Reiver needed to take a plate to the office the other day. So, of course, I viewed this as an idea opportunity to try out yet another feijoa recipe.

These were lovely little socnes. And because the jam was just a "quick jam" thickened with chia seeds, it didn't require the normal amount of sugar and came out not-too-sweet and deliciously fruity! The low-sugar nature of it means that the jam won't keep the way a traditional jam will. But as long as you eat it relatively quickly, it makes for a delicious (and relatively healthy) way to use up a few feijoas.

Photo goes here.

Feijoa-Ginger Scones with Quick Feijoa-Strawberry Jam

Slightly adapted from NZ Woman's Weekly

Ingredients

Scones

• 375g soft (plain/standard/cake) flour
• 2 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 Tbsp. ginger
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 50g butter
• 3-4 feijoas
• 3/4 c. buttermilk
• 0-2 Tbsp. milk

Jam

• 250g feijoa pulp
• 1 c. frozen strawberries
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp. chia seeds
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

Scones

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, and ginger.
3. Add sugar and stir to mix.
4. Cut in the butter.
5. Scoop and chop the feijoas.
6. Stir in the feijoas and the buttermilk.
7. Mix to form a shaggy dough. If the dough won't quite come together, add a little milk until it does.
8. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and pat into a disc ~2-3cm thick.
9. Fold the dough into quarters and press flat again.
10. Use a biscuit cutter of your preferred size to cut out your scones and place them on a baking sheet.
11. Combine the scraps, press flat, and cut out a few more scones. Repeat until you can't make any more scones.
12. Bake at 200°C (400°F) until cooked through and just starting to colour on the outside (~15 minutes).

Jam

1. Combine the feijoas, strawberries, and maple syrup and cook over medium heat until very soft.
2. Remove from heat, purée, and stir in the chia seeds and vanilla.
3. Pour into a jar and allow to cool.

Assembly

1. Split scones and serve topped with whipped cream and jam.

We had a bunch of leftover pumpkin tagine for dinner tonight, but not much in the way of protein. Luckily, we still had a chicken in the freezer, so I was able to roast that up and combine it with some bread and veggies to make this "salad". It is a salad without lettuce or leafy greens. But I guess the inclusion of a vinaigrette makes it a salad nonetheless? Either way, it was tasty and rounded out the meal nicely.

Roast Chicken and Bread Salad with Green Beans

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 chicken (~1kg), cut into pieces¹
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 3 thick slices of bread, cubed
• 250g green beans, trimmed
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 shallot (or small red onion), minced
• 2 Tbsp. red wine or cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. grainy mustard
• 2 Tbsp. dried currants
• 250g strawberries², hulled and quartered

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Season chicken with most of the salt and pepper (reserving a little for the beans).
3. Roast at 200°C (400°F) until chicken is done (45-60 minutes).
4. Remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 180°C (350°F).
5. Toss the bread cubes with 2 Tbsp. of the oil and spread out on the (now empty) baking sheet.
6. Bake at 180°C (350°F) until lightly browned and crisp on the outside (~15 minutes), turning once or twice during cooking.
7. Meanwhile, blanch the beans in some water seasoned with some of the reserved salt and pepper. Cook until just barely tender (2-3 minutes).
8. Shock the beans in cold water, drain, and set aside.
9. Whisk the winegars with the mustard, currants, and red onion.
10. Drizzle in the remaining 1 Tbsp. of oil while whisking vigorously.
11. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (I used a bit of the reserved salt and pepper from above.)
12. Add the beans and toss to combine.
13. Top with chicken, strawberries, and croutons and serve.

---

¹ The original recipe called for the chicken skin to be left on, but I chose to skin my chicken and just baste it with a little of the rendered schmaltz instead. ^Back
2 I wasn't impressed by the strawberries this week, so I gave them a miss and just tossed some leftover peach salsa onto this salad instead. I think it worked quite well! ^Back

Apparently these are also known as "strawberry Napoleons", but I've only ever heard them called "mille-feuilles" (lit. "1000 leaves/sheets) which is a reference to the layers of puff pastry used to sandwich the filling.

You can do them with all sorts of different flavours, but I had a recipe for this strawberry and whipped cream version and we had all the ingredients on hand already, so that made it an easy choice. And they were a big hit all 'round! A bit messy to eat, maybe, but nobody seemed to mind that terribly much. They were all devoured in very short order.

I was worried about being short of filling, so I whipped a full cup of cream (even though we didn't have the full 450g of pastry that the recipe called for). In retrospect, I think that 3/4 c. probably would have been sufficient. But no one seemed to mind the extra cream. I also didn't worry too much about making them neat and tidy. And I skipped the dusting of icing sugar. I'm sure it would have been a nice finishing touch on a neatly made set of mille-feuilles, but I wasn't too worried about it for these ones. We just wanted to tuck in and enjoy!

Strawberry Mille-Feuilles

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• 375g puff pastry
• 250g strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 3/4 c. heavy (35%) cream

Directions

1. If the pastry is frozen, thaw it out.
2. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
3. Roll to a thickness of ~3mm trying to keep it as rectangular as possible. Aim for a shape that is ~20x30cm (or slightly smaller).
4. Trim off any uneven edges and cut the rectangle in half lengthwise (to form two rectangles each a bit under 10cm wide).
5. Cut each piece of dough crosswise into pieces 4-5cm wide.
6. Place the small rectangles of dough onto the prepared baking sheets and prick each one 3-4 times with a fork.
7. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 20 minutes, rotating halfway through.
8. Meanwhile, toss the strawberries with the sugar and lemon juice and set aside.
9. Once the pastry is puffed and crisp, remove from oven and allow to cool.
10. Meanwhile, beat the cream until soft peaks form.
11. Carefully fold the strawberries and any accumulated juices into the whipped cream.
12. Once the pastry is cool, spoon a generous portion onto half of the pieces, then top with the remaining pieces of pastry.
13. Dust with icing sugar if desired and serve.

This recipe includes some very strange flavour combinations. I mean, I've heard of both black pepper and balsamic vinegar being used in desserts before, but not both together and not in such large quantities! I was a bit nervous about the results, but I wanted to give it a try anyway and, I must say, I was quite pleased with the results! It was an unusual flavour profile, but not an unpleasant one.

Strawberry Parfaits with Black Pepper and Balsamic Vinegar

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• 2 tsp. black peppercorns, coarsely ground
• 500g fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. Chambord¹
• 250mL vanilla ice cream²
• whipped cream

Directions

1. Combine the strawberries and black pepper and set aside.
2. Combine the sugar and water in a small pot, cover, and heat over medium-high heat until the sugar melts.
3. Uncover and cook, swirling -- BUT NOT STIRRING -- occasionally, until the sugar darkens into a light caramel (5-10 mintes).
4. Add the strawberries and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until any chunks of sugar/caramel that formed when the strawberries were added melt and dissolve back into the juice (2-4 minutes).
5. Remove from heat and stir in the vinegar and Chambord.
6. Cover and chill for at least an hour.
7. Once ready to serve, place some strawberries in the bottoms of three small jars and then layer some ice cream and more strawberries over them.
8. Top with whipped cream and serve.

---

¹ The original recipe called for kirsch, but a) I didn't have any and b) neither TF nor I like it anyway. We did, however, have a selection of other liquors. I decided that Chambord would be a nice match with the strawberries and used it in place of the kirsch. ^Back
2 The original recipe called for 500mL of ice cream, but I only used about half of that amount. Of course, the original recipe also claims to serve six and I only actually made three parfaits! So, maybe the original amount would have been fine if I'd split it six ways. That said, there definitely wouldn't have been nearly enough strawberries to do that. I had a scant pound (450g) of strawberries and I already found that a bit skimpy (hence bumping it up to 500g here). There's no way that 450g would have been enough to make six parfaits. I was honestly debating whether to bump the strawberies up to 600 or 700g. That said, I think 500g is sufficient -- if not exaclty generous -- for three parfaits. ^Back

We had a surplus of mint and strawberries were on sale this week, so this low-effort dessert seemed like a natural fit.

Macerated Strawberries with Lemon and Mint

From Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• 450g strawberries, hulled and quartered (or sliced)
• 2-4 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp. lemon zest
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint

Directions

1. Add all ingredients to a bowl and toss to combine.
2. Let stand for at least 15 minutes, then serve.

In the Breakfast Bible, there is a section dedicated to pancakes, waffles, and crêpes. McMillan gives three basic recipes for each (usually plain, whole wheat, and gluten-free) and then provides suggested combinations of mix-ins with a separate list of suggested combinations of toppings. This allows you to mix-and-match your breakfast concoctions.

I debated whether I wanted to write those recipes up the same way. Providing the lists of mix-ins at the bottom or variants as separate recipes included in the same post. In the end though, I decided that I liked the idea of picking a set of mix-ins, pairing it with a set of toppings, selecting a base, and then writing each of those up as their own post.

For these chocolate-strawberry pancakes, I used the whole wheat pancake batter as my foundation and then added in some chopped strawberries and dark chocolate. We then topped them with a combination of more strawberries, maple syrup, whipped cream, and shaved dark chocolate.

Chocolate-Strawberry Pancakes

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. quick oats
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 2 c. buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 120g dark chocolate, 90g chopped, 30g shaved
• 450g strawberries, 120g chopped, 330g quartered
• 1 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 2 Tbsp. icing (powdered/confectioners') sugar
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• maple syrup, to taste

Directions

1. Combine the flours, oats, sugar, and salt.
2. Sift in the baking powder and baking soda and mix well.
3. Beat the eggs with the buttermilk.
4. Drizzle the butter into the buttermilk mixture, whisking to blend.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine.
6. Mix in the chopped chocolate and chopped strawberries.
7. Preheat a griddle or large pan over medium heat and grease as necessary.
8. Pour some batter into the pan. (Use ~1/4 c. for smallish pancakes or 1/2 c. for large ones.)
9. Cook until sides start to look dry, then flip and cook until nicely browned on both sides and cooked through. Repeat with remaining batter.
10. Meanwhile, beat the cream with the icing sugar and vanilla extract until stiff.
11. When the pancakes are done, dish them up and top with the quartered strawberries, maple syrup, whipped cream, and shaved chocolate.

I've been waiting for rhubarb season so that I could try out this recipe. It's the last oatmeal recipe in the Breakfast Bible that I hadn't tried yet. I love strawberry-rhubarb pie and crumble. So the idea of bringing those flavours to oatmeal for breakfast was very appealing!

I kept pretty much to the recipe. But I did add a small amount of vanilla to the topping and swapped out the granulated sugar for brown sugar. I also used significantly less milk/cream than called for. But that was all it really needed.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Slump Oatmeal

Slightly adapted from the Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 stalks rhubarb
• 1 c. strawberries
• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 4 c. water, divided
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 c. rolled oats
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 c. milk or cream

Directions

1. Wash the rhubarb well and chop it into 1cm pieces.
2. Combine the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, and 1/4 c. of the water and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender (~15 minutes).
4. Meanwhile, bring the remaining water to a boil in a second pot.
5. Add the salt and oats and reduce heat to medium.
6. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and creamy (5-8 minutes).
7. Once the rhubarb is soft, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
8. Spoon some oatmeal into a bowl and top with some of the strawberry-rhubarb mixture.
9. Pour a little milk or cream over top and serve.

Lemon-Ginger Pavlova with Strawberries and Sour Cream

It wouldn't have occured to me to mix sour cream into my lemon curd if the recipe hadn't called for it. I've seen recipes for lemon mousseline that have you fold whipped cream into lemon curd. So, I guess this isn't that different from a sweet mousseline. It just never really occurred to me to use sour cream instead. Honestly, I barely remember that mousseline is a thing most of the time!

All that being said... the sour cream, lemon, ginger, and strawberry combo worked really well! I think it would've been even nicer if I'd been able to get my hands on some of the tiny, intensely-flavoured alpine strawberries that were recommended by the recipe authors, but the regular grocery store strawberries were just fine (if somewhat less punchy).

I'm still kind of torn as to whether I preferred this pav or the apricot one. TF preferred this one. Reiver preferred the apricot one. I was expecting to like this one better, and it was very good, but I think the apricots may have come out slightly ahead for me. That said, it was a near enough thing that I think which one I like best really just comes down to how I'm feeling on the day. They are both excellent and I wouldn't turn either one down!

Lemon-Ginger Pavolva with Strawberries and Sour Cream

Slightly adapted from Delicious.com.au

Ingredients

Meringue

• 4 large egg whites
• 1 tsp. vinegar
• 200g sugar
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch (cornflour)

Lemon-Ginger Curd

• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 140g sugar
• 80g unsalted butter
• zest and juice of 2 lemons
• 2 tsp. ground ginger

Assembly

• 250mL sour cream
• 450g fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
• 6-8 slices candied ginger, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F) and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
2. Combine egg whites and vinegar and whisk on increasing speeds until foamy.
3. Continue increasing speed gradually to high while adding the sugar, 1 Tbsp. at a time.
4. Whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form.
5. Sprinkle over the cornstarch and mix in. Do not overmix!
6. Scoop the meringue onto the prepared baking sheet and shape as desired.
7. Place in oven, immediately reduce heat to 120°C (250°F), and bake for 1 hour.
8. Turn oven off and leave pavlova in warm oven to cool for at least two hours or as long as overnight.
9. Meanwhile, combine the eggs, egg yolks, and sugar over low heat.
10. Cook, whisking constantly, for 8-10 minutes.
11. Mix in the lemon juice, lemon zest, and ginger.
12. Add the butter, 1 Tbsp. at a time, while continuing to whisk and cook over low heat.
13. Once thickened, remove from heat and set aside to cool.
14. Once cooled, stir the sour cream into the lemon curd.
15. Transfer the pavolva to a serving platter and spoon on the lemon curd mixture.
16. Top with the strawberries and candied ginger and serve.

I picked up some strawberries on sale the other day. I was originally thinking of doing a sort of ice cream parfait with them... but then we ate all the vanilla ice cream, so I perused the cookbook for other strawberry recipes.

I appreciate how quick-cooking this cake is, but I do feel like the size is a little off. The recipe instructs baking in a 9" raound pan. And doing this certainly does make it quick to bake and cool. However, I feel like the high surface area also makes the assembly more difficult and the proportions feel off. Because the cake is so thin, it's a bit tricky to split into layers. And the high surface area makes it difficult to get good coverage with the toppings/filling. Next time I think I'd try baking it in a 20cm (8") round pan and just bake it and cool it for slightly longer. Other than that, this was great though! (The Kidlet was especially enthusiastic.)

Vanilla Chiffon Cake with Strawberries and Cream

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• 125g soft (plain/standard/cake) flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 c. sugar, divided
• 1/4 c. canola oil
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 1/2 Tbsp. vanilla extract, divided
• 1/4 c. water
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
• 450g fresh strawberries, sliced
• 1-2 Tbsp. Cointreau
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 1 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1 Tbsp. icing (powdered/confectioners') sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and line the bottom of a 20cm (8") round pan with parchment paper. Do not grease the pan!
2. Sift together the flour and baking powder.
3. Whisk in 1/4 c. of the sugar.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks into the canola oil.
5. Mix in 1 tsp. of the vanilla and the water.
6. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt and cream of tartar until foamy.
7. Increase speed to high and add 1/4 c. of sugar 1 Tbsp. at a time, beating until stiff peaks form.
8. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix well.
9. Add ~1/3 of the meringue and stir to combine.
10. Add the remaining meringue and gently fold it into the batter.
11. Pour the prepared batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
12. Bake at 180°C (350°) until done¹.
13. Transfer to wire rack to cool in pan for ~20 minutes.
14. Meanwhile, combine the strawberries, remaining 1/4 c. of sugar, Cointreau, and lemon zest and set aside.
15. Combine the cream, icing sugar, and remaining 1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract and beat until cream stiffens.
16. Run a thin spatula around the edge of the pan and then turn the cake out onto the wire rack, remove the parchment paper from the bottom, and allow to cool for another 10-20 minutes.
17. Carefully split the cake into two separate layers.
18. Place the bottom layer, cut-side-up, on a large plate.
19. Spoon about half of the strawberries (with any accompanying juices) onto the bottom half of the cake.
20. Spread ~1/2 of the whipped cream over the strawberries.
21. Top with the other cake layer (cut-side-down).
22. Spread the remaining whipped cream on top and top with remaining strawberries.

---

¹ My cake took 17 minutes, but I was baking it in a 23cm (9") round pan. I would expect it to take a bit longer in a 20cm (8") pan, maybe 25 minutes, but I would recommend checking at 20. ^Back

Tropical Smoothie Bowls

I gave the Kidlet the choice of waffles or smoothie bowls for breakfast this morning and she chose smoothie bowls.

The suggested base for these tropical smoothie bowls is either strawberry-banana or banana-mango. The blended mixture then gets topped with a combination of banana, mango, pineapple, strawberries, and toasted coconut. (Personally, I don't really think the strawberries fit the "tropical" vibe, but they're tasty and the Kidlet loves them, so I actually doubled down on the strawberries and used them in both the base and the toppings for this one.)

As with the other smoothie bowl recipes in this book, the recipe claims to make two servings. I contend that one of these bowls is way too large for any reasonable person to eat in a single sitting. (The Kidlet usually manages it, but, then again, she's not a reasonable person.~) This actually works out well for us since I can just give the Kidlet one bowl and TF and I can share the other one. But for folks who don't have ravenous, smoothie-devouring spawn, it may make more sense to actually divide this into four bowls to make more reasonable portions.

Strawberry-Banana Tropical Smoothie Bowls

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 3 bananas, divided
• 1 c. frozen chopped strawberries
• 2 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 pineapple, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 mango, sliced
• 8 strawberries, sliced
• 4 Tbsp. toasted sliced or flaked coconut

Directions

1. Place 2 of the bananas, the frozen fruit, and the yogurt in a blender and purée until smooth.
2. Divide the smoothie among bowls: two bowls for large servings, four bowls for smaller portions.
3. Slice the remaining banana.
4. For small bowls, top each one with 1/4 of the banana, 1/4 of the pineapple pieces (ie. ~1/16 of the whole pineapple), 1/4 of the mango slices (~1/8 of the whole mango), 2 strawberries, and 1 Tbsp. of the coconut. For large bowls, double all the quantities.

---

Variations

Banana-Mango Tropical Smoothie bowls

Ingredients

• 3 bananas, divided
• 1 c. frozen chopped mango
• 2 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 pineapple, cut into bite-sized pieces¹
• 1/2 mango, sliced
• 8 strawberries, sliced
• 4 Tbsp. toasted sliced or flaked coconut

---

¹ I was all out of pineapple, so I swapped in som fresh blueberries for this rendition. Not as tropical, but much more visually striking. ^Back

Strawberries were on sale for Valentine's Day the last time I was at the grocery store. I picked some up because the Kidlet loves strawberries and I knew they'd disappear. Then dinnertime rolled around and, after dinner, I was feeling like I could go for some sort of sweet treat. But I was also feeling very low-effort. So I flipped through my various cookbooks a bit and eventually spotted this "recipe" for dipping strawberries in chocolate. Not exactly a new idea, but it is a relatively quick and easy one. And that's exactly what I was after, so... win!

The original recipe called for melting a little vegetable shortening into the chocolate. I didn't have any shortening, but I did have coconut oil, so I just used a bit of that instead.

Normally I ignore recipes' instructions to use chocolate chips and just chop up and equivalent amount of bar or baking chocolate instead. In this case though, I thought that I should probably stick with the chocolate chips since they generally have stabilizers in them that tend to help them set up and hold their shape a bit better than bar chocolate. I used vegan dark chocolate chips for my rendition, but semi-sweet or milk chocolate would probably also work fine. (Although the milk chocolate might take slightly longer to firm up.)

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• 450g fresh strawberries
• 1 c. chocolate chips
• 1/2 Tbsp. coconut oil

Directions

1. Wash the strawberries and set them aside. Leave the stems on.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
3. Melt the chocolate and coconut oil over very low heat, stirring, until smooth.
4. Remove from heat.
5. Working with one strawberry at a time, hold by the stem and dip in chocolate. Use a spatula to assist in getting the strawberry well-coated. Aim to coat each strawberry up to its widest point, but not all the way to the base of the stem.
6. Place the chocolate-coated strawberries on the prepared baking sheet.
7. Once all strawberries have been dipped, chill for a few minutes until the chocolate is firm and set.
8. Transfer to a plate and serve.

This recipe didn't look like it should work. You beat a whole lot of cream into cream cheese -- not whipped cream even, just runny cream -- and then pour it into a pie shell and expect it to set up. It doesn't contain any gelatin or eggs or anything else that seems like it would cause it to set. You're relying entirely on the fact that cream cheese firms up a bit when chilled. (And, I guess, the tiny amount of icing sugar.) Neither of these seemed like they would be enough to cause the filling to set. I was dubious. But I've been surprised by recipes before! There are lots that seem like they shouldn't work, but then somehow do. So, I followed the recipe and gave it a go. It did not set. At all. The flavour is nice, but it has zero structural integrity. Oh well... Now I know.

I haven't bothered including the original recipe below as I don't think it actually works as written. Instead this is a rough idea of what I'd like to try next time in the hopes of getting something that actually holds together.

I've increased the cream cheese slightly and specified a small amount of gelatin. Hopefully that'll be enough to get it to hold together. I've also bumped up the quantity of strawberries. Not for any structural reason, just because I though it'd be nice with more fruit.

All the usual caveats here: this is an untested variation, use at your own risk, etc., etc.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Tart

Adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• enough pastry for a 9" pie crust¹
• 3/4 c. heavy (35%) cream, divided
• 1/2 Tbsp. unflavoured gelatin powder
• 225g cream cheese, softened
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 50g icing sugar
• 400g strawberries, hulled and halved

Directions

1. Roll out the pastry and line a 9" (23cm) pie plate or tart tin.
2. Crimp and trim the edges, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for 20-30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).
4. Remove the plastic wrap from the crust and prick bottom a few times with a fork.
5. Line with parchment/baking paper and fill with pie weights.
6. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 20-25 minutes.
7. Remove paper and pie weights and bake for another 5-10 minutes until well-browned and cooked through.
8. Transfer to wire rack to cool.
9. Meanwhile, sprinkle the gelatin into 1/4 c. of the cream and set aside for 5-10 minutes.
10. Scald the remaining cream, heating it to just shy of a boil.
11. Add the gelatin mixture to the hot cream and whisk thoroughly to combine.
12. Beat the cream cheese until lightened.
13. Pour in the cream mixture and beat until smooth.
14. Mix in the vanilla.
15. Sift in the icing sugar and mix well.
16. Once the pie shell is completely cool, pour in the cheese mixture.
17. Add the strawberries on top.
18. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours to allow filling to set.
19. Cut into wedges and serve.

---

¹ I was making this to try to use up some leftover pastry from a previous recipe. Feel free to use whatever sort of pastry you prefer. Shortcrust, sweet shortcrust, sourdough shortcrust, or flaky are all good options. ^Back

We've got lots of eggs again, but I wasn't vibing with any of the egg-y breakfast ideas I looked at. I think the cooler weather has put me in the mood for more starch-y, bread-y things. So I decided to take a look at one of the breakfast cookbooks PDFs we have kicking around to see if any of that looked appealing.

The first chapter focuses on granola and oatmeal. I don't really feel like granola is a meal in and of itself, so I just ignored those recipes for now. But oatmeal works as a hot breakfast on a cool morning. I don't find it really fills me up and sticks to my ribs the way everyone seems to claim it does, but it's still nice to have every once in a while. It's quick, easy, reasonably healthy (as long as you don't add too much sugar and junk to it), and I like trying out new flavour combinations.

I ended up opting for the coconut-date-cashew variant for this morning and it was quite good. I decided to top mine with a little plain Greek yogurt rather than milk or cream in the hopes that this swap would make it a little more filling without increasing the calorie count too much. I also used a little "no sugar added" syrup in place of the honey, but I do think honey would have been nicer.

I've included the recipe for the plain oatmeal here with the various flavours and variations below it.

Basic Oatmeal

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 c. water
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 c. rolled oats ("old-fashioned" or quick)
• ~1/3 c. milk, cream, or yogurt

Directions

1. Add the salt to the water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Add oatmeal, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, uncovered, stirring frequently, until thickened (5-6 minutes for old-fashioned oats, 2-3 minutes for quick oats).
3. Serve. Top each portion with ~1 Tbsp. of cream (or milk or yogurt).
4. Enjoy as-is or with additional toppings.

---

Variations

Vegan Version

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 c. water
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 c. rolled oats ("old-fashioned" or quick)
• ~1/3 c. oat, nut, or soy milk

Oatmeal with Brown Sugar, Bananas, and Fresh Figs

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 c. water
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 c. rolled oats ("old-fashioned" or quick)
• ~1/3 c. (non-dairy) milk, cream, or yogurt
• ~1/4 c. brown sugar
• 2-3 bananas, sliced
• 8-12 fresh figs, stemmed and quartered
• ~1/4 c. maple syrup¹ (optional)

Top each portion with ~1 Tbsp. of cream (or milk or yogurt), 1-3 tsp. of brown sugar, ~1/2 a banana, 2 figs, and 1-3 tsp. of maple syrup (if using).

Oatmeal with Coconut, Dates, Cashews, and Honey

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 c. water
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 c. rolled oats ("old-fashioned" or quick)
• ~1/3 c. (non-dairy) milk, cream, or yogurt
• ~1/3 c. cashews, toasted and chopped
• 8-12 dates, sliced
• ~1/4 c. unsweetened dried coconut
• ~1/4 c. honey

Top each portion with ~1 Tbsp. of cream (or similar), ~1 Tbsp. cashews, 2 dates, 2-3 tsp. of coconut, and 2-3 tsp. of honey.

Strawberry-Rhubarb "Slump"

Ingredients

• 2 stalks rhubarb, cut into 1-cm pieces
• 1 c. strawberries
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. water
• 3 1/2 c. water
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 c. rolled oats ("old-fashioned" or quick)
• ~1/3 c. (non-dairy) milk, cream, or yogurt

Directions

1. Combine the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, and water and bring to a boil over medium heat.
2. Cook, stirring occasionally, until rhubarb is soft (~10 minutes). Set aside.
3. Cook oatmeal as directed above.
4. Top each portion with ~1 Tbsp. of cream (or similar) and a spoonful of the strawberry-rhubarb compote.

---

¹ The original recipe claims to make 4 servings and calls for 1 Tbsp. of brown sugar and 1 Tbsp. of maple syrup per serving. Personally, I feel like the protion size is way too large if you only divide this batch of oatmeal into four. Six seems like a more reasonable division. But even if you then scale down the toppings proportionately, that would mean ~2 tsp. each of sugar and maple syrup per serving. And that seems like way too much sugar to me when you've already got the bananas and the figs in there since they're relatively sweet on their own. Personally, I think I'd probably just roll with the bananas, figs, and a touch of brown sugar and leave out the maple syrup. ^Back

This was meant to be a cottage cheese breakfast bowl but, after giving it some thought, I decided that I would probably like it better as a Greek yogurt breakfast bowl, so I swapped out the cheese for yogurt.

The original recipe called for 1/2 c. of the cottage cheese mixture to be topped with 1 Tbsp. of peanut butter and 1/4 c. of granola. Looking at the 1/2 c. of yogurt sitting in my bowl, I felt like those proportions were a bit off. So I doubled the yogurt, but left the topping quantities the same (although I did add a few strawberries because I thought they'd be nice with it).

The original recipe also called for sweetening the cheese mixture with a small amount of brown sugar. I did this for the first quantity of yogurt, but then didn't want to add any additional sugar when I increased the yogurt, so I opted to switch to a "no sugar added" syrup instead. If you're not counting calories, feel free to go with the sugar. If you are, then you can shave a few by using something like the diet syrup I used or a monk-fruit or stevia-based sweetener.

You could also shave some calories/fat buy replacing the peanut butter with peanut butter powder (defatted peanut flour). You still get the peanut flavour and the protein, but without the oil. However, I find that peanut flour often tends to give smoothies a somewhat gritty texture, so just be aware of that. Also, sometimes I just want to treat enjoy the luxuriousness of real, full-fat, freshly ground, delicious peanut butter. So that's what I went for today.

I've included a couple variants of this recipe below. Make whichever one suits you depending on what your goals are or what you have on hand.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Breakfast Bowl

Adapted from Budget Bytes

Ingredients

• 1 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 1-2 tsp. cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3-4 strawberries, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. peanut butter
• 1/4 c. granola

Directions

1. Add the cocoa, sugar, and vanilla to the yogurt and mix to combine.
2. Top with strawberries, peanut butter, and granola.

---

Variations

Lower-Calorie Version

Ingredients

• 1 c. fat-free plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp. cocoa powder
• 1-2 Tbsp. no sugar added syrup or a low-calorie sweetener of your choice
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3-4 strawberries, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. peanut butter powder (defatted peanut flour)
• 3 Tbsp. granola

Salatat Fawakeh (Fruit Salad)

I had been intending on making a peach coffee cake for dessert last night. Only to check the recipe and find out that it calls for peach preserves in addition to actual peaches. I didn't really feel that any of the preserves that we had would make a good stand-in for the peach ones, so I set that plan aside for now and started flipping through cookbooks for other dessert ideas.

I'd initially thought to make a carrot cake. But, after examining the amount of sugar and oil called for in the recipe, I couldn't bring myself to make it. Plus, I didn't have the buttermilk for making the soaking syrup anyway. (Yes, this cake calls for a huge amount of sugar in the batter and then soaking it in a buttermilk-sugar syrup before icing it with cream cheese frosting.) So that was out...

I considered a few different cookies. There were some interesting, not-too-sweet-looking, yeasted ones in the Italian cookbook my mom got me for my birthday this year. And the anise and nigella cookies from the Syrian cookbook were also tempting. In the end though, I decided to go for this fruit salad. We didn't quite have all the ingredients it called for, but we came close enough that I felt like I could make a reasonable approximation of it.

The original recipe (which is what I've given here) called for apples, bananas, mangoes, kiwi, and strawberries. I had the apples, bananas, and strawberries, but was bereft of kiwi and only had mangoes in frozen form as part of a "tropical mix" with pineapple, coconut, and dragonfruit. I realize that this wasn't exactly the blend that the recipe was calling for, but I decided to give it a go with the "tropical mix" standing in for the kiwi and mango.

The dish is meant to be topped with "milk curd" -- a soft, fresh, Syrian cheese. The author notes that ricotta makes a reasonable substitute if you don't feel like making your own cheese for this. I decided to try it with fat-free cottage cheese since I that is a "zero Point" food for me. The cottage cheese was fine with it, but I think the saltiness of it clashes a little bit with the fruit. Next time I think I'll follow the Kidlet's example and have it with plain Greek yogurt instead.

The salad is also meant to be topped with raisins, whole almonds, and honey. Conveniently, we still have a partial jar of whole mixed nuts packed in liquid honey, so I just used those -- along with a few raisins -- to put the finishing touches on the salad. I went with ~4 almonds, 1 tsp. of raisins, and a teaspoon or so of honey (estimating how much came with the nuts) for each portion. I think I probably could've gotten away with a little less for the raisins and honey, but it's certainly very tasty that way! (Just a little more calorically dense.)

Salatat Fawakeh

From Our Syria by Dina Mousawi and Itab Azzam

Ingredients

• 1 mango, peeled and cubed
• 1 apple, chopped
• 1 kiwi, peeled and sliced
• 1 banana, sliced
• 8 strawberries, hulled and quartered
• 200g ricotta, cottage cheese, or plain Greek yogurt
• 16-20 whole almonds
• 4 tsp. raisins
• 4 tsp. honey

Directions

1. Toss the mango, apple, kiwi, banana, and strawberries together.
2. Divide into four equal portions and top each one with ~50g of cheese, 4-5 almonds, and 1 tsp. of raisins.
3. Drizzle each with 1 tsp. of honey and serve.

Buttermilk-Sour Cream Pancakes

I have several good pancake recipes already, but the completionist in me wants to check off more recipes from our magazines and cookbooks, so I decided to try a new one today. I was intrigued by the use of both buttermilk and sour cream in the batter. Buttermilk is familiar, but the sour cream was a bit surprising.

The pancakes were good. The fluffiness was on par with my fluffy sourdough pancakes, but less fluffy than my default plain pancakes. Really I have no complaints with the recipe. But I probably won't be revisiting it for the simple fact that I can get similar results from my sourdough pancakes and I always have sourdough starter on hand whereas I rarely have sour cream (or buttermilk) in the fridge. That said, the recipe did come with several flavour variations and those I will revisit. I'll just use them with the sourdough batter rather than the sour cream one.

Blueberry Pancakes

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country April/May 2017

Ingredients

• 280g all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 c. buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1 c. blueberries

Directions

1. Combine flour, sugar, and salt.
2. Sift in baking powder and baking soda.
3. In a large measuring cup, combine buttermilk, eggs, sour cream, and butter.
4. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients.
5. Mix briefly. There should still be some lumps. Set aside for 10 minutes.
6. Heat a pan or tawa over medium-low heat.
7. Add a very small amount of butter or oil to the pan/tawa.
8. Use 1/4 c. measure to scoop out some batter into the pan. Make 2 or 3 pancakes at once.
9. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then add ~1 Tbsp. of blueberries to each pancake.
10. Flip pancakes and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
11. Repeat cooking process until all batter has been used up. Add more butter/oil to the pan as needed.
12. Serve with butter, syrup, nut butter, or preserves of your choice.

---

Variations

Apple-Cinnamon Pancakes

Ingredients

• 280g all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 c. buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 2 apples, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Banana-Walnut Pancakes

• 280g all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 c. buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 2 bananas, quartered lengthwise and sliced thin
• 1/2 c. chopped walnuts, toasted

Cocolate-Coconut Pancakes

• 280g all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 c. buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1 c. semisweet chocolate chips (or chopped dark chocolate)
• 1/2 c. sweetened shredded coconut

Strawberry-Vanilla Pancakes

• 280g all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 c. buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 280g strawberries, hulled and chopped
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Fruit Smoothies

We'd previously done write-ups for some of the smoothie flavours listed below, but it was a little helter-skelter and disorganized. I wanted to collect them all in one post.

I think, at this point, we've tried all but the kale-pineapple smoothie. I have to admit that I'm pretty wary of kale in a smoothie, but I'd be willing to at least try it at some point. I just haven't done so yet. (Honestly, I can think of many better uses for kale, but at this point, the completionist in me just kind of wants to be able to check off all the flavours in the magazine.)

Strawberry-Peach Smoothies

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country April/May 2016

Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 c. frozen strawberries
• 1 c. frozen peaches
• 1 c. plain yogurt
• 1/4 c. orange juice or milk

Directions

1. Place banana, honey, and salt in blender and blend until combined.
2. Add strawberries, peaches, yogurt, and juice/milk and purée.
3. Pour into glasses and serve.

---

Variations

Cherry-Almond Smoothies

Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana
• 1/4 c. almond butter
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 c. frozen cherries
• 1 c. plain yogurt
• 1/4 c. milk or almond milk

Mixed Berry Smoothies

Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 c. frozen mixed berries
• 1 c. plain yogurt
• 1/4 c. orange juice or milk

Tropical Fruit Smoothies

Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 c. frozen pineapple chunks
• 1 c. frozen mango chunks
• 1 c. coconut yogurt
• 1/4 c. pineapple juice or coconut water

Kale-Pineapple Smoothies

Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 c. frozen pineapple chunks
• 1 c. frozen kale
• 1 c. plain yogurt
• 1/4 c. orange juice or pineapple juice

I found myself with a surplus of egg whites after making my pumpkin pie cupcakes the other day. I've been hanging on to them in the fridge with the idea that maybe I could work out something to do with them. I tossed around a few ideas, but these days pavlova is my go-to for using up excess egg whites. Sure I could toss them into a quiche or make an angel food cake, white cake, or friands... but pavlova is just so easy to throw together. And there are so many different flavour combinations to try!

My first pavlova was just a plain vanilla meringue with stewed boysenberries and whipped cream. The next time around I got a little more adventerous; the meringue was still plain vanilla, but I topped it with chocolate mousse and macerated cherries for a black forest sort of vibe. One of my favourites so far has been the spiced cherry pavlova: vanilla meringue, plain Greek yogurt, passion fruit, and stewed spiced cherries. The ube pavlova was my first attempt at a adding different flavours to the meringue. That one consisted of an ube (purple yam) meringue topped with coconut-flavoured Greek yogurt and fresh mango. I think it would've benefitted from a bit of ube extract (in addition to the ube powder) in the meringue and some toasted coconut or coconut extract with the yogurt to help boost the coconut's presence, but it was pretty good over all.

This pavlova follows a similar theme of meringue + whipped cream + fruit. But the meringue gets a bit of dark chocolate swirled through it just before baking. The berries can be pretty much whatever you have on hand. The original recipe called for a combination of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and cherries. I ended up using mostly strawberries with a few blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries mixed in. The berries are "mulled" by steeping in a mixture of apple juice (or red wine), orange juice, cinnamon, star anise, and cloves. I was using frozen berries rather than fresh and found the resulting mixture a bit more soupy than I would have liked. I think I'd cut back on the apple juice next time to help alleviate this. And I'd also be inclined to add a few more spices to really lean into the "mulled" aspect: maybe a bit of allspice and some black pepper?

Overall though, this came out great. The chocolate marbling actually worked pretty well. The chocolate flavour came through nicely. And the mulled berries, malted cream, and bitter-sweet chocolate-y meringue all complemented each other nicely. I'd definitely make it again. That is... if there weren't so many other flavour combinations to try!

Dark Chocolate Marbled Pavlova with Malted Whipped Cream and Mulled Berries

Adapted from Taste.com.au

Ingredients

Meringue

• 4 large egg whites¹
• 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar (or white vinegar)
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch (cornflour)
• 220g sugar
• 100g dark chocolate, melted

Berries

• 2-3 whole cloves
• 2 star anise
• 2-3 allspice berries
• 3-4 black peppercorns
• 1 orange
• 125mL apple juice (or red wine)²
• 1/4 c. brown sugar³
• 1 (7-8cm) cinnamon stick
• 450g frozen mixed berries⁴
• 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch (cornflour)

Cream

• 300mL heavy (35%) cream
• 2 Tbsp. malted milk powder (eg. Ovaltine)
• 1 Tbsp. icing (powdered/confectioners') sugar
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 120°C (250°F).
2. Beat the egg whites on low speed for ~1 minute.
3. Add the cream of tartar, increase to medium speed, and beat for another minute or two.
4. Add the cornstarch and beat for another minute.
5. Increase speed to high and begin adding the sugar ~1 Tbsp. at a time.
6. Once meringue is thick, glossy, and forms stiff peaks, stop beating it.
7. Drizzle in the melted chocolate and fold it through a few times. Don't mix it too thoroughly or it won't be marbled!
8. Scoop the meringue onto a baking sheet and shape as desired. I like making a large meringue bowl/nest. You can pipe it onto the baking sheet if you want to be fancy, but I never bother.
9. Bake at 120°C (250°F) for 65-75 minutes.
10. Turn off oven and leave meringue inside to cool. (At least an hour, but as long as overnight.)
11. Meanwhile, place the cloves, star anise, allspice, and peppercorns into a muslin or cheesecloth pouch.
12. Zest and juice the orange.
13. Add the spice bag, orange zest, brown sugar, and cinnamon stick to the apple juice and bring to a boil over medium heat.
14. Boil the juice mixture for 7-8 minutes.
15. Add the berries and continue cooking until the mixture returns to a boil.
16. Boil for an additional 5 minutes.
17. Remove the spice bag.
18. Take a little juice out and mix it with the cornstarch. Pour this cornstarch mixture back into the pot and continue cooking for another minute or two.
19. Remove from heat and stir in orange juice.
20. Just before serving, combine the cream, malted milk powder, icing sugar, and vanilla extract.
21. Use an immersion blender⁵ to vigorously mix until the cream thickens and gets fairly stiff. If you stop whipping too soon, the cream will be runny. If you go too far, the cream will split into butter and buttermilk. If in doubt, err on the side of "runny".
22. Carefully transfer the cooled meringue to a serving platter.
23. Spoon the whipped cream onto it.
24. Spoon the mulled berries over the whole thing and serve immediately.

---

¹ I ended up using 2 large and 3 small egg whites. Use your best judgement based on the size of your eggs. ^Back
2 The original recipe called for 250mL of apple juice or red wine, but it was also expecting fresh berries. I've reduced the amount of liquid and replace the fresh berries with frozen. Hopefully this should help make the final result a bit less soupy in the future. ^Back
3 The original recipe uses white (granulated) sugar. I used white sugar when I made this. I liked it just fine that way. But I think I might like it even better with brown sugar. I think it would give the mulling spices some extra depth. ^Back
4 The original recipe called for 150g each of strawberries and cherries + 125g each of blackberries and raspberries. All fresh. I used 550g of frozen mixed berries instead. This was fine, but I think it was a) too soupy and b) produced a bit too much topping relative to the meringue, so I've scaled back both the number of berries (slightly) and the amount of apple juice used to try to help with both of those issues. ^Back
5 You can use beaters (or even just a whisk) to make whipped cream. I advocate using a blender here because it produces a denser whipped cream that's more robust and resistant to deflating/melting than the lighter, airier whipped cream produced with a mixer/beaters/whisks. It'll be fine either way. This is just my preferred method. ^Back

A strawberry cake that gets its flavour from a mix of fresh and frozen strawberries rather than relying on strawberry flavoured Jello. Using only strawberry juice in the batter prevents it from getting weighed down and keeps the crumb light and tender. The fresh strawberry slices between the layers gives it a nice extra hit of strawberry flavour. The cream cheese icing is pleasantly creamy and a little bit tangy and gives the cake a nice strawberries-and-cream vibe. I also appreciate that it's not overly sweet. I added a bit of red food colouring to make it extra pink for the Kidlet, but it doesn't need it as long as you're okay with a much more subtle pink colour.

Strawberry Birthday Cake

Slightly adapted from The Perfect Cake by America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients

Cake

• 300g frozen strawberries¹
• 3/4 c. whole (3.25%) milk
• 6 large egg whites
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 6 drops red food colouring (optional)
• 255g soft (cake/plain/standard) flour
• 1 3/4 c. sugar
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 12 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 1 Tbsp. pieces and softened

Icing

• 10 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 255g icing (powdered/confectioners') sugar
• 340g cream cheese, cut into 12 pieces and softened
• reserved strawberry solids
• 3 drops red food colouring (optional)

Assembly

• 450g fresh strawberries, sliced

Directions

Cake

1. Microwave the frozen strawberries until softened and very juicy (4-5 minutes).
2. Meanwhile, grease and flour two 23cm (9") round cake pans and preheat oven to 180°C (350°C).
3. Transfer to a fine mesh strainer and press firmly to extract as much juice as possible.
4. Bring the juice to a boil over medium heat and reserve the solids for the icing.
5. Boil strawberry juice until reduced to ~1/4 c. (6-8 minutes).
6. Remove from heat and whisk in milk.
7. Whisk in egg whites, vanilla, and food colouring (if using) and set aside.
8. In a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
9. Add butter, one piece at a time, and mix until well-combined and no large pieces remain (not unlike making pastry).
10. Add half of the milk mixture and beat until light and fluffy (~1 minute on medium-high with an electric mixer).
11. Reduce speed to medium-low and addremaining milk mixture.
12. Beat for another 30 seconds or so before giving final mix by hand.
13. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans.
14. Smooth the tops. (I find it helpful to spin the pan somewhat forcefully to cause a slight well in the centre of the pan.)
15. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 20-30 minutes.
16. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn out and let cool completely on wire rack.

Icing

1. Beat butter and sugar at low speed until combined.
2. Increase speed to medium-high an dbean until pale and fluffy (~2 minutes).
3. Add cream cheese, one piece at a time, and beat until thoroughly mixed.
4. Add reserved strawberry solids and food colouring (if using) and mix until combined.
5. Refridgerate until ready to use.

Assembly

1. Place first cake layer on a platter or cake stand. (Place a few strips of parchment paper down first if neat edges are important.)
2. Put about 3/4 c. of icing on top of the cake layer and spread to evenly coat the top.
3. Place a layer of fresh strawberry slices on top of the icing.
4. At this point it may be helpful to refrigerate the partially-assembled cake for an hour or so to let the icing firm up a bit².
5. Put another cup or so of icing on top of the strawberry slices and spread it right out to the edges of the cake.
6. Place the second cake layer on top of this assembly.
7. Use the rest of the icing to coat the top and sides.
8. Decorate with remaining strawberry slices.
9. Assembled cake may be refridgerated until ready to serve.

---

¹ I would be tempted to try this with 400g frozen strawberries next time. The cake was good, but I feel like a lot of the strawberry flavour ended up coming from the fresh strawberries used to decorate it. I would've appreciated even more strawberry flavour in the batter and icing. ^Back
2 This instruction was not in the recipe and I didn't do it, but I wish I had. The icing was still freshly mixed and at room temperature and it was extremely soft. When I tried to spread more icing on top, the strawberry slices slid all over the place and would not stay put very well. I think chilling the cake to firm up the icing would have helped with this. ^Back

This was a big hit and came together pretty easily, despite symbol and I both being zombies. The Kidlet said that it was "the best dessert she'd ever had" and was a "super favourite". The use of sourdough starter makes the top a bit more "breadlike" than the biscuit- or cake-like styles common in cobblers, but I like that.

The original recipe just calls for "fresh fruit". We're much more likely to have frozen on hand and I've adjusted the recipe accordingly; if using fresh, bring the syrup to a boil, boil for one minute, then stir in the fruit and remove from the heat immediately, instead of boiling the fruit in the syrup for a while.

We were almost out of frozen peaches, so it was 90% blueberries and strawberries. The Kidlet ended up with one of the peach slices and said she didn't like it, which was a surprise given how many peach smoothies she eats (the reason we were almost out in the first place). symbol generally prefers it with berries rather than stonefruit anyways, so we'll probably just make it without the peaches next time.

Sourdough Fruit Cobbler

Slightly adapted from Cultures for Health

Ingredients

• ⅔ C + 1 Tbsp sugar, divided
• 1 Tbsp corn starch
• 1 C water
• 3-4 C frozen berries
• 1 Tbsp butter cut into small chunks
• 1 C all-purpose flour
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 Tbsp cold butter
• ½ C milk
• ½ C sourdough starter
• ½ tsp mixed spice, ground cinnamon, or pumpkin pie spice
• ⅛-¼ tsp ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. In a small saucepan, mix ⅔C sugar with corn starch.
3. Gradually stir in water.
4. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, immediately add the fruit -- it will stop boiling.
5. Return to a boil and let boil for one minute. Remove from heat and transfer to an 8" deep baking dish or casserole dish.
6. Scatter the 1 Tbsp of butter and mixed spice overtop.
7. Measure flour into a bowl. Sift in baking powder, salt, and remaining 1 Tbsp sugar.
8. Cut in butter until it looks like meal.
9. Stir in milk, starter, and cinnamon.
10. Gently drop by spoonfuls into the fruit mixture -- it will float, but only just.
11. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
12. Serve with whipped cream, ice cream, or similar.