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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

Best Strawberry and Rhubarb Crisp to make now!

August 28, 2016 by Mary 15 Comments

Strawberry and Rhubarb Crisp just out of the oven

Just out of the oven!

While rhubarb is still fresh and plentiful, and the strawberries are plump and sweet, make this strawberry and rhubarb crisp, serve it warm with some cool vanilla ice cream and watch your guests ask for seconds. Seriously. This happens a lot!

This original recipe calls for all rhubarb and is from the first Union Square Cafe cookbook. I, however, prefer the addition of strawberries. You decide.

So our oldest son is getting married in just two weeks!! I can’t believe it! I can’t believe that I’m old enough to have a child getting married. This is the one who lives in Brooklyn. He and his fiancée bought a townhouse together last October and have been renovating it ever since. They are doing an amazing job of transforming this house. It’s been a ton of work and so exciting to see.

Their wedding will be a very private affair at City Hall with just the immediate family and four very close friends. We will be only 14 people at the ceremony on Friday, have dinner together and then a bar party for everyone afterwards. On Saturday, they are having a party for about 75 people at their house and instead of having a wedding cake, they have asked for family and close friends to bring a dessert. I plan on bringing two double recipes of this! Aunt Ginny from her side has wholeheartedly approved via email. I trust that there are other rhubarb lovers out there too!

The rest of the party will be catered. What kind of food? I have no idea and I am staying out of this one. I do know he’s putting in a dance floor in the backyard and they love to dance! So it should be great fun!!

Strawberry and Rhubarb Crisp - raw fruit

 

Strawberry and Rhubarb Crisp-ready to go into the oven.

Ready to go into the oven!

STRAWBERRY AND RHUBARB CRISP  – serves 6 – 8

TOPPING:
3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
5 1/3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup toasted walnuts

FILLING:
1 pound rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 lb. strawberries, hulled and cut in half, if big
3 tablespoons unbleached flour
3/4 cup sugar

Vanilla bean ice cream for serving

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a bowl, combine the first 4 ingredients.  Work in the butter until the mixture is crumbly.  Add the toasted walnut pieces.

In a 8” x 8”, 2 quart square ovenproof serving dish, toss the rhubarb and strawberries with the 3/4 cup sugar and the 3 tablespoons flour, to coat evenly.  Scatter the crisp topping evenly over the surface of the fruit.  Bake for 35 minutes, or until the rhubarb bubbles at the sides and the topping is crisp and brown. 

Serve warm, with LOVE, topped with vanilla bean ice cream or a drizzle of heavy cream.

Filed Under: Desserts Tagged With: crisps, rhubarb, strawberries, strawberry and rhubarb crisp

Birthday dinner!

April 1, 2012 by Mary Frances Leave a Comment

Crab cakes and lettuce on white dinner plates.

Crab cake on a Boston lettuce leaf with organic watercress and chipotle mayo

Birthdays are always very special in our house. I am happy to cook a magnificent meal of the celebrated’s choice, served at the dining room table with china, crystal and sterling. However, this year, my oldest son requested a surprise. Dinner was to be of my choosing, so here’s what I made:

Appetizers:
A cheese board with a variety of cheeses, dried apricots and walnuts

First course:
Crab cake on a bed of Boston lettuce and organic watercress with chipotle mayonnaise (search this blog for the recipe)

Main course:
Center cut pork chop with a grape and tarragon sauce (a Food and Wine recipe)
Homemade gnocchi with grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (a Food and Wine recipe) – this was divine!
Roasted asparagus with olive oil and fresh mint (my simple recipe)

Dessert
Vanilla pots with fresh strawberries (a Mark Bittman recipe)

Food and Wine's pork chop, gnocchi and roasted asparagus on a white plate.

Our evening was just great – a special time for just us to catch up on each others lives, watch funny You Tube videos together and of course it ended with viewing the return of Mad Men.

You know, it’s always wonderful to do a special dinner for just your family. When the kids were young, we used to do this every Sunday night. My husband insisted on this tradition, saying that we often entertained our friends specially and why shouldn’t we do it just for us. It gave us a time to regroup before starting the week and taught the boys how to behave at an elegant dinner. The conversation was slower and more interesting, providing a time for all of us to unwind. I hope you do this with your family, creating wonderful stories and memories along the way.

Filed Under: Dinner, First Course, Fish Tagged With: birthday dinners, Boston lettuce, crab cakes, gnocchi, grapes, Mark Bittman, organic watercress, Parmigiano Reggiano, pork chops, roasted asparagus with mint, strawberries, tarragon, vanilla pots

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