overhead shot of Pecan, Olive Oil and Benedictine coffee cake with Magisso cake server and a bowl of strawberries.Slice of Pecan, Olive Oil and Benedictine coffee cake with strawberries in the background.

Still have a gift to get for that difficult person on your list? We have MARY’s secret ingredients gift cards here!! Gift cards are delivered by email and contain instructions to redeem them at checkout. Our gift cards have no additional processing fees. Easy peasy!

Filed Under: Desserts, Products for sale, Tea time Tagged With: coffee cake, dessert, Magisso, Magisso cake server, olive oil & Benedictine coffee cake, pecan

The Tea Spot Meditative Mind Shortbread Cookies

April 30, 2016 by Mary 13 Comments

The Tea Spot Shortbread Cookies finished on a plate with a cup of tea.

The Tea Spot Meditative Mind tea sachets package.When our kids were in grade school and high school, I would make homemade cookies on Sunday afternoons for their lunches during the week. Those were the days I went through a LOT of butter. And they’re both slim as can be now while a pound of butter lasts forever in our household with just my husband and me.

But every once in awhile, a little sweetness with butter really cuts through the mustard of life!

So last Sunday, I made these DELICIOUS tea-infused shortbread cookies, with the added touch of white chocolate chips!! Rich and buttery with the sandy texture of shortbread that contrasts wonderfully with crunchiness of the white chocolate chips, as that’s what they become. These little cookies, quick to make, will bring unmatched sighs to whomever you’re sharing with, should you decide to share.

Meditative Mind tea sachets from The Tea Spot in our recent spring MARY’s secret ingredients boxes will not only calm your mind but will also make your knees wobbly, it’s so relaxing. When you take a close look at the contents in your sachets, there’s actually miniature rosebuds visible in each bag. How cool is that??

Maria Uspenski, started this company as a way to spread the word (and products) about the restorative benefits of fine herbal teas when she was recovering from cancer. She is writing a book due out in the fall titled Cancer Hates Tea. Thankfully she is fine now and 10% of her sales are donated in–kind to cancer and community wellness programs. The Tea Spot is a Colorado–based, Certified B Corporation, woman-owned and operated business.

This tea, finely ground with a mortar and pestle and blended in the cookies, adds just that extra touch of mystery taste you will LOVE.

The Tea Spot Meditative MInd tea in a white porcelain mortar.

Meditative Mind tea – before grinding. Just look at that cute rosebud!

The Tea Spot Meditative MInd Shortbread Cookies finished cookies on a cooling rack.

THE TEA SPOT MEDITATIVE MIND SHORTBREAD COOKIES – makes 24 – 30 cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 Tbs. cinnamon
1 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground fennel seeds, ground with mortar and pestle or in a clean coffee grinder
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1 Tea Spot Meditative Mind tea sachet, remove the tea and grind with mortar and pestle
1 rounded cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

The Tea Spot Meditative MInd Shortbread cookie dough in bowl.The Tea Spot Meditative Mind Shortbread cookies on baking panBeat butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla in a large bowl with a mixer until smooth. In another bowl, stir together flour, cinnamon, ginger, fennel, cardamom, and tea. Add to butter mixture and beat on low speed until blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set 1 Tbs. balls of dough 1 in. apart on sheets and flatten slightly with a floured glass.

Bake until cookies are light golden on undersides, 15 to 18 minutes, switching pan positions halfway through baking. Transfer to racks to cool.

Serve with LOVE and a cup of Meditative Mind tea and go straight to heaven here on earth!

Store in an airtight tin or container.

Filed Under: Desserts, Tea time Tagged With: cookie recipes with tea, cookies with tea, Meditative Mind, shortbread cookies, The Tea Spot

Tea and Honey Marinated Chicken Breasts

May 11, 2014 by Mary 24 Comments

Tea and honey marinated chicken on a plate

The Calmer Sutra Peppermyntle Tea and Ginger Infused Honey from Australia, which were in the spring box of MARY’s secret ingredients are, of course, divine as a cup of tea with honey. Lovely before going to bed at night, the peppermint is a digestive aid as is the ginger in their ginger infused honey. Add the lemon kick from the myrtle and you’ve got a flavor explosion in your cup. I LOVE the ginger honey! The ginger adds a kick of heat perfectly combined with the sweet honey, the combo is quite nice! (Please remember to refrigerate your honey after you’ve opened it.) With the myrtle being indigenous to Australia, a little research came up with a lot of dessert recipes for this herb. So of course I could have followed in that direction which would also work well with the honey, but I chose to go the savory way instead with this Tea and Honey Marinated Chicken Breasts recipe.

This is my first time marinating with tea and this resulting dish was just delicious! Besides the chicken being juicy, tender and subtly flavored, the browning was beautiful and I do believe that was because of the tea and honey!

Here’s the recipe:

TEA AND HONEY MARINATED CHICKEN BREASTS – serves 4

3/4 cup of water
1 tbs. Calmer Sutra Peppermyntle Tea
4 scallions, white and pale green only, chopped
3 tbs. canola oil, divided
Zest of one lemon
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbs. low salt soy sauce
1 tbs. Calmer Sutra Ginger Infused Honey
1 tbs. chopped fresh ginger root
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Heat the water over high heat to a simmer. Pour over the tea leaves and steep for 5 minutes. Strain the tea mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, and discard the tea leaves. Add the scallions, 2 tbs. canola oil, lemon zest and juice, soy sauce, honey, ginger and garlic. Stir to combine and place over a bowl of ice water to cool. Make 4 to 5 diagonal cuts 1/4” deep across each chicken breast half. Pour marinade into a zip lock bag, add chicken and massage the chicken with the sauce, turning occasionally and refrigerate overnight.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Tea and honey marinated chicken breasts in a raw  state

Remove the breasts from the marinade and pat dry. Place the marinade in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer. Add the chicken to the skillet without crowding and cook until browned, 3 – 4 minutes. Tea and honey marinated chicken breasts browning in the pan

Turn the breast and continue cooking until the juices run clear when pierced with a knife, an additional 3 to 4 minutes. Set aside on a platter to rest for 5 minutes. Serve the chicken topped with the sauce.Tea and honey marinated chicken breasts plated

I served this with fluffy Jasmine rice, topped with the sauce and a side of the Eggplant Tomato Yum.

Filed Under: Dinner, Poultry, Tea time Tagged With: Calmer Sutra Ginger Infused Honey, Calmer Sutra Tea, marinated chicken breasts, tea and honey marinated chicken breasts, tea as a marinade

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