Grown Up Strawberry Shortcake (lemon cake with balsamic strawberries)

I did not get a picture of it all assembled.  We ate it too quickly to remember :)  It was awesome!  You assemble it like a strawberry shortcake.  First the cake, then room temperature strawberries and top with fresh whipped cream.  Enjoy!

Lemon Yogurt Cake

2006, Barefoot Contessa at Home, All Rights Reserved

Prep Time:

20 min

Inactive Prep Time:

10 min

Cook Time:

50 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

1 loaf

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
• 3 extra-large eggs
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

For the glaze: (I omitted the glaze because I did not want it to be too sweet)

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it's all incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool.

For the glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice and pour over the cake.

Balsamic Strawberries

Ingredients

• 16oz fresh strawberries hulled and sliced
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 2 T. balsamic vinegar

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and leave at room temperature for 1 hour and no more than 4 hours.

Fresh Whipped Cream

Ingredients

• 8oz heavy whipping cream
• 2 T. powdered sugar
• 1 heaping teaspoon vanilla

Directions

Place mixing bowl in the freezer for up to 30 minutes before you make this.  You want the bowl to be very cold for best results.

Whip the cream in a mixer on high until soft peaks start forming.  Slowly add the powdered sugar and vanilla.  Be careful to not over mix at this point.

Place in refrigerator until ready to use.

Recipe By: Tracy Lytle

Whole Wheat Strawberry Poptarts

I found a really cool blog Cheekykitchen.com.  I cannot wait to try more of her recipes.  This recipe for poptarts was amazing!  This is her recipe with a few of my own changes in italics.

Crust:
1 C whole wheat
1/2 C white flour (I used 1 1/2 cups of soft white wheat berries, milled)
2 t sugar (I used brown sugar)
1/2 t salt
½ c. cold butter, sliced
4-5 Tbsp. cold milk 

In large bowl, stir together flours, sugar, and salt. Cut in slices of butter using a pastry cutter (or fork, if you have to) until the largest pieces resemble peas. It’s important that you don’t touch the crust with your bare hands, no matter how tempting that mixing option might be. You want the butter to stay as cold as possible and your hands will warm it up and make the crust less flaky. Pour the milk over the mixture, one tablespoon at a time, just until moistened enough to hold the dough together. Use a fork to stir the dough after you’ve added each Tablespoon of milk. Quickly form the crust into a ball. Refrigerate until ready to use. (I stuck it in the freezer for 20 minutes and it was perfect!)

1 prepared batch of  Whole Wheat Pie Crust (listed above)

Fresh Strawberry Filling:
1 T. butter, sliced
1 c. strawberries
1 tsp. lemon juice
½ c. sugar (I cut this in half)
1 T. cornstarch (I did not have cornstarch on hand so I substituted whole wheat flour)

Glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
1 T. honey
1 tsp. vanilla
2-3 T. heavy cream (I used whole milk and it came out fine)
Pink Icing gel
Sprinkles

In a small saucepan, combine all Strawberry Filling ingredients. Heat over medium-high heat until mixture begins to thicken. Allow to cool. On a lightly-floured cutting board, roll pie crust ¼” thick. Use a pizza cutter to cut pie dough into same-sized rectangles, approximately 4” tall x 3” wide. Spoon a 2-3 Tablespoons of the strawberry mixture on top of one of the rectangles. Gently place a second rectangle of pie dough atop. Secure edges together by pressing them gently with the tines of a fork. Transfer to a cookie sheet and bake in an oven preheated to 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges of the tart begin to brown slightly. Remove and cool.

To make the glaze, stir together all ingredients until a thick, spreadable consistency is reached. Spoon a thin layer of the frosting on top of cooled strawberry tarts. Allow frosting to harden before serving.

ENJOY!

Fruit Leather

This is easy, but it takes a long time so you have to be patient.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 12-15 hours
Serves: Probably 8 to 12 depending on big you cut them


Ingredients:


2 1/2 C. Chopped strawberries (or any other fruit)
1 T. Sugar
1/4 C. Water
1 T. Freshly Squeezed Lemon (about half of a lemon)

Cut strawberries and combine all ingredients in a sauce pan.  Bring to a boil and let it cook down until fruit is soft.  Pour fruit mixture in a food processor or blender and blend until pureed.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat.  Spray generously with cooking spray.  Spread fruit mixture over sheet and place in a warm oven.  I put my in my warming drawer on the low setting, you could also turn your oven on 170 and dry it in there.  I would prop the door open though for ventilation if you used your oven.

Then you let the waiting game begin!  I put mine in the oven at 7:00pm and it was ready the next morning by 7:15am.  Most recipes say you have to flip it half way through the process, but I didn't want to bother with it so I just let it be and it came out just fine!  So no extra work, always a plus! :)

Recipe by: Tracy Lytle

Strawberry Margarita Pie (non-alcoholic)

Well, it was good. Not really a strawberry margarita taste, but kind of. I didn't want to use alcohol because my kids wanted to eat it. Maybe next time we will do a grown up one and see if it tastes more like the drink.

Your favorite pie crust - baked and cooled.

1 1/4 qt. strawberries, sliced and divided.

3 T. cornstarch

1/2 c. sugar

2 T. margarita mix

Splash of orange juice

1/4 t. vanilla

Put a layer of fresh sliced strawberries on the bottom of the pie. Mash 1 qt. of strawberries and cook with sugar, cornstarch, margarita mix and orange juice. Stir constantly until the liquid turns clear. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Stir. Pour over fresh strawberries in pie crust and chill overnight or in the freezer for at least 4 hours. Top with whip cream if desired.

Posted by: Tracy

Spinach and Strawberry Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Salad:

2 lb Fresh spinach - lightly chopped

1 pint Strawberries - sliced

Optional:

1 Lg Cucumber - peeled and sliced

1 Lg Tomato - sliced

Crushed Almonds or Walnuts

Crumbled feta or mozzarella cheese

Crumbled cooked bacon

Dressing:

1/2 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/3 c. sugar

1/4 t. kosher salt

1 T. cider vinegar

1 T. vegetable oil

2 T. balsamic vinegar

The nice thing about this salad is you can put whatever you want in it. It would be fabulous with just the spinach and strawberries - anything extra is... well... just extra! Shake all the dressing ingredients well and lightly drizzle over salad. Enjoy!

Recipe By: Tracy

Warm Chocolate Cake with Berries (lava cake)

Warm Chocolate Cakes with Berries

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Prep Time:

15 min

Inactive Prep Time:

8 hr 0 min

Cook Time:

12 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

6 servings

Ingredients

Chocolate Cakes:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted softened butter, plus extra for buttering molds
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 4 large eggs
• 4 large egg yolks
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 4 teaspoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting molds
• 3 tablespoons Frangelico or hazelnut liqueur
• 1 cup fresh raspberries
• 1 cup fresh strawberries
• Fresh mint, for garnish

Directions

Butter and lightly flour 6 (6-ounce) ramekins. Tap out any excess flour.

In a small saucepan, bring to a boil 2 inches of water. In a large glass bowl, add butter, chocolate and espresso powder. Lower heat and place bowl over the simmering water. Slowly whisk mixture until the chocolate is almost completely melted. Remove bowl from heat and continue to whisk until all chocolate has melted. Allow to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, add eggs, yolks, and sugar. Using an electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy and pale in color. Reduce speed to medium-low and slowly pour in the chocolate mixture. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Do not overwork the batter.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Divide the batter between the molds. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place chocolate molds onto baking sheet and place in oven for 7 minutes. If not baking immediately, cover chocolate molds with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 8 hours. When ready to bake, place refrigerated chocolate molds onto baking sheet and place in oven for 10 minutes. The top and sides should be cooked and dry and the inside will be runny.

Using oven mitts, carefully invert each mold onto a plate and let it sit for 10 seconds. Then lift 1 corner of the ramekin and the cake should slip out. Sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon Frangelico over each cake. Spoon berries around the chocolate cake and garnish with mint. Serve warm.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

I've never made this before, but it's one of Tom's favorites. Since it's raining (the perfect time to bake) I decided to bake this one for him.

Difficulty: Easy
Preparation: 30 minutes
Baking Time: 1 hour
Rating: TBD

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 c. sugar, divided
3 tbsp. cornstarch (arrowroot instead)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
3 c. rhubarb, cut into 1/2" pieces
2 c. sliced fresh strawberries
1 tbsp. butter
Pastry for double crust pie

DIRECTIONS:
In large mixing bowl stir together sugar, cornstarch, salt and ground nutmeg. Add rhubarb pieces and sliced strawberries, toss gently to coat fruit. Let stand for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare and roll out pastry. Line a 9 inch pie plate with half of the pastry. Trim pastry to edge of pie plate. Pour fruit mixture into pie plate. Dot with butter, place pastry on top of filling. Cut slits in top to allow steam to escape seal and flute edge. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

ADDED NOTE: After slicing this pie, I discovered it was too runny - the juice didn't thicken at all! I pulled out my favorite baking book: Baking Illustrated (which I should have done in the first place) and discovered this is a very common problem with this pie because the rhubarb and strawberries both retain a large amount of liquid. So here's what they recommend:
Heat 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until smoking. Add the rhubarb and 1/4 cup of the sugar and cook, stirring frequently, until the rhubarb has shed most of its liquid but is still firm, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large plate and refrigerate until cool. Instead of cornstarch they suggest using 3 Tablespoons of arrowroot - for better flavor. Also make sure to vent the top crust at least 8 times to allow the extra moisture to escape. The pie tasted wonderful

Posted by Debi