Strawberry Cream Puff Cake

I found this yummy looking dessert on www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com

Ingredients:

2 cups or one carton of strawberries, sliced

Cream Puff Base:
5 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
2/3 cup flour
3 eggs

Cream Cheese Mixture:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon fresh orange zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2/3 cup powdered sugar

For the cream puff layer, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bring the butter, water and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the flour all at once and stir quickly until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and stir the mixture until smooth. Let cool for 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until the mixture is shiny with a satiny sheen. Don’t overbeat. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan (or in a pinch, you could use a 9-inch circle cake pan).

Using an offset spatula, spread the mixture on the bottom and one inch up the sides of the prepared pan. Don't look at my picture. I skimmed the instructions and put it 2 inches up the side instead of one. This part can be tricky. I've found sometimes it's easier to spread with clean hands.

Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and prick pastry with a toothpick 10-12 times. Return to the oven and bake 5-10 minutes more until golden brown but not overbaked (you can insert a toothpick into the center and if it comes out with sticky dough, it still needs longer in the oven). Cool completely.

For the cream cheese mixture, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar (sift if necessary)and beat with the cream cheese until mixture is smooth and light. Add the remaining ingredients and beat until stiff peaks form. Spread onto the cooled cream puff shell.

Top with fresh sliced strawberries. Keep in the fridge until serving. My strawberries weren't that sweet so I put the sliced strawberries in the fridge with a couple tablespoons of sugar for an hour and they made their own sauce.

Fresh Strawberry Limeade

From our ourbestbites.com


1 tall glass
Lots of ice
Sprite (or Diet Sprite…or Ginger Ale if you’re feeling wild)
1 1/2 limes
3-4 tablespoons Strawberry Sauce

Fill a glass with ice. Squeeze the juice of one lime into the glass over the ice. Fill the glass about halfway with Sprite. Add 3-4 tablespoons of strawberry sauce. Top the glass off with Sprite and add more strawberry sauce if desired. Garnish with lime wedges (which you can also squeeze into the glass before drinking. Definitely best when served with a straw.

Strawberry Sauce

From my favorite food blog, ourbestbites.com.

1 pint strawberries

1/3 c. white sugar

1 tsp. almond extract (my favorite) or vanilla extract

Wash strawberries and remove stems. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can roughly chop the berries.

Combine berries, sugar, and extract in medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for five minutes, stirring/breaking strawberries up with a wooden spoon constantly.

After five minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly (if you have a glass blender jar) and a lot (if you have a plastic blender jar). When cool enough, transfer mixture to blender and pulse until desired consistency is reached.


Our Best Bites' ideas for what to do with it:


–Make banana splits with this and Sara’s hot fudge sauce
–Drizzle over plain ol‘ cheesecake
–Spoon some over this ice cream, with or without the cinnamon (depending on how brave you’re feeling)
–I’m envisioning this sauce atop a pizzookie with sugar cookie dough and lemon ice cream
–My proudest use of strawberry sauce: mix
a couple of tablespoons (depending on the size of the glass and your own personal taste) with this fresh-squeezed lemonade for strawberry lemonade. So so so so good…
–Chocolate waffles, anyone? If that’s not your thing, you could put them on your favorite French toast, waffles, or pancakes. Speaking of French Toast- try this one!
–Drizzle over angel food cake and add a dollop of sweetened whipped cream.

Sweetheart Custard Dessert and Barefoot Contessa Pie Crust

Doesn't this one The Sister's Cafe look sooo yummy! I wish I had seen it before Valentine's Day.  Oh well, there's always next year or maybe for Sweetest's Day.

 

Ingredients:

Pastry for double-crust pie (9 inches)Confectioners' sugar

CUSTARD:
2/3 cup sugar
3 Tbs cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
11/3 cup milk
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup lemon juice

1 Tbs butter or margarine
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup confectioners sugar

TOPPING:
2 to 3 cups sliced fresh strawberries
2 Tbs semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp shortening

Roll out each pastry between waxed paper (I just use my silicone mat) into a 12 inch circle; using an 11 inch wide heart shaped pattern, cut each pastry into a heart shape. Place on greased and floured baking sheets; prick with a fork. Bake at 450 degrees for 7-9 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt; gradually stir in milk until smooth. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. combine the egg yolks and lemon juice. Stir a small amount of hot filling into egg yolk mixture; return all to pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in butter. Cover; refrigerate until cool. In a mixing bowl, beat the cream and confectioners' sugar until stiff peaks form. Gently whisk the lemon custard, then fold in whipped cream.

Place one pastry on a serving plate; spread with half of custard. Arrange half berries over filling. Repeat with second pastry and remaining custard and berries. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips and shortening. Drizzle over the top.

Barefoot Contessa Pie Crust

Submitted by Erin ~http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com/

Makes for two 10-inch pie crusts

12 Tbs (1 1/2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 Tbs sugar
1/3 cup very cold shortening
6-8 Tbs (about 1/2 cup) ice water
Dice the butter and return it to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and shortening. Pulse 8-12 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the machine running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump out onto a floured board and roll into a ball. (At this point, I like to divide it into two parts and make two discs.) Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Cut the dough in half. Roll each piece on a well-floured board (I use a silicone mat) into a circle, rolling from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough to make sure it doesn't stick to the board. Fold the dough in half, place in a pie pan, and unfold to fit the pan. Repeat with the top crust.

Strawberry Vanilla Pancakes

Another yummy looking strawberry recipe from mandysrecipebox.blogspot.com.


Strawberry Vanilla Pancakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vanilla extract (yes 2 Tablespoons, trust me it's awesome)
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries

Chop up the berries and lightly sprinkle with some sugar.  In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Pour in the milk, oil, egg and vanilla, and mix until well blended. Stir in the strawberries. Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat, and coat with butter or cooking spray. Pour batter into desired size of pancakes. Flip with a spatula when bubbles appear in the center. Cook until golden brown on the other side. They smell so good as they cook. The vanilla wafts up and makes the kitchen smell great.

Strawberry Julius

Yet another yummy looking strawberry recipe.

1 c. water
1 c. milk
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 pound strawberries*
1 tray of ice

Mix all in a blender.

*You can make this into an orange julius by substituting a small can of frozen orange juice concentrate for the strawberries. You can also sub other fruit for the strawberries.

Strawberry Quick Bread

I can't wait for strawberries to come in season to try this yummy looking bread!  I saw this recipe on mandysrecipebox.blogspot.com.

Strawberry Quick Bread
1 cup fresh strawberries
1-1/2 cups and 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Slice strawberries, and place in medium-sized bowl. Sprinkle lightly with sugar, and set aside while preparing bread mixture.

Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking soda in large bowl: mix well. Blend oil and eggs into strawberries. Add strawberry mixture to flour mixture, blending until dry ingredients are just moistened. Pour batter into pan. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until tester inserted comes out clean. Let cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn loaf out, and cool completely.

REVIEW:  Great for the strawberries that are getting close to being overripe!  We loved this recipe!