Yogurt panna cotta with strawberry gelatin and killing classics (or not)

Every time I hear about movie remakes I feel a pang in my heart – why mess with the classics and ruin what is great already?

When I first read that Hollywood was working on a remake of Blade Runner I thought: “they are going to destroy such an amazing movie”. Weeks ago I saw the first trailer and it was actually a thing of beauty – it is not actually a remake, it is a sequel. We know sequels and prequels don’t always work – right, Mr. Scott? – but this time Denis Villeneuve is directing it, which makes me hopeful already – Arrival should have won Best Picture last February, even though I did love Moonlight. As of now, it seems they are not killing a classic – let’s wait until October to be sure.

And speaking of classics, I know that some people turn their noses up at panna cottas made with yogurt for they are not “the real deal”, however I love them: you still get richness from the cream, with a nice tang from the yogurt, which for me is a perfect combination – and the texture is amazing. To make the panna cotta even more interesting, I added a layer of strawberry gelatin – homemade, of course – and it is so delicious you can even skip the panna cotta, make only the gelatin and serve it on its own: truly delicious.

Yogurt panna cotta with strawberry gelatin
own creation

Panna cotta:
2 tablespoons cold water
1 ½ teaspoons powdered unflavored gelatin
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
¾ cup (195g plain yogurt, room temperature
¼ cup (60ml) whole milk, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Strawberry gelatin:
600g fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced in half
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (75g) granulated sugar
2/3 cup (160ml) cold water, divided use
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice
2 teaspoons powdered unflavored gelatin

Start by making the panna cotta: set aside six 200-ml glasses.
Put the water in a small bowl and sprinkle over the gelatin. Set aside for 5 minutes for the gelatin to absorb the water – in the meantime, in a small saucepan, heat together the cream and sugar over medium heat, whisking to dissolve the sugar. When the mixture starts to boil, remove from the heat and stir in the yogurt, milk, vanilla and salt. Whisk in the gelatin until dissolved. Pass mixture through a fine sieve and divide between the glasses. Refrigerate for about 4 hours or until firm.

Now the gelatin: in a medium saucepan, combine the strawberries, sugar and 1 tablespoon of the cold water. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until berries are soft and release their juices, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a blender. Add ½ cup (120ml) of the cold water and the lemon juice. Blitz until smooth, then pass through a fine sieve back into the saucepan.
Place the remaining cold water in a small bowl and sprinkle over the gelatin. Set aside for 5 minutes for the gelatin to absorb the water.
Heat the strawberry juice in the saucepan over medium heat until it starts to boil - remove from the heat and whisk in the gelatin until dissolved. Stir through a sieve again, let cool to room temperature, then carefully pour over the set panna cotta, dividing the strawberry mixture among the 6 cups. Refrigerate again for about 4 hours or until jelly is set.

The dessert can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days, covered with plastic wrap.

Serves 6

Vanilla cookie buttons with strawberry icing and being tricked by my memory

I don’t know about you, but sometimes my mind plays tricks on me and I just can’t trust my memory. I was listening to “Never” the other day when my husband asked whose song that was. I told him it was Heart’s and said “remember that band from the 80s formed exclusively by girls?”, but he had no recollection of it. Then I decided to show him the music video, and there was a man playing the drums and another playing the guitar. “I could have sworn there were only girls on this band”, I said, and the hubby stared laughing. :D

Having too many cookbooks can wreck someone’s memory as well – thank heavens for EYB. I set up to make Nancy Baggett’s beautiful cookies – I was thrilled with the idea of a pink icing made without artificial food coloring – but really could not wait 6 hours for the cookie dough to chill (who has that kind of time these days? Not me). Ok, I’d slather the icing onto someone else’s vanilla cookies. As usual, I reached for Martha, but rolling cookie dough was definitely out of the question. I knew I’d seen drop sugar cookies somewhere, but my memory had already been tricked by people with big hair, I could not trust it. :) EYB helped my find John Barricelli’s super easy recipe, which I modified slightly for I did not want the cookies to spread – it turned out perfect.

Vanilla cookie buttons with strawberry icing
adapted from two great sources: The SoNo Baking Company Cookbook and The All-American Dessert Book

Cookies:
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (175g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg

Icing:
½ cup strawberries
2 cups (280g) icing sugar
1 tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter, very soft but not melted
generous ½ tablespoon corn syrup

Make the cookies: preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugar and vanilla together until light and creamy. Beat in the egg. At low speed, beat in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Make balls using 1 ½ teaspoons of dough and place 2.5cm (1in) apart onto prepared sheets. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden on the bottom. Cool on the sheets for 2-3 minutes, then slide the paper with the cookies onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Icing: Sift the icing sugar in a medium bowl. In a food processor, process the strawberries with 2 tablespoons of the icing sugar until puréed. Press the mixture through a fine sieve to extract as much of the strawberry pulp and juice as possible. Add 2 tablespoons of the strawberry pulp to the icing sugar, with the butter and corn syrup and mix to combine. Gradually add more strawberry pulp, mixing until desired consistency.
Dip the top of the cookies into the icing and place them onto a wire rack for the icing to set, about 2 hours – there might be some icing left.

Makes about 70

Patchwork strawberry & apple pie

As if being a cookbook junkie wasn’t enough, I’m hooked on food magazines as well – Donna Hay, Gourmet Traveller and Delicious Australia are my favorites, but there are others I adore, too, and use very often. BBC Good Food always comes with delicious recipes from people like Mary Berry and James Martin, and the photos are beautiful (I highly recommend a visit to the magazine’s website).

Months ago, a strawberry and gooseberry pie was published, and the patchwork topping looked gorgeous – it reminded me of the strawberry and rose hazelnut tart I made years ago. Because gooseberries are impossible to find here in Brazil I replaced them with something equally tart and flavorsome, a Granny Smith apple – the result was truly great.

Patchwork strawberry & apple pie
adapted from the delicious Good Food mag

Pastry:
1 large egg, at room temperature, separated
225g unsalted butter, soft but not greasy
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon table salt
350g all purpose flour

Filling:
400g ripe strawberries, halved, or quartered if large
75g granulated sugar
1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and finely diced
pinch of ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons semolina or ground almonds

Pastry: put the egg yolk, butter, vanilla, sugar and salt in a food processor, and pulse until creamy and soft. Add the flour and pulse until the mixture comes together in clumps – don’t overwork it. Tip onto a lightly floured surface and squish the dough together. Split into 2 pieces, one slightly larger than the other, then shape into rectangles. Wrap in cling film and chill for 2 hours.

Meanwhile, make the filling: put the strawberries and sugar in a wide pan and cook for 5 minutes or until syrupy. Drain in a colander over a bowl and leave to cool completely (reserve the syrup to be served with the pie later on).

Lightly butter a 35x10cm (14x4in) tart pan with a removable bottom and line it with the larger piece of pastry. Prick the base several times with a fork, then freeze for 40 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F and place a baking sheet in the oven. Line the pastry with foil and fill with baking beans. Bake on top of the baking sheet for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and beans, and bake for a further 10 minutes or until the bottom of the pastry is golden and feels sandy. Roll the second pastry disc to roughly the size of the tart and cut into 4cm squares. Refrigerate for 5 minutes.
Scatter the semolina or almonds over the pastry base (this will help to prevent a soggy bottom). Add the apple and cinnamon to the drained berries, mix to combine, then place on top of the semolina/ground almonds. Space the pastry squares over the tart, brush with the egg white. Wrap only the edge of the pie with a collar of foil to protect it from overcooking (I didn’t do that), then bake for 30 minutes or until golden and crisp. Serve warm with thick cream and the fruity pink syrup in a jug for pouring.

Serves 6-8

Marzipan and berry muffins with amazingly good homemade marzipan

Certain things to me are revelations, and Paul Hollywood’s fabulous homemade marzipan was one: when I was little every time my German grandmother came to visit she would bring small boxes of marzipan – she loved the stuff. Soon I began loving marzipan, too, and that was pretty much the only good thing about grandma’s visits (let’s just say she wasn’t a pleasant person to be around).

Grandma Frida stopped visiting after my mom died, and then a few years later she was gone, too, and that was the end of my marzipan-flavored days. As a grown-up I began searching for that delicious marzipan, the one I ate as a kid, and to my disappointment the versions I found tasted nothing like it – they were poorly made artificial versions of the almond paste and tasted of anything but almonds.
Last week, though, flipping through my newest purchase, I found a recipe for marzipan that seemed easy; since I had all the ingredients at home I gave it a go immediately, and the result was a thick, luscious marzipan, with an amazing texture and equally fantastic flavor, so good I had to hide it in my fridge otherwise I could have easily eaten a pound of it in one seating.

The combination of raspberries, strawberries and marzipan involved by a very tender and almond-y batter is what makes these muffins the best I’ve ever made; I would love to tell you how addictively flavorsome the warm marzipan bits tasted inside the muffins, but I’ll stop before I drool over my keyboard. :)

Marzipan and berry muffins
slightly adapted from the gorgeous Delicious - Australia

¾ cup + 1 tablespoon (185g) unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup + 2 ½ tablespoons (180g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup (105g) all purpose flour, sifted
1 ½ cups (150g) almond meal
pinch of salt
100g marzipan, chopped into small cubes – I used homemade, recipe follows
100g fresh strawberries, chopped into small cubes
100g frozen raspberries, unthawed
icing sugar, to serve

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a 12-hole muffin pan (each cavity holds 1/3 cup batter) with paper cases, or generously butter the pan cavities.
Beat butter and sugar in an electric mixer until thick and pale. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Fold in the flour, almond meal and salt, then fold in the marzipan. Divide the batter among muffin holes.
Scatter the berries over the top (I pushed them a little into the batter) , then bake muffins for 25-30 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then very gently unmold them. Transfer to a wire rack.
Dust the muffins with icing sugar and before serving – these muffins taste even more amazing while still warm.

Makes 12

Homemade marzipan
from the beautiful and fantastic How to Bake

1 large egg
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
90g superfine sugar*
1 cup (140g) icing sugar, sifted
220g almond meal
finely grated zest of 1 orange

In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg and vanilla with a fork.
In a large bowl, mix together the superfine sugar, the icing sugar and the almond meal. Add the zest and the egg mixture and combine first with a wooden spoon, then with your hands. Knead the marzipan until smooth. Form into a ball, wrap well in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
Marzipan can be kept well wrapped in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

*I always use granulated sugar in my recipes, but I did not want a grainy texture in the marzipan, therefore I blitzed the sugar in the food processor before using it

Makes 500g

Strawberry and rose hazelnut tart, music and a baking bonus

When I was 10 years old I got the Arena album as a gift from a cousin I deeply love. I used to listen to it nonstop, 24/7. I still have the album but since I no longer have a record player I bought the CD a while ago – I love listening to it while I drive to/from work. So good.
The CD version has two bonus tracks, but unfortunately “Girls on Film” and “Rio” are songs I never cared about (and still don’t).

Like one of my all time favorite albums, this recipe has a bonus, too, but in this case it’s a really good one: you get a delicious, fresh tart for dessert and also yummy slice and bake cookies with the leftover pastry. The cookies are so good you might consider postpone making the tart and stick to the pastry alone. :)

Strawberry and rose hazelnut tart
slightly adapted from the always stunning and delicious Australian Gourmet Traveller

Spiced hazelnut pastry:
¾ cup + ½ tablespoon (176g) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (148g) icing sugar, sifted
finely grated zest of 1 orange
3 egg yolks
1 ¾ cups + ½ tablespoons (250g) all purpose flour
¾ cup (75g) hazelnut meal (finely ground hazelnuts)
¾ cup (75g) almond meal (finely ground almonds)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder

Filling:
700g strawberries, hulled and coarsely chopped
1/3 cup + ½ tablespoon (72g) superfine sugar*
¼ cup (30g) corn starch
finely grated zest and juice of ½ orange
3 teaspoons rosewater
seeds of 1 vanilla bean
heavy cream, for brushing
icing sugar, for dusting
crème fraîche, to serve

Start by making the spiced hazelnut pastry: beat butter, icing sugar and orange zest in an electric mixer until creamy, add yolks and beat to combine. Add remaining ingredients and mix until just combined. Form into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm (2-3 hours).
Roll two-thirds of hazelnut pastry to 3mm-thick between two large pieces of lightly floured baking paper and line a lightly buttered 24cm (9in) diameter tart pan with a removable bottom. Trim edges, prick pastry all over with a fork and freeze until firm (15 minutes). Roll out remaining dough on a lightly floured piece of baking paper to a rough 24cm-long rectangle, place on an oven tray and refrigerate between the paper pieces until firm (15-20 minutes).
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Combine strawberries, sugar, corn starch, zest, juice and vanilla seeds in a bowl and fill pastry case.
Remove the pastry rectangle from the fridge, remove the paper piece on the top and cut the pastry into your favorite shapes using a cookie cutter (mine was a drop shaped cutter about 3cm long). Place them randomly over strawberry mixture, leaving some of the filling uncovered**. Brush pastry with heavy cream, place tart pan onto a baking sheet and bake until crisp and golden (35-40 minutes), cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar and serve with crème fraîche.

* after tasting the tart I though the filling needed a bit more sugar – have a taste of your strawberries and adjust the sugar amount accordingly to their sweetness

** I gathered up the pastry leftover pieces and made slice and bake cookies with the remaining pastry – they tasted delicious!

Serves 10

Strawberry cheesecake ice cream and a very, very scary movie

I’ve come to the conclusion that my courage, these days, is pretty much having ice cream (the one on the photo, delicious) in very cold days.

My sister wanted to watch “Insidious” and since I cannot say “no” to her I went along. I spent most of the movie with my eyes closed and that did not stop me from having nightmares about it for days. She left the theater laughing and told me the movie was not scary at all, while I drove home secretly wishing my husband were there already so I would not have to take a shower alone in the apartment. :S

And to think that I watched “The Entity” in my teenage years... What a shame. :D

Strawberry cheesecake ice cream
adapted from the always fantastic and delicious The Perfect Scoop, inspired by the beautiful Beyond the Plate

Cheesecake ice cream:
225g (8oz) cream cheese
¼ cup (60ml) whole milk
1 ¼ cups (300ml) heavy cream
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2/3 cup (133g) superfine sugar
pinch of salt

Strawberry sauce:
250g strawberries, hulled
1 ½ tablespoons superfine sugar, or to taste
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Cut the cream cheese into small pieces and place into a blender or food processor. Add the milk, heavy cream, lemon zest and juice, sugar and salt and blitz until smooth. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. Meanwhile, make the strawberry sauce: purée the strawberries in a blender with the sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Press the purée through a fine strainer to remove the seeds. Chill.
Freeze the cheesecake mixture in your ice cream maker following the manufacturer’s instructions. By the end of churning time add the strawberry sauce gradually to the ice cream maker to have some of it mixed into the cream and some of it creating a marbled effect. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze for at least 4 hours before serving.

Makes about 3 cups (750ml)

Fresh strawberry tart with lemon cream

I fear that you’ll probably start thinking of me as the lady whose tart crusts all go wrong – after the shrinking problem, I made another tart and this crust sounded very promising, with the combination of butter and cream cheese. It was easy to put together, I must admit it, but in terms of both flavor and texture I’ve had many, many better ones.

Before you reach for the red square with an “x” in the corner of the page, I beg you to make this lemon cream and serve it with strawberries – you wouldn’t believe how delicious it is.

Fresh strawberry tart with lemon cream
adapted from The Craft of Baking

Cream cheese dough:
½ cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into small pieces
113g (4oz) cream cheese
1 ½ tablespoons caster sugar
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
pinch of salt

Filling:
½ cup (120ml) heavy cream
¾ cup lemon curd*
1 pound (450g) fresh strawberries, hulled, large strawberries halved

Start by making the crust: in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until the mixture is smooth and there is no visible chunks of butter or cream cheese, about 5 minutes. Add the flour and salt and mix until just combined.
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Shape into a flattened disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight – dough can be frozen for up to 1 month; thaw it overnight in the refrigerator before using.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 27.5cm (11in) round. Fit the dough into a 24cm (9 ½ in) lightly buttered fluted tart pan with removable bottom. Press the dough into the edges of the pan and use a paring knife to trim the excess dough along the top edge. Prick the bottom all over with a fork and freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
Line the chilled tart with a round of foil, leaving a 2.5cm (1in) overhang. Fill it with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until the edges of the crust are just beginning to turn golden, 15-20 minutes. Remove the foil and the weights/beans. Return the crust to the oven and continue baking until it is golden all over, 15-20 minutes more. Transfer the tart pan to a wire rack and let the tart shell cool completely.
In a medium mixing bowl, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Fold about half of the cream into the lemon curd, then fold in the rest of the cream. Pour the filling into the tart shell and spread it out evenly.
Arrange the strawberries close together in concentric circles over the filling, placing any halved strawberry cut side down. Lightly cover the tart with plastic wrap and refrigerate it until cold, about 1 hour, or up to 4 hours. Remove the outer ring of the pan before serving.
The tart is best eaten the day it is prepared.

*half this lemon curd recipe gives you the exact amount needed for this tart

Serves 8

Vanilla panna cotta with rosewater roasted strawberries

Pretty much like Bryan Singer really needs a great movie to go back to the good old days, this panna cotta requires something delicious to be served with – and before you all go “oh, there she comes with roasted strawberries again”, I added rosewater to them this time, just to make things a bit different. :)

Vanilla panna cotta with rosewater roasted strawberries
from here and here

Panna cotta:
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon gelatin powder
2 cups (480ml) single or pouring cream
1/3 cup (47g) icing sugar, sifted
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

Rosewater roasted strawberries:
16 strawberries, hulled and halved
1/3 cup (67g) caster sugar
½ tablespoon rosewater

Make the panna cotta: place the water in a small bowl and sprinkle over the gelatin. Stand for 5 minutes or until the gelatin absorbs the water. Place the cream in a saucepan over medium heat with the sugar, vanilla bean and seeds. Stir occasionally, allowing the cream to come to the boil. Add the gelatin and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or just until gelatin is dissolved. Pass mixture through a fine sieve and allow to cool to room temperature before refrigerating. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until set.
Now, the roasted strawberries: Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F; place the strawberries in a small baking dish (do not use a shallow dish because the juices will bubble away in the oven) and sprinkle with the sugar and rosewater. Mix well and roast for 10-15 minutes or until the strawberries are soft and syrupy. Remove and set aside to cool completely.
Serve the panna cotta in the glasses, topped with the strawberries – this panna cotta is not firm enough to be unmolded.

Serves 6

Vanilla bean macarons with roasted strawberry buttercream

You understand, right? That obsessed people can’t help themselves? There you have it, macarons again. :D

I was inspired by Jen’s breathtaking strawberry macarons and being a roasted strawberries addict I ended up adding them to the filling. The shells, on the other hand, have just a hint of vanilla, to let the filling shine through, but their smell while baking was so intense (and good) that even the hubby – the one who doesn’t like sweets – asked what was in the oven. :)

Vanilla bean macarons with roasted strawberry buttercream
shells adapted from here, filling from here and here

Shells:
150g almond meal
150g confectioners’ sugar
120g egg whites (room temperature)
185g granulated sugar
50g water
2 vanilla beans, scraped seeds only – I used 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste

Roasted strawberries:
16 strawberries, hulled and halved
1/3 cup (67g) caster sugar

Buttercream:
½ cup (100g) caster sugar
2 large egg whites
1 ½ sticks (170g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
roasted strawberries, without the syrup and processed into a paste

You will need 2-3 baking sheets for these , depending on how closely you pipe them; make sure you use good quality aluminum pans – if they’re too thin, the macarons might crack on top. I followed Ms. Humble’s tip and double layered the pans. I also used baking paper, this baking mat and this one and got the best results with the teflon one.

Prep a large pastry bag with a #11 Ateco tip (or a similar medium sized round tip, little under 1cm) – I did not use a tip, I just cut the tip of the pastry bag. Pre-heat your oven to 160-162°C (320-325°F) – I wouldn’t recommend making macarons with an oven thermometer.

You will need a candy thermometer for this method, as it will require bringing the sugar syrup to a precise temperature. Half of the whites I used had been in the fridge for 4 days (and had been previously frozen for 2 weeks) and half was from fresh eggs.
Weigh out your confectioners’ sugar and almond meal and give them a whirl for a minute, pulsing in a food processor. Pour the almond/sugar mixture into a large bowl, add the vanilla seeds and set aside.

Weigh out 60g of egg whites into the bowl of your stand mixer (make sure the whites are yolk free and your mixer's bowl and whisk attachment are very clean and free of any traces of oil). Also measure out 35g of granulated sugar into a small bowl and set it near the mixer.
Weigh out another 60g of egg whites into a small bowl and set aside.

Weigh out 150g of the granulated sugar into a small sauce pan. Add 50g of water to the sugar, attach your candy thermometer and place it over medium heat – use a very small saucepan so its tip will be immersed in the syrup.
When the sugar hits 87°C/190°F, start beating the egg whites in your mixer on medium low speed until foamy, while keeping a close eye on the sugar syrup. No need to stir the syrup, just let it come to a boil over medium heat (you're aiming for 110°C/230°F). Once the eggs are foamy, slowly add the 35g of sugar and beat to soft peaks on medium speed.

When your sugar mixture hits 110°C/230°F pull it off the heat, increase the speed of your mixer to medium high, and slowly pour in the syrup. You want to let the mixture trickle down the side of the bowl, so it doesn't splatter and get tossed onto the sides of the bowl. You want the sugar in your meringue, not a candy coated bowl.

Now you can relax, the hard part is over. Allow the mixer to beat the meringue for about 5-8 minutes until cool.

While waiting for your meringue to cool, combine the remaining 60g of egg whites with the sugar/almond mixture and mix until well combined.

Once the meringue is ready, add it to the almond/sugar mixture and quickly fold it together. You should fold until it is just barely uniform, using as few strokes as possible. It is very, very important you don't over mix as the batter will thin considerably with each stroke of the spatula. Your batter is perfect when you lift your spatula and a thick ribbon slowly cascades off, back into the bowl.
Now you're ready to fill your piping bag. If the mixture is just right, it will ooze from the tip slowly under its own weight. (If it oozes out quickly, something went horribly wrong and you'll need to start over.)

Pipe 3cm macarons onto your prepared baking sheets, spacing them a few centimeters apart.

Once you complete a full pan, knock it on the counter gently, to bring up any bubbles and quickly pop them with toothpick (I forgot to do that).
Allow the macarons to rest like this for 15 minutes. (They can sit longer if you want to bake one or two sheets at a time, but will develop slightly thicker shells)

Bake at 160-162°C/320-325°F for 14 minutes (I baked mine for 17).

Once done, remove from the pans using the silicone baking mat and allow to cool completely (about an hour) before carefully attempting to remove them from the mat. If you're having trouble even after an hour, pop the sheet into the freezer for about 5 minutes and they should pop off easily.

Now, the filling: preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF. To make the roasted strawberries, place them in a small baking dish (do not use a shallow dish because the juices will bubble away in the oven) and sprinkle with the sugar. Mix well and roast for 10-15 minutes or until the strawberries are soft and syrupy. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

Buttercream: put the sugar and egg whites in a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like marshmallow cream. Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat the meringue on medium speed until it cools and forms a thick shiny meringue, about 5 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment and add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes. Add the processed strawberries to the buttercream and fold with a spatula until fully incorporated. If not using right away, refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for up to 1 month.

Fill a piping bag with the buttercream and use to sandwich your macarons.
To store, keep the shells in an air tight container. Fill before serving.

Makes about 50 macarons (already filled)

Strawberry, pistachio and orange cakes

These little cakes are, to me, essentially friands – ground nuts + egg whites + melted butter – but my favorite magazine website calls them cakes, so cakes they are. :)

They turned out really good – tender and moist – and the roasted strawberries are delicious: I used to say that apples and bananas can benefit (a lot) from some time in the oven and now I have to add strawberries to that list.

Strawberry, pistachio and orange cakes
adapted from Australian Gourmet Traveller

Roasted strawberries with orange blossom:
300g strawberries, hulled and quartered
½ cup (50g) caster sugar
finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
1 tablespoon orange blossom water

Cakes:
6 egg whites
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon (184g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 ¾ cups (245g) icing sugar, sifted
150g unsalted pistachios, lightly toasted and finely ground
¾ cup (105g) all purpose flour, sifted
finely grated zest of 1 orange

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F; butter six deep 10cm loose-bottomed flan pans.
For roasted strawberries, combine ingredients in a baking dish, cover with foil and roast in oven for 10 minutes or until tender. Cool and reserve cooking juices.
Whisk egg whites in a bowl until frothy, add melted butter and whisk to combine, add icing sugar, ground pistachios, flour and zest and stir to combine.
Spoon mixture into prepared pans and arrange 3-4 pieces of strawberry on top of each.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted in the center withdraws clean.
Stand in pans for 5 minutes then carefully unmold onto a wire rack.
Serve warm, drizzled with the reserved juices (they taste delicious at room temperature as well).

Makes 6 – I halved the recipe, used shallow 9cm tartlet pans and got 7 cakes

Little strawberry meringue tarts

The strawberry maniac strikes again – and this time with pies topped with meringue. :)

I know I’ve been carried away by the strawberry season, but tell me: would you resist making such adorable little pies? I’m not that strong. :)

Little strawberry meringue tarts
adapted from Australian Gourmet Traveller

Filling:
400g strawberries, hulled and quartered
½ cup (88g) brown sugar, packed – you might need more depending on how sweet the strawberries are
1 vanilla bean, scraped seeds only
juice of ½ small orange
juice of ½ lime

Brown sugar pastry:
50g soft unsalted butter
50g brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour

Italian meringue:
¼ cup (50g) caster sugar
2 tablespoons (24g) demerara sugar
1 egg white

For brown sugar pastry, beat butter and brown sugar, using an electric mixer for 5 minutes or until pale, then add the egg and beat to combine. Add flour, beat until just combined, turn onto a lightly floured work surface, form into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Meanwhile, place strawberries in a heavy-based saucepan. Add brown sugar, vanilla seeds and orange and lime juices and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to medium and cook for 5-8 minutes or until strawberries are soft and liquid is reduced. Set aside to cool, then refrigerate.
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Roll pastry on a lightly floured surface to 2mm thick and use to line ten 6.5x3.5cm deep pie pans (see note), trim edges and pierce crust all over with fork. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil (or use nonstick foil) and cut roughly into ten squares; place the foil squares, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. Bake blind for 10 minutes, then remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until golden and crisp. Cool for 5 minutes in pans, then remove from pans and place on a baking tray. Using a fork to remove some of the liquid, transfer strawberry mixture into pastry cases and set aside*.
For Italian meringue, combine sugars and 2 tablespoons water in a small saucepan and stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and cook until syrup reaches 115°C/239°F on a sugar thermometer, then remove from heat. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, whisk egg white until soft peaks form, then, with motor running, slowly add hot syrup and whisk for 5 minutes. Spoon meringue over strawberry filling, forming into peaks. Place pies under a hot grill for 2-3 minutes or until meringue is golden or use a blowtorch to brown meringue lightly.

* since this is a very moist filling, assemble the tarts as close as possible to serving them - the juices in the filling will make the pastry soggy

Note: If you’re unable to find pie pans of this measurement, use individual fluted tart cases instead (they’ll hold less filling).

Serves 10

Strawberry crumble bars

One of the movies I’ve watched a dozen times and will watch again every time it’s on TV is “Under the Tuscan Sun” – can’t get enough of all those beautiful locations! And Diane Lane is absolutely gorgeous – I think Joao has a crush on her, but I don’t mind. :)

Last week I received the latest issue of my favorite magazine and there it was: a recipe for beautiful rhubarb crumble bars – because of my current rhubarb/strawberry obsession I considered it a sign - and much better than the one Francesca received in Bramasole. :)

Strawberry crumble bars
adapted from Donna Hay magazine

Base:
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (78g) caster sugar
1 ½ cups + 2 ½ tablespoons (225g) all purpose flour, sifted
½ teaspoon baking powder, sifted
pinch of salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
100g unsalted butter, melted

Strawberry filling:
450g strawberries, hulled and chopped*
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (112g) caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Crumble topping:
1 ½ cups + 2 ½ tablespoons (225g) all purpose flour, sifted
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (78g) caster sugar
150g cold unsalted butter, chopped

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan and line with foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides. Butter the foil.
Place the sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, egg and butter in a bowl and mix to combine. Press into the base of the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and firm. Let cool completely.
While the base is baking, make the filling: place the strawberries, sugar and vanilla in a bowl and toss to combine. Set aside.
Make the topping: place the flour and sugar in a bowl and mix to combine. Add the butter and use your fingertips to rub it into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Using a slotted spoon and shaking off any excess juice, distribute the strawberries over the base**. Top with the crumble topping and bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden.

* or use 500g rhubarb, chopped, instead

** don’t throw the juices away – pour them over some yogurt, yum!

Makes 16 – I made 2/3 of the recipe above and used a 20cm (8in) square pan

Baby spice and strawberry butter cakes

After making the strawberry crostata – with such great results – I started searching for the rhubarb recipes I’d been keeping forever in order to make them using strawberries.

It reminded me of when I watched “Heat” and then started looking for everything Michael Mann had done before. :)

Baby spice and strawberry butter cakes
adapted from Australian Gourmet Traveller

Cakes:
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) soft unsalted butter
¾ cup golden syrup
3 eggs
1 ½ cups + 1 ½ tablespoons (225g) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves

Strawberry compote:
300g strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced
¼ cup (50g) caster sugar
1 tablespoon water

Start by making the strawberry compote: combine strawberries, sugar and water in a saucepan, and bring to the boil over high heat (give it a little stir just to dissolve the sugar). Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 2 minutes or until softened, then cook, uncovered, for 8 minutes, mixing occasionally, or until liquid has reduced and strawberries are soft – while mixing, squash the berries down using a silicon spatula to release all their juices. Cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; butter nine 2/3-cup capacity mini loaf pans*.
Using an electric mixer, cream butter and golden syrup until pale, then add eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition, until incorporated.
Sift over flour, baking powder and spices and beat in low speed to combine – batter will be thick.
Spoon into prepared pans and spoon 2 teaspoons strawberry compote down center.
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until just cooked. Allow to cool slightly, then turn out onto wire racks and cool.
Cakes will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

* I halved the recipe above, used 1/3 cup (80ml) muffin pans and got 8 cakes

Makes 9

Strawberry crostata

As a kid my favorite dessert was strawberry tart – it was similar to the banana tart I made for my dad a while ago: same crust and filling, with the strawberries beautifully arranged on top of the velvety cream – mom brushed the berries with jam so they’d be shiny and pretty. :)

My taste buds have changed a lot all these years and my childhood tart is no longer my favorite dessert, but I’m still crazy about strawberries; I used them instead of rhubarb and raspberries in this recipe and have to say that NOT eating all the filling before making the crostata was one of the toughest things I’ve ever done in my kitchen. :)

Strawberry crostata
adapted from Australian Gourmet Traveller

600g strawberries, hulled and halved
1 ¼ cups (250g) caster sugar
1 10cm-piece of orange zest
juice of 1 orange
1 5cm-piece of lime zest
juice of ½ lime
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
scraped seeds of 1 vanilla bean
1 egg beaten with ½ tablespoon water, for brushing (egg wash)
2 tablespoons demerara sugar, for dusting

Pasta frolla:
1 ½ cups + 1 tablespoon (220g) all purpose flour
¼ cup + 3 tablespoons (100g) cold unsalted butter, coarsely chopped
60g pure icing sugar, sifted
scraped seeds of 1 vanilla bean
pinch of salt
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

For pasta frolla, process flour, butter, icing sugar, vanilla seeds and salt in a food processor until fine crumbs form. Gradually add egg mixture, process until mixture just comes together – you might not need all the egg mixture. Turn onto a lightly floured surface, knead lightly until smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap, refrigerate to rest (1-2 hours).

Meanwhile, combine strawberries in a large saucepan with caster sugar, zests, juices, ginger and vanilla seeds. Stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves, then bring to the boil and stir occasionally until very thick and jammy (10-15 minutes) – while mixing, squash the berries down using a silicon spatula to release all their juices. Set aside to cool completely, the remove the orange/lime zest pieces.

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Roll out two-thirds of the pasta frolla on a lightly floured surface into a 3mm-thick rectangle and line a buttered 13cm x 36cm rectangular tart pan, trim edges and spoon in cooled strawberry mixture. Roll out remaining pasta frolla on a lightly floured surface to 3mm thick, then cut into 15mm-wide strips. Arrange strips in a lattice over jam, press pastry edges to seal and trim excess. Brush pastry with egg wash, dust with demerara sugar and bake until pastry is crisp and golden (40-45 minutes).
Cool in pan before serving.
Crostata is best eaten on day of making.

Serves 10 – I made ¾ of the recipe above and used a 30x10cm pan; there was some pasta frolla left, and I froze it.

Strawberry crumble

This cold weather makes me crave hearty, comforting food, both savory and sweet. On the savory side soups get all my attention, but when it comes to sweet recipes crumbles are THE winter dessert to me – I could easily have one a day. :)

This delicious crumble comes from Valentina’s fabulous blog – and just so you know it, I’m just getting started on strawberry recipes around here. :)

Strawberry crumble

185g strawberries, hulled and halved lengthwise
1 tablespoon caster sugar
½ tablespoon lemon juice – I used lime
3 ½ tablespoons (49g) cold unsalted butter, chopped
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (80g) all purpose flour
3 ½ tablespoons (42g) caster sugar
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
Butter two 1-cup capacity ovenproof bowls and divide the strawberries among them. Sprinkle each with ½ tablespoon sugar and drizzle with the lemon juice.
Place the butter, flour, sugar and salt in a small bowl and, using your fingertips, rub them together until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over the strawberries, place the bowls on a baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden.
Serve warm with cream or yogurt.

Serves 2

Strawberry tarte tatins

I’ve been watching some episodes of “Brothers and Sisters” and have to say I feel like I could become addicted to it – actually, the idea of getting all the DVDs to watch the show from the start has crossed my mind once or twice already. :)
Even though I’ve been enjoying the show, it makes me quite emotional – so thank you, “Brothers and Sisters”, for making me almost cry every time I listen to “Never say never”, including when I’m driving to work. :S

There’s someone else I’d like to thank today: Donna Hay, for introducing me to strawberry tarte tatins – what a delicious dessert. And now I’m not being ironic. :)

Strawberry tarte tatins
from Donna Hay magazine

2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
¼ cup (50g) caster sugar
1 ½ tablespoons water
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
butter, for greasing
500g strawberries, hulled and sliced in half if too large
300g all butter puff pastry, thawed*
whipped cream, to serve

Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F. Place the butter, sugar, water and vanilla (seeds and bean) in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Stop stirring, bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes, remove from the heat and discard the vanilla bean.
Lightly grease four 10cm round pie dishes with the butter. Place the strawberries in the dishes and pour over the caramel.
Place the pastry on a lightly floured surface and roll out to 5mm thick. Cut four 11cm rounds from the pastry and place on top of the strawberries. Place the dishes on a baking tray and bake the tarts for 25-30 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden. Turn the tarts out onto plates and top with whipped cream to serve – be careful not to get burned by the piping hot juices when unmolding the tarts.

* inspired by my friend Ana Elisa, I made her take on Flo Braker’s Pretty Darn Quick Puff Pastry (from this book) and it worked wonderfully; half her recipe is enough for the four tarte tatins

Serves 4

Silver poppy seed cake trifle

How can a trifle made with a slice of a very tender cake, topped with cream and berries and sprinkled with toasted almonds go wrong? Exactly – it can’t.

The same way a movie with Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Max von Sydow, Patricia Clarkson and Jackie Earle Haley directed by Mr. Scorsese just can go wrong – it has got to be one of the best things I have ever seen.

If you haven’t watched “Shutter Island” yet, do yourself a favor and run to the nearest movie theater. :)

Silver poppy seed cake trifle
from Baking for All Occasions, presentation inspired by Nigella’s lemon-raspberry plate trifle


Cake:
2 ¼ cups (315g) cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup (60ml) whole milk
½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise
½ cup (60ml) well shaken buttermilk
¼ cup poppy seeds
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
200g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
4 large (120ml) egg whites, lightly beaten

To serve:
1 cup heavy cream, whipped
1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced lengthwise
3 tablespoons sliced almonds, lightly toasted

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 180°C/350°F. Lightly coat a 32.5x22.5x5cm (13x9x2in) pan (quarter sheet pan)* with butter/nonstick spray, and line the bottom with parchment paper, coating the paper as well. Then flour it, tapping out the excess. Have all the ingredients at room temperature.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a small bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the milk with the vanilla bean just until lukewarm. Set aside to cool to room temperature, about 5 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean from the milk, scrape the seeds from the bean into the milk with a small pairing knife and discard the pod. Pour the vanilla flavored milk into a small bowl, add the buttermilk, poppy seeds and lemon juice, and stir to blend. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until it is lighter in color, cling to the side of the bowl and has a satiny appearance, 30-45 seconds. Add the sugar in a steady stream, then stop the mixer and scrape down the gritty, sandy mixture clinging to the sides of the bowl. Continue to beat on medium speed until the mixture is very light in color and fluffy, 3-4 minutes.
With the mixer on medium speed, add the egg whites, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, beating after each addition until incorporated before adding more – this is especially important for egg whites because a large percentage of an egg white is water. If at any time the batter appears watery or shiny (signs of curdling) stop the flow of egg whites, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the batter looks smooth again. Then return to medium speed and resume adding the egg whites. Continue to beat, stopping to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl at least once or twice, until all the whites have been added and the mixture is fluffy.
On the lowest speed, add the flour mixture in three additions alternately with the buttermilk mixture in two additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and mixing after each addition until incorporated. Stop the mixer after each addition to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and with a rubber spatula spread the batter from the center outward, creating a slightly raised ridge around the outside rim (since heat is conducted faster near the metal rim, mounding the batter around the edges ensures the cake will bake more evenly and will be more leveled).
Bake the cake until raised and golden, 38-42 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, carefully unmold onto a wire rack and let cool completely.

Assembling the trifle: cut the cooled cake in thick slices and place on small serving plates. Top with 2-3 tablespoons of the whipped cream, a few strawberry slices and sprinkle with the toasted almonds.

* I halved the recipe above and used a 10x20cm (4x8in) loaf pan

Serves 8-10

Sugared strawberry jubes

Before I started the blog I used to spend hours at imdb.com reading the movie trivia – I’d go from one to another, then another...

I still do that sometimes, but nowadays I usually share my browsing time between movies and recipes – one thing I love is to go to Gourmet Traveller’s website, click on a recipe and then check the end of the page, where there are four related recipes. I go from one to another, then another... This is how I found these strawberry jubes.

Sugared strawberry jubes
from Australian Gourmet Traveller

500g hulled strawberries (about 2 punnets)
280ml sparkling wine
530g caster sugar, plus extra for coating
2 teaspoons lemon juice
9 gelatin leaves (titanium strength), softened in cold water*

Combine strawberries and 1/3 cup (80ml) wine in a saucepan, cover and simmer over medium heat until strawberries are tender and juice is extracted (5-7 minutes). Strain through a fine sieve (you should have about 200ml). Add half the remaining wine and enough water to make 450ml and combine in a saucepan with sugar and lemon juice. Stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and cook until mixture reaches 120°C/248°F on a sugar thermometer (15-20 minutes) – if the mixture bubbles too much and looks like it is going to spill over, swirl the pan around. Remove from heat and stand for 10 minutes.
Squeeze excess water from gelatin, add to strawberry syrup with remaining wine. Stir to combine, then pour into a lightly oiled 16cm-square cake pan. Stand in a cool place overnight – I refrigerated mine for a couple of hours, too.

Scatter sugar over cutting board. Dip base of pan quickly in hot water (that was not necessary, I just ran the knife on the sides of the pan) and invert pan onto board to remove jelly. Cut jelly into cubes with a hot knife and toss in sugar to coat. Sugared jellies will keep in an airtight container for 1 week.

* make sure your gelatin is really strong – mine wasn’t that powerful and the jubes were on the soft side (thought still delicious)

Serves 8 - I made 2/3 of the recipe above, used a 15cm (6in) square pan and got 64 small jubes