This week has been strawberry crazy at home! With 4 boxes of 500 g for less than 5 dollars, no wonder I bought quite a few boxes! Do you want to know how many? 16! Yes, indeed! But they are now all gone, we had the last ones at diner (and everyone is not bored with eating strawberries).
In my strawberry crazy week, I did some jam, we had strawberry tarts, roasted, strawberry for breakfast, for dinner and for lunch boxes. Guess what, we finished the strawberries tonight!
Two recipes were a great success. I will share those with you now.
Again some madeleines, but these ones are strawberry and rosemary madeleines
This madeleines were really a trial, I was trying to find something to go with poached pears and that could be done relatively quickly. These strawberry and rosemary madeleines turned out quite good. They were not as crunchy as the plain ones but the rosemary and strawberry do bring another dimension to that biscuit. Quite good with poached pears indeed! Click here for the recipe.
And of course a strawberry tart
I made the base with my younger daughter, the older one (7 y.o) did the rest of the tart with a bit of instructions. I use a few versions of strawberry tarts. You can find more on the dedicated page for strawberry tart recipes. Basically, the tarts all have a sweet short crust pastry, you then choose or not to have a layer over the pastry before placing the strawberries. The added layer can be roasted strawberries pureed or a creme patissiere (custard). On top of the strawberries, we use a bit of jam diluted and brush it on, it adds taste and shine.
A few more recipes already on this blog
Stawberry and white chocolate cookies
Roasted strawberries
And if you keep looking , I will soon add the recipe I used for my strawberry jam.
These strawberry and rosemary madeleines go really well with some fruit desserts which ask for a little cake or biscuit on the side.
I love madeleines, they are cute, crusty, light. They go with so many things and can be made rapidly (very rapidly) and for many reasons. As a child, it is one of the first cake recipes we made again and again, the other two ones being the yoghurt cake and the “reine de Saba” (or Sheba’s Cake), a light chocolate cake.
Strawberry and rosemary madeleines
The recipe is pretty close to the recipe for the plain madeleines, with the addition of the strawberries and rosemary.
Ingredients
These proportions made about 40 strawberry and rosemary madeleines.
- 120 g butter
- 2 tbs rosemarry (very finely chopped)
- 1.5 cups of strawberry
- 250 g of plain flour
- 150 g white sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3 eggs
Method
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan on low heat with the chopped rosemary. Before it turns colour, emove from heat and let infuse and cooling.
- Use a food processor to mix the eggs and sugar together until fluffy (alternatively use a whisk).
- Remove the leaves of the strawberry and puree in a blender. Mix with the egg and sugar.
- Add the flour and baking powder
- Add the butter (keep the rosemarry) slowly
- Put a tablespoon of the mix in each madeleine print and bake for 10-15 minutes on oven 17o°C
- Cool on a rack, make sure they do not touch when cooling.
Strawberry tart, yeah! This dessert is at its best when you have good supply of tasty strawberries. This is also a very easy recipe to involve kids in.
There are three versions I make alternatively at home. All require a sweet short crust pastry precooked. The difference is in the addition of a layer between the pastry and the strawberry. All have a glazing above the strawberry made from diluted strawberry (or other red berries) jam and brushed on.
VERSION 1 – the most simple version and the quicker: placing the strawberries directly on top of the cooked pastry. It is better made in the morning or at least a few hours before eating to allow the fruits and jam to soak a little and soften a little the pastry.
VERSION 2 – Using roasted berry which have been reduced to a puree over the pastry, then placing the strawberries on top.
VERSION 3 – The most elaborate and often seen in pastry shops. Placing a layer of creme patissiere (thick custard) over the pastry before placing the strawberries.
The dough
- 250 g plain flour
- 125 g softened butter
- 125 g white sugar
- 1 egg
Mix all ingredient together and form a ball. In a large bowl, mix all ingredient together and form a ball. Over a few movemnts, knead it on the kitchen bench to ensure cohesion (20 seconds max).
Place the dough on a sheet of baking paper and spread with your hands. Dust with flour to prevent sticking. You can also place another sheet of baking paper and roll with the rolling-pin. I like to push it with my hands. Once you have the size and thickness desired, remove any excess (you can use it for biscuits with the kids). Place in your tin if using a tin (or just use a pizza tray), trim as needed. Using a fork, make little holes all over. This prevent the formation of bubbles in the oven.
Bake 10-15 minutes on 160 degrees Celsius until light blonde. Remove from the oven and slide the base on a cooling rack using the baking paper. Allow to cool.
The Topping
VERSION 1
You need:
- Strawberries, end trimmed
- Strawberry jam diluted slightly with hot water for brushing over.
Place the strawberries on the base, then brush over with the diluted jam.
VERSION 2
You need:
- balsamic vinegar
- caster sugar
- Strawberries, end trimmed
- Strawberry jam diluted slightly with hot water for brushing over.
- for the roasted strawberry, place 1 cup of strawberries (if very large, half or quartered) in a small roasting dish. Mix 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar with 2 tablespoon of caster sugar. Coat the strawberries, if excess, leave it at the bottom of the roasting dish. Roast under the grill or in the oven for 10 minutes or a but more until just soft. Use a blender to make a puree.
- Place the puree of roasted strawberry over the base. Then place the full strawberries.
- Glaze by brushing over with diluted jam.
VERSION 3
You need:
For the creme patissiere (custard)
- 25 cl milk
- 30 g caster sugar
- 30 g plain flour
- 2 egg yolks
- a drop of vanilla
for the rest of the tart:
- Strawberries, end trimmed
- Strawberry jam diluted slightly with hot water for brushing over.
- For the custard, warm up the milk and sugar together. In the meanwhile beat the egg yolks with the flour in a large bowl, use some of the milk to get it more liquid.
- When the milk is about boiling, transfer to the bowl with the egg-flour mixture and beat together until combined.
- Pour back into the saucepan and place on low over the stove. Keep mixing until the cream thickens and then transfer to a clean bowl. If not using straight away, place a plastic film right on the surface to prevent the formation of a skin.
- Spread some creme patissiere on the base
- Place strawberries
- Glaze using diluted jam with a brush.
My kitchen is being taken over by my children! It started with a menu written by Ambrine a few weeks ago, then a tentative to make a chocolate dip Nutella like which saw the stock of chocolate seriously reduced (I wasn’t home), a tentative to make caramel in the micro-wave (with chocolate, I wasn’t home either), a double serie of strawberry & white chocolate cookies, because the first ones were eaten sooooo quickly. This weekend, we were treated by a full breakfast with coddled eggs. And now a massive bunch of chocolate hazelnut friands for a school assignment.
The latest item was not to be so significant until a few kids at school came together with the idea to bring in their goods to the class. The assignment reads “Masterchef: your masterchef challenge…Bake some cookies for your family. Use photos or a drawing to show how you shared them equally.” It seems like the brief has been adapted to fit the fun of sharing!
You are in for a treat, the strawberry and white chocolate cookies
So lets share today the strawberry and white chocolate cookies. Children love them (tested for you on a few different families). Personally, I really like them warm, when not completely cooled yet, simply because I am not a big fan of white chocolate. Small warning, it is also quite sweet. What I really like is that the recipe shared the fats between cream cheese and butter, it brings in a really nice taste which works perfectly with strawberries and white chocolate.
Recipe from the blog omgchocolatedesserts adapted for units and technical preferences (more practical, less washing up too!).
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt (remove if using salted butter)
- 1/4 cup butter-softened
- 120 g cream cheese
- 3/4 cup caster sugar (1/2 cup is probably enough, I find them a bit sweet)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup chopped fresh strawberries
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 150 g white chocolate-chopped
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
- Pour fresh lemon juice over chopped strawberries, drain them after a few minutes. Chop in pieces as convenient (not less than one centimetre)
- Beat butter with sugar and cream cheese until it’s light and fluffy.
- Add egg and vanilla and mix well.
- Toss together 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, salt, chopped white chocolate, chopped stawberries and baking powder.
- Add flour mixture to the wet mixture and fold in gently. Either use a large scoop or your hand.
- Drop heaping tablespoon of batter onto a baking sheet covered with baking paper. Make sure to leave a couple centimetres space in between.
- Set the cookies in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes before baking.
- You can choose to bake them for 13-15 minutes until the edges become golden brown, they will be very chewy and quite friable, I baked my second round with spots of golden brown over the top, it was a bit easier to handled and when cold they are more tasty (more cooked).
- Transfer the baking paper to the cooling rack (slide it). Let the cookies cool a few minutes and them remove from the baking paper.
This strawberry white chocolate cookie was a happy find on PInterest. The recipe is from Vera (from Oh my god chocolate desserts blog). I have adapted a few things, and added some comments. They are beautiful and chewy, especially when still warm. I froze most of the second batch and use them for lunch boxes or afternoon snack.
The recipe is VERY easy to make.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt (remove if using salted butter)
- 1/4 cup butter-softened
- 120 g cream cheese
- 3/4 cup caster sugar (1/2 cup is probably enough, I find them a bit sweet)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup chopped fresh strawberries
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 150 g white chocolate-chopped
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
- Pour fresh lemon juice over chopped strawberries, drain them after a few minutes. Chop in pieces as convenient (not less than one centimetre)
- Beat butter with sugar and cream cheese until it’s light and fluffy.
- Add egg and vanilla and mix well.
- Toss together 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, salt, chopped white chocolate, chopped stawberries and baking powder.
- Add flour mixture to the wet mixture and fold in gently. Either use a large scoop or your hand.
- Drop heaping tablespoon of batter onto a baking sheet covered with baking paper. Make sure to leave a couple centimetres space in between.
- Set the cookies in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes before baking.
- You can choose to bake them for 13-15 minutes until the edges become golden brown, they will be very chewy and quite friable, I baked my second round with spots of golden brown over the top, it was a bit easier to handled and when cold they are more tasty (more cooked).
- Transfer the baking paper to the cooling rack (slide it). Let the cookies cool a few minutes and them remove from the baking paper.
Roasted strawberries are very simple to make, yet quite a success with the whole family. They can be served with a cake or with yogurt or “fromage blanc”. They are particularly good with chocolate cake.
In terms of difficulty level, it goes in the super easy basket!
Timing:
20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 punnets of strawberries (or as many as you need)
- 50 g caster sugar
- 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
Method
- Preheat Oven to 180°C
- Rinse the strawberries and hull them or simply cut the leaves off
- Place the strawberry in a single layer pointing up in a roasting pan (possibly the one you will serve in as after roasting they are quite fragile)
- Mix together in a bowl the vinegar and sugar and pour all over the strawberries, make sure all strawberries are coated. Another technique would be to toss them in the juice and them put them in place.
- Roast for 10-15 minutes or so until they are soft and tender. The timing will depend on the size of the strawberries and your oven.
